Do both

The two methods are not mutually exclusive. One might imagine situations in which you may draw some graphs or charts by hand whilst presenting others electronically. You could even present the essence of a graph by drawing yet also have a smart electronic version with all the detail as an additional slide or printed document.

Keep them engaged

When you draw a graph yourself, as you speak, you have a huge degree of control in terms of keeping people engaged. You are well-placed to create a dramatic effect to illustrate a trend or result such as a dip in profits or sharp increase in production. This is really helpful if you think of a graph or chart not as a set of data but rather as a story. Consider that you have a story to tell and that the graph is there to help you.

Switch their focus

It is very easy to switch attention between yourself and the graph or chart when you are actually drawing it. As you draw the graph and look at it yourself, the group will also focus on it. Then as you turn to the group you can regain eye contact in order to deliver key points with impact.

A great technique is to use two flipcharts when explaining graphs: draw the graph on one flipchart and make further points on the other. The benefit here is having both displayed simultaneously so that you can explain how the information on one visual relates to the other.

Line graph example – fitness graph

The line graph drawn here is ideal for drawing as you explain. It shows that, when someone first begins take a programme of exercise, fitness levels increase very quickly but thereafter we find there is a plateau effect.

A really quick sketch drawn ‘live’ is all you need to explain this idea

This type of line graph may be used for all kinds of other topics such as:

• sales of the product at first launch, which then reaches a plateau;
• initial costs of a project which are high over the short term then tail off;
• learning curve when introducing a new person into a project;
• property values over time;
• seasonal effects of tourism;
• profit over a period of time.

Comparisons on one graph

The great thing about drawing something like this ‘live’ is it really does make it easy to add variations such as dotted lines (or lines of different colours) as in the example below.

It is easy to bring comparisons to life with a freehand sketch

Different coloured lines may be used to show comparisons such as:

• sales trend of one product versus another;
• comparison of marketing costs over time between two products;
• the benefit of taking one action versus another.

These may be added spontaneously as you discuss various ‘what if’ scenarios with your audience. The beauty of drawing such a graph by hand is the flexibility it gives you to illustrate variations in the moment.

Drawing two graphs to show a comparison

Sometimes there is a case for drawing two graphs because it is easier to make a more striking comparison. In this case graphs may be drawn either one above the other or on two separate flipcharts.

This example is about presenting to a team in a training session. The key point is that typically we are more attentive and remember more at the beginning and end of a session. This is because of the principle of ‘first’ and ‘last’, which I mentioned earlier.

Showing a fall in attention and memory over time lends itself to a quick sketch

To illustrate this point, the graph above shows a two-hour period allocated for the training. The horizontal dotted line is high at the beginning of the session, showing that people are likely to remember more near the start. It dips in the middle and is high again at the end. Therefore, in this example, there is one ‘first’ and one ‘last’ and these are shown by circling the beginning and the ending of the session. The total of ‘firsts’ and ‘lasts’ in this training session is, therefore, two.

Now a second graph shows how to improve on the ability of people to be attentive and remember information in the same time span.

In this second graph you will see that two short break times have been added within the two-hour period, thus creating three shorter sessions.

As each of these sessions has its own beginning and end we now have a total of six firsts and lasts, which are illustrated by the circles. Therefore, we have more times when attention and memory is likely to be better. It can also be seen that attention does not dip as much in these shorter sessions. This, therefore, is a very quick and informal way of illustrating such a point.

Histogram example: sales

Simple histograms can be presented in sketches

Histograms have bars going up vertically and require the data in a particular sequence (e.g. months of the year along a horizontal axis). Bar charts, on the other hand, may have the blocks either vertically or horizontally aligned and data do not have to be in a particular sequence.

The very simple histogram above shows sales in the first three months of the year. Sketching this on a flipchart would be easy.

Histogram: with lines added

Drawing graphs informally makes it easy to add lines and written comments

This example shows how you can draw the graph first and then add to it. In this instance the arrow can be added afterwards to show the downward trend. Equally, the stick figure drawing and the words ‘next steps’ could be also added after the initial drawing.

Similarly, one can imagine making notes on or around the graphs as you discuss them with a group.

Colours may be used effectively to draw additional marks to show, for example, the comparison with last year or even to draw projections for the next few months. Therefore, drawing by hand does give you some flexibility because of the opportunity to add to the image whilst discussing it.

Pre-prepared

If you are going to show a graph that is completely pre-prepared and you are not going to add anything to it as you speak, this is better shown electronically. This is because you are not actually making a difference with your drawing skills, unless you have chosen to draw it in a way that could not have been done electronically.

Partly prepared

This, in my view, is where you can make a good case for doing a graph by hand. The fact that it is partly prepared means that you have the opportunity to draw certain key parts of the graph accurately in advance. You can then reserve your ‘live’ drawing input for adding in the content of the graph in dramatic ways.

On-the-fly: ‘live’

As discussed before, drawing the whole thing ‘live’ is a great way to hook attention. I would, however, ensure that the graph really is simple enough to be able to build it up ‘live’ from scratch. As with other examples of ‘live’ drawing, this often is the most engaging way to present a graph.

Both electronic and hand-drawn

It is perfectly possible and useful to sketch a hand-drawn graph either before or after showing an electronic version.

This could be for the purpose of discussion where the ability to spontaneously add further lines and notes is easily done on your hand-drawn version. Extra lines could represent ‘what-if’ scenarios or be useful for looking at trends.

For this purpose the hand-drawn version need not even be exactly to scale or even contain all the detail. In fact, it would almost certainly work better as a simplified version, or at least an approximation of the original. As long as people can see the points you are making, then it will do the job well.

Introduce the graph before you show it

This is especially useful for pre-prepared graphs. People generally take in information best when they get an overview first. They like to get the big picture up front and then be presented with the detail in such a way that they can see how it fits in. Therefore, introducing a graph before you show it can be really beneficial.

There are a number of ways to do this, which also create motivation to listen, curiosity and anticipation and can make the experience two-way. Consider the following introductions to a graph:

‘I am going to show you a graph of the production costs for each quarter of this year. Take a look at quarter three. I wonder if you are as surprised as I was.’

In this example, not only am I introducing the graph but I am giving the group something to look for when they see it. This ensures that, as the graph is shown, they pay attention to the area that I want them to. I have also created some intrigue and curiosity by making the experience active.

Here is another example:

‘I am going to show you a graph of last year’s profits for each of the three companies we are looking at buying. I wonder if you can guess which is which?’

Again, I have given an overview but this time I have posed the question, which means that once the group looks at the graph they are actively seeking to answer it.

The approach I describe above means that rather than it being a passive experience, it becomes a two-way activity. In this way the audience are involved and are mentally engaged in the material.

Make it a story

Your role is to bring the data to life and one great way to do that is to tell it like a story. People find it much easier to listen when you explain things in this way.

When drawing on-the-fly keep them guessing what’s coming next

Use all the principles that we discussed earlier in this book to really keep people fully engaged. So whether you are drawing totally ‘live’ or completing a partly prepared drawing, seek every opportunity to keep people really wondering what is coming next.

I previously mentioned asking questions when drawing ‘live’ and this technique applies just as much to graphs. The great thing about drawing a graph ‘live’ is that you have a lot of flexibility and control with the way you interact with the audience as you are building it up. Your ability in the moment to stop or start drawing can make all the difference in creating intrigue and impact.

Where the effect is not enhanced by drawing on-the-fly

Remember that the purpose of sketching a graph by hand is to achieve benefits for the audience in terms of the impact of the presentation. In a quick stroke of the pen you can make lines go up and down exactly in synchronisation with your voice. This kind of method can really enhance the dramatic effect of certain graphs.

However, there will be other graphs where the volume and/or nature of the data shown simply does not lend itself to a hand drawing. The fact is that you do want to end up with a graph that is easy to view when you complete it.

If you have a graph that just takes too long to draw this might also be a reason for adopting a different method. On the one hand people can be very engaged when you draw. However, they will not sit happily for ages whilst you attempt to sketch details of a rather complex graph.