Mastering the Art of Message Communication through Effective Visuals

Back to sharing about my experiences with government communication. Just like any other way we communicate with people, the main aim is to make sure our message gets across to the right audiences. And guess what? We use technology to help us out, especially when putting together presentations called pitch decks.

Now, in these presentations, we often show pictures or graphs to help explain our points. With so much info available online, we gather data to create these visuals. But here's the thing: sometimes, the graphs we make are not so great. These "bad graphs" can mess up our message, even if we worked really hard on it. So, it's important to consider how we present our information.

Practicing to Choose an Effective Visual

This article is here to guide you in selecting impactful visuals for presenting your data! I frequently turn to this book as it offers clear explanations and examples for effectively conveying information. As highlighted in my previous article, understanding your message and identifying your target audience remains crucial.

Let's practice using an infographic I discovered online (see below) for a pitch deck presentation:

Utilizing Simple Text

When representing data, simplicity can be effective. Instead of relying on graphs, we can opt for straightforward text, especially when dealing with only two data points. For instance, if we aim to showcase the level of financial inclusion in the banking sector for 2019 and 2022.

Arranging Categories on the Vertical Bar Chart

Vertical bar charts are widely used and should be easy to interpret, allowing us to quickly identify the highest points and observe differences.

The x-axis represents different financial service sectors, while the graph displays two data series for 2019 and 2022. When presenting the order of these sectors, if our goal is to highlight the rankings, we can arrange them from left to right in descending order based on their 2022 levels. This means placing the sector with the highest level on the far left, followed by others in decreasing order: perbankan – lembaga pembiayaan – pergadaian – perasuransian – dana pensiun – pasar modal?- lembaga keuangan mikro – fintech

Avoiding Stacked Vertical Bar Charts

Stacked vertical bar charts, displaying color gradations on each bar to compare subcomponents within a category, should be avoided. The absence of additional explanations for these subcomponents can lead to visual overwhelm. Additionally, I'm not a big fan of 3D graphs, as they can complicate rather than clarify the data presentation.

What is the conclusion?

So, these are some key aspects to consider when delving into data visualization. The guiding principle remains constant: your data visualization should effortlessly communicate your message to the audience. Picture how they absorb the information presented in your pitch deck—whether it's a top-to-bottom or left-to-right reading approach, or the prominence of visuals in size and color variation. It's essential to recognize that different visuals may aim to convey distinct messages and cater to diverse target audiences. The focal point should always be optimizing how your message resonates with and is understood by your audience. Would you like to delve deeper into this topic? Please leave a comment below.