Visualize Your Data for Maximum Communication Value

Contributed by: Curtis Newbold, PhD

Difficulty level: Intermediate

If you’ve ever tried to persuade others to take your research and findings seriously, you’re likely aware of the power—and challenges—of visualizing your data. Research shows that people will pay attention to, understand, be persuaded by, and remember your data better when it has been put into some kind of visual format. Decision-makers are more likely to read reports; audiences are more likely to engage in presentations; and customers are more likely to appreciate services if the data you’re communicating has been visualized. This is because we human beings are, at our core, visual learners.

That said, visually representing data can be fraught with communication minefields (there are a lot of bad graphs out there!) that can distort information and confuse audiences. But don’t let that get in your way of embracing the challenge and effectively showcasing important data to the people that matter. Learning a few techniques can help supercharge your chart or graph’s communication value—meaning you can make it clearer, more accurate, more persuasive and, ultimately, more impactful.

To help you sift through vast array of communication elements you have to choose from, I’ve been able to whittle down the complexity of the process for this Shortcut into a six-step acronym, or what I like to call the ASCEND Method for Data Visualization:

• Analyze

• State

• Choose