Wednesday, August 17, 2005
PowerPoint Charts and Stats Presentations
How many times have you seen a statistical chart in a PowerPoint presentation? Too many times to chart, probably!
I gotta admit it: sometimes I'm something of a stats junky. Yes, I can get excited by statistics, and I try to convince my clients to get excited about their numbers, too.
Numbers help us tell a good story.
As an audience member, you look at the charts, or look at the numbers...and the speaker builds a story about what the numbers mean. The speaker explains why the numbers are the way they are, and tells a story about how those numbers are going to look in the future.
Numbers help us hypothesize.
So, if you're looking for stats to use in your presentation, look about you. Exciting numbers are all around you -- company financials, sports stats, web log files -- you don't have to look very long to find interesting statistics, the raw data that can help you shape the story for your next presentation.
I particularly like http://www.fedstats.gov - its a gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies. Wheee-- what a powerful research tool!
And I like to see stats in a variety of ways: rows of numbers. Pie charts. Bar charts. Line charts...I love them all.....
...Except for 3-D charts on an x/y plane....or in a pie chart. These are really starting to bother me.
Frankly, I just don't see the point. The 3d effect doesn't do anything to clarify the numbers for me. It only adds an unnecessary layer of visual complexity to what should be a straightforward story. I think the reason that people use the 3D effect in their XY charts is simply because PowerPoint makes it easy to do so.
But....if it's an x and y chart, I feel the graph should be in two dimensions, too. (Unless you're trying to be frothy-cute, like a USA today style chart. I actually like those...yes, it's a layer of visual complexity, but it actually adds something to the story.)
Am I alone here? I see so many 3d effects in PowerPoint bar chart presentations lately that it's driving me a little mad. It shifts my focus off the story, and makes the information harder to digest.
How do you feel about stats presentations, particularly the 3d effect? ¶ 8/17/2005 08:47:00 AM
How many times have you seen a statistical chart in a PowerPoint presentation? Too many times to chart, probably!
I gotta admit it: sometimes I'm something of a stats junky. Yes, I can get excited by statistics, and I try to convince my clients to get excited about their numbers, too.
Numbers help us tell a good story.
As an audience member, you look at the charts, or look at the numbers...and the speaker builds a story about what the numbers mean. The speaker explains why the numbers are the way they are, and tells a story about how those numbers are going to look in the future.
Numbers help us hypothesize.
So, if you're looking for stats to use in your presentation, look about you. Exciting numbers are all around you -- company financials, sports stats, web log files -- you don't have to look very long to find interesting statistics, the raw data that can help you shape the story for your next presentation.
I particularly like http://www.fedstats.gov - its a gateway to statistics from over 100 U.S. Federal agencies. Wheee-- what a powerful research tool!
And I like to see stats in a variety of ways: rows of numbers. Pie charts. Bar charts. Line charts...I love them all.....
...Except for 3-D charts on an x/y plane....or in a pie chart. These are really starting to bother me.
Frankly, I just don't see the point. The 3d effect doesn't do anything to clarify the numbers for me. It only adds an unnecessary layer of visual complexity to what should be a straightforward story. I think the reason that people use the 3D effect in their XY charts is simply because PowerPoint makes it easy to do so.
But....if it's an x and y chart, I feel the graph should be in two dimensions, too. (Unless you're trying to be frothy-cute, like a USA today style chart. I actually like those...yes, it's a layer of visual complexity, but it actually adds something to the story.)
Am I alone here? I see so many 3d effects in PowerPoint bar chart presentations lately that it's driving me a little mad. It shifts my focus off the story, and makes the information harder to digest.
How do you feel about stats presentations, particularly the 3d effect? ¶ 8/17/2005 08:47:00 AM
