Why Plain Figures?

Presenting figures clearly is a key communication skill in the 21st century.

Keep in mind:

Reader-friendly tables and graphs and figures shorten meetings, save time and make a good impression. In the same way that everyone appreciates well-written, concise emails and reports, people also appreciate unambiguous tables and graphs.
Numbers are persuasive. They provide sound evidence for many decisions in life from government investment in schools and health care to your weekly shopping.
Poor presentation leads to poor decision making. We will never know the amount of time and money lost through misunderstanding or misinterpreting badly presented figures.
Most tables and graphs require only basic arithmetic to be understood. It is poor presentation rather than difficult content that makes numbers baffling.

Common problems

Problems with communicating numeric and financial information are common and are true for numerate professionals like accountants and statisticians as well as the rest of us. People come unstuck with:

what to include? People frequently 'play it safe' and include everything. This can overwhelm the reader and prevent them understanding the data.
which display to use? Table or chart? Text or table? Which chart?
how to use technology effectively? Computer software generates graphs like magic, but the results are often incomprehensible chart junk.
how to explain tables and graphs to an audience? Explanations are often muddled, incomprehensible and boring. There are simple steps to help you through this.

Our friendly one-day courses cover all these points. Over 90% of participants report they feel more confident presenting figures after having attended a PLAIN FIGURES course.