Learning Generative AI Tools for Excel

Chapter 10. Data Visualization and Reporting with Copilot

Data visualization and reporting mark the final stage in the data analysis workflow. You start by cleaning your data, then analyzing it, and finally, you reach the visualization phase. Too often, though, by the time you get here, your energy or your schedule has run out. The result can be rushed, cluttered charts that don’t do justice to all the hard work that came before.

You’ve invested hours scrubbing and exploring your data, yet the visuals at the end can look confusing or unfinished. I get it. Personally, visualization and reporting are my favorite parts of the entire data pipeline. This is where clarity comes into play. This is where you make everything you’ve done understandable to others and you invite them in. And that clarity can spark something powerful: wonder.

I remember the first time my kids rode a city bus. For me, it was routine because I’ve done it thousands of times. But for them, it was pure discovery. They stared out the window, wide-eyed, as if the whole world had gathered just outside that glass. That sense of wonder is exactly what you want to inspire in your audience.

You already know your data inside out because it’s familiar, maybe even ordinary, to you. But for your audience, it’s brand new. They’re like my kids on that bus, seeing it all for the first time. Your job is to capture their attention, to make them curious, and to light that spark that makes them want to know more.

In this chapter, ...