MIT Sloan Management Review Article on Choose Charts Everyone Understands

It’s important to choose the right type of chart for the right job. This might sound simple, but it’s not. Tools that help visualize complex data have become incredibly sophisticated, and many of them create beautiful and dazzling charts. Huge databases with rich visual intelligence can display data that whooshes across screens, unveiling clickable layers of detail beneath it. It can be mesmerizing to see insights materialize in front of your eyes.

But fantastic visualizations that are interactive, animated, and complex might not be right for your needs.

I’ve found that there are two broad types of charts that serve two different purposes. One type allows viewers to explore data, and the other type communicates insights quickly and clearly. Both are effective, but only when they’re used with the right audiences for the right reasons.

Insights come from rolling around in a data tool of complex, dynamic charts. But after you’ve explored and it’s time to communicate, you want to choose charts that are fast and simple to understand. Using the right tool is key for communicating your main points and persuading people.

About the Author

Nancy Duarte (@nancyduarte) is CEO of Duarte Inc., a communications firm in Silicon Valley and New York. This article is adapted from her new book, DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story (Ideapress Publishing, 2019).

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