How to Choose the Right Chart Type for Your Presentation

A fantastic way to persuade your audience to think about and examine the relationships between different data sets is to use charts in a presentation. To help you understand how data may be illustrated meaningfully, here's a primer on the different sorts of charts that can be utilized for efficient data analysis.

Graph including bars
When presenting data comparisons between two or more value sets, this is the best graph to use. There are two axes in a bar chart: a horizontal axis for numerical values and a vertical axis for category categories. Because the bars can be displayed vertically, bar charts are also known as column charts. Some of the recommended practices for using a bar chart are as follows:

• Color coordinate the variables to make it easier to discern the data.
• Make the bar chart's edges wavy or 3D, but don't interfere with the design because it will make the data more difficult to grasp.
• Annotate the values at the end or in the middle of the bars to make it easier for readers to compare and understand them.

When should a bar chart be used?

• Examining the monthly income of a product
• The team's performance was evaluated over the course of a quarter.
• Project management reports
• Social media engagement analytics

Graph including lines

This is an excellent tool for analyzing data trends and many types of data across time. The X-axis represents the variable range, which is usually time or length, whereas the Y-axis represents the continuous data range. Because line graphs are straightforward in design, here are some suggestions for making yours more engaging:

• Use contrasting colors for a lot of lines.
• Individually significant points should be highlighted, identified, or annotated.
• In your plot, don't utilize too many lines (more than four can make it difficult to visually analyze)

When should a line chart be used?

If you want to show continuous data, a line chart is a great option. This graph is considerably more useful when attempting to determine how data has behaved over a specific time period. In reports, line charts can be used to:

• Revenue forecasts based on data from previous years
• Examine how much money various items create.

Scatter Graph
The scatter plot is an effective tool for visualizing and determining the relationship between two sets of data. The dots on the graph reflect the intersection of the data on the X and Y axes. This type of graph can be used to show data distribution patterns and identify outliers. Here are some pointers on how to incorporate a scatter chart into your design:

• Axes should be clearly marked.
• To separate your information, color code it or utilize different sizes.
• Start the y-axis at 0 for accurate data representation.
• Use trend lines to make the association more understandable.

When should you use a scatter chart?

The dots on a scatter plot show not only the values of individual data points, but also patterns or trends when the data is seen as a whole. Scatter charts are useful for a number of things, including:

• The budget analysis of a business project
• Keeping track of website visitors and determining how much time they spend there
• The distribution of consumers in a given area

Pie Graph

The best type of chart to illustrate the general makeup of data is a pie chart. These are typically used to demonstrate how the smaller pieces of a data set are split down into percentages. Here are some examples of ways to represent a set of categories graphically:

• The percentages should be indicated or marked on the slices.
• Don't cram too many categories into the chart.

When should a pie chart be used?

This type of chart is used to compare the differences in the size of the data slices. It can be used for a variety of purposes, including:

• Describe the demographics of the people you want to reach.
• Recognize regional sales breakdowns.
• Users can be sorted by their age and location.

Area Graph

This works well when representing stacked, cumulative data series, and it's a terrific way to express broad trends. This allows your audience to compare the area (or weightage) of each series to the others. Here are some design recommendations for your area chart:

• Use transparent or lighter shade colors for the categories.
• Keep the categories to a maximum of four to avoid clutter.
• Place the high-variable data near the top of the chart to make it simpler to read.
• To begin, set the Y-axis value to 0.

When should you use an area chart?

When you wish to evaluate the trend of a single variable or communicate an overall trend, use area charts to display part-to-whole relationships:

• Website traffic comes from a variety of places.
• Total revenue generated by various products
• Individual sales reps' contribution to overall sales

Using the same chart type for all of your data sets may muddy your data and make your presentation less appealing. Choosing the right chart type to demonstrate the relationship and patterns between your data sets is critical. Keep in mind that the purpose is to provide a clear visual representation of data to your audience, not to make charts look fancy or complicated.