Top 5 Easy-to-Follow Data Presentation Examples

You’ll agree when we say that poring through numbers is tedious at best and mentally exhausting at worst.

And this is where data presentation examples come in.

Charts come in and distill data into meaningful insights. And this saves tons of hours, which you can use to relax or execute other tasks. Besides, when creating data stories, you need charts that communicate insights with clarity.

There’re 5 solid and reliable data presentation methods: textual, statistical data presentation, measures of dispersion, tabular, and graphical data representation.

Besides, some of the tested and proven charts for data presentation include:

Double Bar Graph
Slope Chart
Treemap Charts
Radar Chart
Sankey Chart

There’re visualization tools that produce simple, insightful, and ready-made data presentation charts. Yes, you read that right. These tools create charts that complement data stories seamlessly.

Remember, without visualizing data to extract insights, chances of creating a compelling narrative will go down.

Table of Content:

What is Data Presentation?
Top 5 Data Presentation Examples:
How to Generate Sankey Chart in Excel for Data Presentation?
Importance of Data Presentation in Business
Benefits of Data Presentation
What are the Top 5 methods of Data Presentation?
Wrap Up

What is Data Presentation?

Data presentation is the process of using charts and graphs formats to display insights into data. The insights could be:

Relationship
Comparison
Trend and patterns
Outliers

Data Analysis and Data Presentation have a practical implementation in every possible field. It can range from academic studies, commercial, industrial, and marketing activities to professional practices.

In its raw form, data can be extremely complicated to decipher. Data presentation examples are an important step toward breaking down data into understandable charts or graphs.

You can use tools (which we’ll talk about later) to analyze raw data.

Once the required information is obtained from the data, the next logical step is to present the data in a graphical presentation.

The presentation is the key to success.

Once you’ve extracted actionable insights, you can craft a compelling data story. Keep reading because we’ll address the following in the coming section: the importance of data presentation in business.

Top 5 Data Presentation Examples:

Let’s take a look at the five data presentation examples below:

1. Double Bar Graph

data presentation examples using double bar graph

A Double Bar Chart displays more than one data series in clustered horizontal columns.

Each data series shares the same axis labels, so horizontal bars are grouped by category.

Bars directly compare multiple series in a given category. The chart is amazingly easy to read and interpret, even for a non-technical audience.

2. Slope Chart

Slope Charts are simple graphs that quickly and directly show transitions, changes over time, absolute values, and even rankings.

data presentation examples using slope chart

Besides, they’re also called Slope Graphs.

This is one of the data presentation examples you can use to show the before and after story of variables in your data.

Slope Graphs can be useful when you have two time periods or points of comparison and want to show relative increases and decreases quickly across various categories between two data points.

3. TreeMap

Take a look at the table below. Can you provide coherent and actionable insights into the table below?

Store	Items	Category	No. of Orders
Macy’s-Store	Garments	Sweater	65
Macy’s-Store	Garments	Dress	30
Macy’s-Store	Garments	Hoodies	40
Macy’s-Store	Home Appliances	Refrigerator	60
Macy’s-Store	Home Appliances	Freezer	65
Macy’s-Store	Home Appliances	Oven	70
Macy’s-Store	Grocery	Fruits	70
Macy’s-Store	Grocery	Vegetables	50
Macy’s-Store	Grocery	Frozen Foods	95
Saks-Store	Garments	Sweater	75
Saks-Store	Garments	Dress	55
Saks-Store	Garments	Hoodies	85
Saks-Store	Home Appliances	Refrigerator	65
Saks-Store	Home Appliances	Freezer	40
Saks-Store	Home Appliances	Oven	55
Saks-Store	Grocery	Fruits	45
Saks-Store	Grocery	Vegetables	85
Saks-Store	Grocery	Frozen Foods	75
Belk-Store	Garments	Sweater	95
Belk-Store	Garments	Dress	85
Belk-Store	Garments	Hoodies	65
Belk-Store	Home Appliances	Refrigerator	70
Belk-Store	Home Appliances	Freezer	55
Belk-Store	Home Appliances	Oven	95
Belk-Store	Grocery	Fruits	70
Belk-Store	Grocery	Vegetables	45
Belk-Store	Grocery	Frozen Foods	50

Notice the difference after visualizing the table. You can easily tell the performance of individual segments in:

Belk Store
Saks Store
Macy’s Store

data presentation examples using treemap chart

4. Radar Chart

Radar Chart is also known as Spider Chart or Spider Web Chart. A radar chart is very helpful to visualize the comparison between multiple categories and variables.

data presentation examples using sankey chart

A radar Chart is one of the data presentation examples you can use to compare data of two different time ranges e.g. Current vs Previous. Radar Chart with different scales makes it easy for you to identify trends, patterns, and outliers in your data. You can also use Radar Chart to visualize the data of Polar graph equations.

5. Sankey Chart

You can use Sankey Chart to visualize data with flow-like attributes, such as material, energy, cost, etc.

This chart draws the reader’s attention to the enormous flows, the largest consumer, the major losses, and other insights.

The aforementioned visualization design is one of the data presentation examples that use links and nodes to uncover hidden insights into relationships between critical metrics.

The size of a node is directly proportionate to the quantity of the data point under review.

So how can you access the data presentation examples (highlighted above)?

Excel is one of the most used tools for visualizing data because it’s easy to use.

However, you cannot access ready-made and visually appealing data presentation charts for storytelling. But this does not mean you should ditch this freemium data visualization tool.

Did you know you can supercharge your Excel with add-ins to access visually stunning and ready-to-go data presentation charts?

Yes, you can increase the functionality of your Excel and access ready-made data presentation examples for your data stories.

The add-on we recommend you to use is ChartExpo.

What is ChartExpo?

We recommend this tool (ChartExpo) because it’s super easy to use.

You don’t need to take programming night classes to extract insights from your data. ChartExpo is more of a ‘drag-and-drop tool,’ which means you’ll only need to scroll your mouse and fill in respective metrics and dimensions in your data.

ChartExpo comes with a 7-day free trial period.

The tool produces charts that are incredibly easy to read and interpret. And it allows you to save charts in the world’s most recognized formats, namely PNG and JPG.

In the coming section, we’ll show you how to use ChartExpo to visualize your data with one of the data presentation examples (Sankey).

How to Generate Sankey Chart in Excel for Data Presentation?

Store	Items	Category	No. of Orders
Macy’s-Store	Garments	Sweater	65
Macy’s-Store	Garments	Dress	30
Macy’s-Store	Garments	Hoodies	40
Macy’s-Store	Home Appliances	Refrigerator	60
Macy’s-Store	Home Appliances	Freezer	65
Macy’s-Store	Home Appliances	Oven	70
Macy’s-Store	Grocery	Fruits	70
Macy’s-Store	Grocery	Vegetables	50
Macy’s-Store	Grocery	Frozen Foods	95
Saks-Store	Garments	Sweater	75
Saks-Store	Garments	Dress	55
Saks-Store	Garments	Hoodies	85
Saks-Store	Home Appliances	Refrigerator	65
Saks-Store	Home Appliances	Freezer	40
Saks-Store	Home Appliances	Oven	55
Saks-Store	Grocery	Fruits	45
Saks-Store	Grocery	Vegetables	85
Saks-Store	Grocery	Frozen Foods	75
Belk-Store	Garments	Sweater	95
Belk-Store	Garments	Dress	85
Belk-Store	Garments	Hoodies	65
Belk-Store	Home Appliances	Refrigerator	70
Belk-Store	Home Appliances	Freezer	55
Belk-Store	Home Appliances	Oven	95
Belk-Store	Grocery	Fruits	70
Belk-Store	Grocery	Vegetables	45
Belk-Store	Grocery	Frozen Foods	50

To install ChartExpo add-in into your Excel, click this link.

Open your Excel and paste the table above.
Click the My Apps button.

Then select ChartExpo and click on INSERT, as shown below.

Click the Search Box and type “Sankey Chart”.

Once the chart pops up, click on its icon to get started.

Select the sheet holding your data and click the Create Chart from Selection button.

How to Edit the Sankey Chart?

Click the Edit Chart button, as shown above.

Once the Chart Header Properties window shows, click the Line 1 box and fill in your title.

To change the color of the nodes, click the pen-like icons on the nodes.
Once the color window shows, select the Node Color and then the Apply button.

Save your changes by clicking the Apply button.
Check out the final chart below.

data presentation examples using sankey graph

Importance of Data Presentation in Business

Data presentation examples are vital, especially when crafting data stories for the top management. Top management can use data presentation charts, such as Sankey, as a backdrop for their decision.

Presentation charts, maps, and graphs are powerful because they simplify data by making it understandable & readable at the same time. Besides, they make data stories compelling and irresistible to target audiences.

Big files with numbers are usually hard to read and make it difficult to spot patterns easily. However, many businesses believe that developing visual reports focused on creating stories around data is unnecessary; they think that the data alone should be sufficient for decision-making.

Visualizing supports this and lightens the decision-making process.

Luckily, there are innovative applications you can use to visualize all the data your company has into dashboards, graphs, and reports. Data visualization helps transform your numbers into an engaging story with details and patterns.

Benefits of Data Presentation

Check out more benefits of data presentation examples below:

1. Easy to understand

You can interpret vast quantities of data clearly and cohesively to draw insights, thanks to graphic representations.

Using data presentation examples, such as charts, managers and decision-makers can easily create and rapidly consume key metrics.

If any of the aforementioned metrics have anomalies — ie. sales are significantly down in one region — decision-makers will easily dig into the data to diagnose the problem.

2. Spot patterns

Data visualization can help you to do trend analysis and respond rapidly on the grounds of what you see.

Such patterns make more sense when graphically represented; because charts make it easier to identify correlated parameters.

3. Data Narratives

You can use data presentation charts, such as Sankey, to build dashboards and turn them into stories.

Why?

Data storytelling can help you connect with potential readers and audiences on an emotional level.

4. Speed up the decision-making process

We naturally process visual images 60,000 times faster than text. A graph, chart, or other visual representation of data is more comfortable for our brain to process.

Thanks to our ability to easily interpret visual content, data presentation examples can dramatically improve the speed of decision-making processes.

Take a look at the table below?

Product	Previous	Current
Pouches	70	100
Holsters	50	85
Shells	80	60
Skins	100	120
Fitted cases	70	60
Bumpers	65	80
Flip cases	90	100
Sleeves	50	45

Can you give reliable insights into the table above?

Keep reading because we’ll explore easy-to-follow data presentation examples in the coming section. Also, we’ll address the following question: what are the top 5 methods of data presentation?

What are the Top 5 methods of Data Presentation?

1. Textual Ways of Presenting Data

Out of the five data presentation examples, this is the simplest one.

Just write your findings coherently and your job is done. The demerit of this method is that one has to read the whole text to get a clear picture. Yes, you read that right.

The introduction, summary, and conclusion can help condense the information.

2. Statistical data presentation

Data on its own is less valuable. However, for it to be valuable to your business, it has to be:

Summarized
Processed
Analyzed

No matter how well manipulated, the insights into raw data should be presented in an easy-to-follow sequence to keep the audience waiting for more.

Text is the principal method for explaining findings, outlining trends, and providing contextual information. A table is best suited for representing individual information and represents both quantitative and qualitative information.

On the other hand, a graph is a very effective visual tool because:

It displays data at a glance
Facilitates comparison
Reveals trends, relationships, frequency distribution, and correlation

Text, tables, and graphs are incredibly effective data presentation examples you can leverage to curate persuasive data narratives.

3. Measure of Dispersion

Statistical dispersion is how a key metric is likely to deviate from the average value. In other words, dispersion can help you to understand the distribution of key data points.

There are two types of measures of dispersion, namely:

1. Absolute Measure of Dispersion
2. Relative Measure of Dispersion

4. Tabular Ways of Data Presentation and Analysis

To avoid the complexities associated with qualitative data, use tables and charts to display insights.

This is one of the data presentation examples where values are displayed in rows and columns. All rows and columns have an attribute (name, year, gender, and age).

5. Graphical Data Representation

Graphical representation uses charts and graphs to visually display, analyze, clarify, and interpret numerical data, functions, and other qualitative structures.

Data is ingested into charts and graphs, such as Sankey, and then represented by a variety of symbols, such as lines and bars.

Data presentation examples, such as Bar Charts, can help you illustrate trends, relationships, comparisons, and outliers between data points.

FAQs:

What is the main objective of data presentation?

Discovery and communication are the two key objectives of data presentation.

In the discovery phase, we recommend you try various charts and graphs to understand the insights into the raw data. The communication phase is focused on presenting the insights in a summarized form.

What is the importance of graphs and charts in business?

Big files with numbers are usually hard to read and make it difficult to spot patterns easily.

Presentation charts, maps, and graphs are vital because they simplify data by making it understandable & readable at the same time. Besides, they make data stories compelling and irresistible to target audiences.

Wrap Up

Poring through numbers is tedious at best and mentally exhausting at worst.

This is where data presentation examples come into play.

Charts come in and distill data into meaningful insights. And this saves tons of hours, which you can use to handle other tasks. Besides, when creating data stories, it would be best if you had charts that communicate insights with clarity.