Show Me the Numbers: Communicating Effectively with Charts

The ability to design effective visual displays of data is not intuitive; it requires a set of visual design skills that must be learned. Based on his recent book, Show Me the Numbers: Designing Tables and Graphs to Enlighten, Stephen Few will introduce the best practices for using charts to communicate data clearly and compellingly.

No information is more important to business than quantitative information—the numbers that measure performance, identify opportunities, and forecast the future. Most quantitative information is presented as tables and graphs. Unfortunately, most tables and graphs used in business today are poorly designed—often to the point of misinformation. Why? Because almost no one who produces them, including specialists such as financial analysts and other report developers, have been trained in effective table and graph design. You can become an exception to this norm.

Far too often business decisions are made with an inadequate understanding of the information that is needed to make smart decisions. Businesspeople rely too heavily on computers to think for them. Computers are wonderful tools, but in using them we have gradually stopped using many basic thinking and communicating skills that must be regained to succeed in the information age. We’ve been lulled into the mistaken belief that, if we know where to click with the mouse to make a graph appear, we know how to reason and communicate graphically. Microsoft PowerPoint doesn’t make you a skilled presenter; Adobe Illustrator doesn’t make you a talented graphic artist; and there’s not a spreadsheet, data analysis, reporting, or graphing product in the world that will transform you into a trained data analyst and communicator. These tools can only help you produce more efficiently and with less effort what you already know how to do by removing the drudgery, not the need for knowledge, skill, and creativity.

This presentation provides an introduction to table and graph design developed specifically for the needs of business. Following Stephen Few’s clear precepts, communicated through examples of what works, what doesn’t, and why, you will learn to design tables and graphs that present data clearly and drive your message home.