This past week I had the opportunity to attend Edward Tufte's one-day course in San Diego, CA. The course was on presenting data and information, and it turned out to be really interesting stuff. I took some notes, which certainly do not do it justice, but I thought I'd post them here anyway.
Some tips on presenting information in charts:
- Annotate lines in charts (bring character to the linking lines) - give them meaning, otherwise they are all the same and don't really mean anything.
- The nouns should also be annotated - the detail is what gives the credibility and character.
- "Clutter and confusion are not attributes of detail - they are failures in design." Replace the "chart-chunk" with information.
- Keep in mind that the audience has to understand your story and decide whether they believe you or not - it depends on the quality of your presentation and sources.
- "You should have an open mind about alternatives, but not an empty head" - Your information is accurate at least until better evidence or alternative explanations come along.
Using a "Super Graphic:"
- High resolution displays are genuinely interactive - Use a high resolution display, like an aerial photograph, to open your presentation.
- PowerPoint presenters usually control and manipulate the cognitive actions of the audience - they have a monopoly over the display of information. You should give handouts and let people use their own cognitive style.
The principles of analytical design:
- Show comparisons
- Show causality, explanation
- Show multivariate data
- Integration of information - "Never segregate information by its mode of production."
- Documentation - give links/credibility. Show people where the information came from. ("This is what 6pt font is for - it should be small but it should be there.")
At the end of the course, Tufte gave a few simple tips for giving a presentation:
- You can make the big gains in improving your presentation by getting better content. Improve relevance and integrity of content.
- Rehearsal improves performance. Rehearse to a friend or watch a video of your performance.
- Show up early to your own presentation.
- In your introduction, never apologize.
- Finish early. People will be delighted.
Tufte stresses that humans can process much more information than is usually presented to them. All of his methods for presenting data strive to increase the "information throughput." Tufte also said, "No matter how beautiful your interface is, it would be better if there were less of it." We should be trying to maximize the time that the audience spends reasoning with content, and minimizing the time they spend figuring out the design.
I'm really looking forward to reading Tufte's four books now that I've seen him speak. He was engaging and had a lot of great points, and I would recommend going to see him if he comes to a place near you.
P.S. Matt's notes are also online, in all their handwritten glory.
