Top 5 mistakes of Excel Charts

As you know, an Excel chart can make complex relationships much clearer than words and numbers can. But more often than not, most of us stumble to achieve this. How many times have we come across charts that confuses more than it explains? Knowing how to present your numbers in a clear even attractive fashion will definately give you a leg up in your work.

So what are the common mistakes that we commit?
1. You don’t know your Excel chart options.
This is how an Excel chart looks like.

Too often, we settle for the default chart settings that Excel gives us. The colors are usually dull, the numbers are not labeled, there are no titles. There are a huge number of options that we can change to make our charts look better. Simply select any part of an Excel chart, right click and format a chart component. Go and explore them, it won’t hurt you.

2. You used the wrong Excel charts.
There are more than 13 major chart types in Excel. Certain data are better presented with specific chart types. Make sure you use the right ones.

3. You loaded too much information in an Excel chart.
A chart with too many data series is no better than a table full of numbers. Relationships and meaning of the data are lost in the confusion.

4. You didn’t explain your Excel charts.
A strong chart should articulate the conclusions you want to convey. You can insert graphic shapes into a chart to do so.

5. You shouldn’t have used Excel charts.
This works if you only have one key message or the big message is just a number, why bother putting in a chart? You definitely can create a bigger impact by not using charts at all!

To learn more about how to create beautiful charts in Excel, check out this workshop: Beautiful Excel Charts

Related posts:

1. Do it in Excel: Ring charts are better Pie charts Pie charts are a circular chart divided into sectors, illustrating proportion. I remembered learning them when I was in primary school. Apparently it was invented...
2. Magazine quality charts in Excel 2003 I’d like to show you how we run our Excel Charting courses in Aeternus. I promise that after attending our Excel Charting course, your Excel...
3. Making Beautiful Excel Charts is Simple Have you ever told yourself that creating great looking Excel charts is hard? Well it’s not. You only need to understand the only reason we...