Text is Sometimes Best

Graphic displays are the go-to method for presenting data. And sure, charts and graphs are a great way to explore and communicate data stories, but sometimes text is simply more powerful. And this is especially true when the goal is for your audience to remember a single number.

I remember attending a talk a couple of years ago where we (the audience) were bombarded with a ton of numbers. I mean, 11% of the population are this, half of the respondents said that and so and so on. Rather than focus on the importance of the numbers, I got lost in the tables and graphs accompanying each statistic.

Let me show you what I mean.

Imagine you are attending a talk, and the speaker says, Eleven percent of the world's population are vulnerable to climate change impacts. And the slide behind them shows a column chart with 11% filled in a forest green color:

11% of the world's population is vulnerable to climate change

The column chart does not exactly emphasize this important point, nor can it. The 11% is overshadowed by the percentage of people worldwide who are not vulnerable to climate change.

And sure, 11% does not seem like much, but in 2019, 11% of the world's population was over 800 million people.

Now, that's a lot of people!

This is one of those instances where I would recommend visualizing the key statistic as text. Yes, seriously, just text. The best part, you can apply visual design elements like color, size, and contrast to make it clear to your audience that this statistic is the story.

I redesigned the slide so that the background is a dark, serious color (climate change is no laughing matter) and converted the percentage to the number of people worldwide who are vulnerable to climate change (800 million). Now, the key takeaway is front and center in BIG BOLD LETTERS.

So, you see, when you want your audience to remember a single statistic, sometimes, text is best.