Chapter Eight. Making the Numbers Sing

The Power of Numeric Graphics

Numbers play a key role in any business presentation. Revenues, units shipped, profits, and market share are the hits, runs, and errors of the business scorecard, and everyone in business understands their importance.

However, not everyone in business feels equally at home when it comes to numbers. There are the green-eyeshade types who immediately recognize key trends and who can quickly pick out the most important item in a column of figures. Then there are the rest of us, who need a little time and a lot of context to fully grasp the meaning of a profit-and-loss statement or balance sheet.

In any presentation, you want both the number-fluent and the number-challenged ...

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