Charts that answer a question

Decide what question the chart answers, pick the one chart type that answers it, label it so it stands alone.

Start with the question

A chart is a sentence in picture form. Before you insert one, write the sentence: “Sales fell in Q3”, “Store C is our smallest”, “Most spend is on labour”. If you cannot write it, you do not need a chart yet; you need a pivot table.

Match the question to the chart

Question Chart Avoid
How did something change over time? Line chart Pie
How do categories compare? Bar or column chart Line, pie with more than 5 slices
What share of the whole is each part? Pie (5 slices or fewer) or stacked bar Pie with 12 slices
Do two numbers move together? Scatter chart Line
How are values spread? Histogram Pie

Bar or column charts answer most business questions. A pie chart is only readable with a few slices and when the parts add up to a meaningful whole.

The four questions and their charts.

Four cards, each with a small example chart: change over time maps to a line chart, compare categories to a bar or column chart, share of the whole to a pie with five slices or fewer, and two numbers linked to a scatter chart
Question first, then chart type. If none of the four questions fits, you probably need a pivot table, not a chart.

Make it stand on its own

The chart will be pasted into a doc or a slide and seen without you there to explain it.

  • Title says the finding: “Q3 sales down 12 percent on Q2”, not “Sales”.
  • Axis labels name the unit: “Sales (USD)”, “Orders per week”.
  • Start the value axis at zero for bar and column charts, or small differences look huge.
  • Few colours, and never meaning carried by colour alone. Label the bars.
  • Sort bars largest to smallest unless the categories have a natural order (months, sizes).
  • Source and date in a note under the chart if it leaves the sheet.

The same three quarters charted twice.

Two column charts of Q1, Q2 and Q3: the left one is titled Sales and its axis starts at 800, so a small dip looks like a collapse and it is marked misleading; the right one is titled Q3 sales down 12 percent on Q2, its axis starts at zero and is labelled Sales in USD thousands, and it is marked clear
An axis that starts at zero and a title that states the finding let the chart stand on its own.

Charts from pivot tables

Build the pivot first (lesson 6), then chart the pivot. The chart then reflects a clean summary, and it updates when the data does. Charting raw rows is how you get a line chart with 400 points nobody can read.

A tour of the chart editor, from inserting a chart to the Setup and Customise tabs.

Video: Google Sheets Charts Tutorial · Loves Data · 10 minWatch for the Customise tab, where the chart title, axis titles and the minimum value of the axis are set.Watch on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Try it now

Take the pivot table from lesson 6 (total by region). Write the sentence it shows. Insert a column chart from it, give it that sentence as its title, label the value axis with the unit and make sure it starts at zero.

Remember: question first, then chart type, then a title that states the answer. If the title is just the name of a column, it is not finished.

Checking your progress…