Early in my career, I built a lot of charts that were technically correct. They were thorough, accurate, and… mostly ignored.

No one paid much attention to them. No one acted.

Then I stumbled into a data visualization training at work, and it completely changed how I saw my role as an analyst.

For the first time, someone told me:
Charts should have a point of view.

That one idea shifted everything.

Because here’s what finally clicked:

There are two kinds of data visualizations, and they serve very different purposes.

Most analysts aren’t taught the difference.
And that’s where a lot of good communication goes wrong.

Let’s break them down:

Exploratory vs. explanatory visuals

1. Exploratory visuals: You’re figuring things out

This is where you play with the data.
You’re asking questions, testing hypotheses, and searching for patterns or surprises.

Good for:

• Personal analysis

• Team huddles or working sessions

• Dashboards and drill-downs

What it looks like:
Pivot tables, scatter plots, histograms, dashboards

Key mindset: “What’s going on here?”

2. Explanatory visuals: You’ve found something, and now you’re telling the story

This is where you shift from thinking to communicating.

The goal isn’t to show everything you looked at. It’s to highlight what matters most.

Good for:

• Stakeholder updates

• Leadership presentations

• Slide decks and memos

What it looks like:
Clearly labeled bar charts, line graphs, simplified visuals with callouts, annotations, or headlines

Key mindset: “What’s the one point I want them to remember?”

Let’s make this distinction about visuals more… visual. I’ve put together a quick PDF with real examples of what it looks like to turn exploratory charts into explanatory ones.

You’ll see before-and-afters that show how small changes — like trimming clutter, adding a headline, or focusing the layout — can completely change how your insight lands.

👉 Check out the chart redesigns here (PDF)

Where most analysts get stuck

We stay in exploratory mode too long.

We show the version that tries to be objective: no emphasis, no story, just the full view of the data.

Instead of stepping back and asking: What does my audience need to know right now?

Why this matters:
Your audience is bombarded with data and decisions. They don’t want to dig.
They want clarity. A takeaway. A clear reason to care.

When you want to change minds or drive decisions, you need to flip into explanatory mode.

That means:

• Selecting only the charts that communicate your message

• Refining each one for clarity and impact

• Eliminating the need for your audience to “tweak and explore” the data themselves

Try this before your next meeting:
Look at one slide or chart and ask yourself:
“Is this showing all the data, or communicating a clear point?”

If it’s trying to do both, it’s probably doing neither very well.

Happy charting,
Morgan