You’ve built a beautiful, insightful dashboard — now it’s time to present it to your stakeholders. But even the best-designed dashboards can fall flat if not communicated well. Presenting a dashboard is about more than walking through charts — it's about helping your audience understand the story in the data and why it matters.
Here are some practical tips to help you present your dashboard with clarity, confidence, and impact.
1. Start With the “Why”
Before diving into filters or visualizations, take a moment to set the stage:
- What is the purpose of the dashboard?
- What key questions does it answer?
- Who is the audience?
Give a quick intro:
“You (the client) requested for us to build a dashboard that would help you understand how regional sales have changed over the last 12 months, especially in light of recent market shifts.”
Framing the context helps your audience stay focused on the key takeaways and, in case they did not know or need a reminder, tells them the general overview of what you are about to present.
2. Lead With Key Insights, Not Just Charts
Don’t just describe what’s on the screen — tell your audience what it means.
Instead of:
“Here we have a bar chart showing monthly sales by product category…”
Say:
“You can see that while overall sales are up, the biggest increase is coming from the home office category — likely due to remote work trends.”
Lead with the insight, then back it up with the data.
3. Keep It Simple and Focused
It’s tempting to show everything your dashboard can do — but too much information can overwhelm your audience. Focus on:
- 2–3 core insights or takeaways
- Visuals that clearly support your points
- Interactive elements only if they help tell the story
If your dashboard has lots of tabs or filters, pre-select what you'll show. You can always explore more if someone asks.
4. Practice the Flow — Don’t Freestyle It
Walk through the dashboard in a logical order — like reading a story:
- Start with high-level trends (KPIs or overview)
- Then drill down into details or comparisons
- End with recommendations or next steps
Practising this “narrative” in advance helps you feel more confident and avoid awkward jumping between charts.
5. Speak to Non-Technical Audiences
If you're presenting to stakeholders or clients, avoid technical jargon.
Instead of:
“This is a LOD calc with a FIXED function...”
Say:
“This chart shows the average per customer, regardless of the total number of orders.”
Use plain language and keep the focus on what the data means for the business.
6. Leave Room for Questions and Exploration
Build in a few minutes at the end to:
- Take questions
- Explore “what if” scenarios
- Let stakeholders ask to filter or drill into something
- Allowing the stakeholders to do so will make your dashboard more memorable as it will personally draw them into your presentation.
If your dashboard is interactive, this is your time to show its flexibility — but don’t turn it into a free-for-all. Stay in control of the story.
Final Thoughts
A good dashboard presentation isn't about showing how clever your charts are — it’s about helping your audience make smarter decisions with data.
To recap:
- Set the context
- Lead with insights
- Keep it simple
- Tell a story
- Speak their language
- Stay open to questions
- If appropriate, make your presentation more of a conversation rather than a strict lesson / explanation of something
Whether you're presenting to your manager, a client, or a room full of stakeholders, these tips will help your dashboard do more than just inform — it will engage.