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Chapter 10: Make the Important Information Obvious

Chapter 10: Make the Important Information Obvious

Choosing the correct visual is only the first step. The audience still needs to know where I should look. Judges should not have to hunt for the insight.

  • If a number matters, make it visible.
  • If a trend matters, make it obvious.
  • If one category matters more than the others, distinguish it.
  • If one point supports your recommendation, call attention to it.

But remember,Remember, if everything is important, nothing is important.

Attention Is Designed

Every slide creates a visual path. The audience's eyes will move somewhere first.

  • Then somewhere second.
  • Then somewhere third.

Your job is to decide where. A strong slide creates a hierarchy: Slide Message → Most Important Evidence → Supporting Evidence → Detail. The design should reinforce the argument's logic.

The Visual Hierarchy

Level 1: The Message

  • What should the audience understand?
  • Usually, this is communicated through the slide title.
  • For example: High-Value Customers Account for 72% of Lost Profit
  • The judge already knows what matters.

Level 2: The Most Important Evidence

  • What proves the message?
  • Perhaps the slide contains a chart showing profit loss by customer segment.
  • The relevant segment should be easy to identify.

Level 3: Supporting Evidence

  • What additional information strengthens the conclusion?
  • Perhaps:
    • churn increased 14%;
    • lifetime value is three times higher;
    • acquisition costs increased 18%.
  • These numbers support the argument but should not compete with the primary evidence.

Level 4: Detail

  • Some information may be necessary for credibility but does notdoesn't deserve attention first.
  • For example:
    • source;
    • assumptions;
    • definitions;
    • methodology.
  • Include it when needed.
    • needed,
  • Butbut visually treat it as supporting information.

Use Contrast Deliberately

Contrast tells the audience, "Look here." You can create contrast through:

  • size;

  • position;

  • weight;

  • whitespace;

  • shape;

  • selective colour.

For example, if one bar matters in a chart, that bar may deserve greater visual emphasis while the remaining bars recede. The objective is not to make the chart prettier. It is to direct attention toward the insight.

Size Communicates Importance

A common mistake is making everything approximately the same size. If:

  • the headline;

  • chart;

  • supporting text;

  • source;

  • footnotes

all compete visually, the audience has no hierarchy. Important information should generally receive greater visual weight. Ask what the judges need to see first? Then does the slide actually make them see it first?

Use Whitespace

Whitespace is not wasted space. It creates separation. It helps the audience understand:

  • what belongs together;

  • what is separate;

  • what is important.

Teams sometimes feel pressure to fill every empty area because slide space is limited. That often makes the slide harder to understand. A slide does not need to be full to be complete.

Highlight Selectively

Suppose your slide contains ten numbers. You highlight eight. What should the judge look at? Probably all eight. Which means none has priority. Instead, determine which number matters most. For example: +$4.2M NPV. That may be the only number requiring significant emphasis. The remaining numbers provide supporting evidence.

Label the Insight

Do not assume the audience will interpret a chart exactly as you did. A useful annotation might say churn doubled following the service redesign. An arrow or callout can direct attention to the relevant point. Again, do not annotate everything. Guide the audience toward the conclusion that matters.

Remove Visual Noise

Look for elements that consume attention without improving understanding:

  • unnecessary borders;

  • redundant labels;

  • excessive decimals;

  • decorative icons;

  • unnecessary legends;

  • heavy gridlines;

  • repeated headings;

  • redundant text;

  • excessive data points.

Ask if we remove this, do we lose meaning? If not, remove it. This is the visual version of the focus principle from Chapter 2.

Make Numbers Judge-Friendly

  • Compare $10,238,491.76 with $ 10.2M. If the exact number does not matter, the second is much easier to process.
  • Likewise: 37.284% may become: 37%. Precision is valuable when the decision requires it. Otherwise, unnecessary precision creates visual clutter and can imply a level of certainty your assumptions do not justify.

Titles Should Do Analytical Work

Compare: Revenue by Segment with Premium Customers, Which Generate 62% of Revenue. The first tells the audience what the chart contains. The second tells them what the chart means. Your title is some of the most valuable space on the slide. Use it.

The Squint Test

Step back from the screen or reduce the slide significantly. Ask what still stands out? Ideally, you can still identify:

  • the headline;

  • the dominant visual;

  • the most important number or insight.

If ten things compete for attention, the hierarchy may be weak.

The 3-Second Test

Show someone the slide for three seconds. Then remove it. Ask what you saw. If the intended message was: "Our recommendation generates positive NPV under all three scenarios," and they say, "There were three coloured bars and lots of numbers," the slide needs work. If they say, "The investment still makes money in the downside case," the slide communicates that. This Test matters because judges are rarely studying your slides in isolation. They are also:

  • listening;

  • thinking;

  • taking notes;

  • evaluating;

  • preparing questions.

Your slide must communicate quickly.

The Visual Priority Test

For every slide, identify:

  • First: What should the judge see first?
  • Second: What should they see next?
  • Third: What supporting detail should they notice after that?

Then look at the slide. Does the design create that sequence? If not, change the visual hierarchy.

Discover Your MAD Skills Principle

Do not make the audience search for your insight.

You already did the analysis. Your job now is to make the conclusion easy to see.

The Bottom Line

Good visual communication directs attention. The audience should naturally move through: Message → Key Evidence → Supporting Evidence → Detail. Make the important information obvious. Remove what competes with it. And remember, if everything is important, nothing is important.

MAD Skills Drill

Before moving forward, conduct a Visual Communication Audit. Choose five important slides and ask:

  • What do we want the audience to see?
    • Write the answer in one sentence.
  • Does the visual show the right relationship?
    • Is this primarily:

    • a comparison;

    • a trend;

    • a composition;

    • a process;

    • a sequence;

    • a geographic relationship;

    • or a precise comparison?

  • What should the audience notice first?
    • Identify one element.
  • What can we remove?
    • Delete anything that does not improve understanding.
  • Does it pass the 3-Second Test?
    • Show the slide briefly to someone unfamiliar with it.

Ask: "What did you learn?" If their answer is close to your intended message, the visual is working; if not, redesign it.

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