Create Compelling SmartArt Diagrams and Charts in Microsoft Word 2010

10/8/2010

Contents

Creative Charting

Charts can dramatically enhance the information you’re sharing with others in the documents you create. A chart can show a reader at a glance what percentage of sales a particular product comprises. A bar chart quickly shows which division is outselling all the others. An area chart can show the results of tracking over time. The charts you include in your documents give you a way to visually showcase important data that others will understand easily. You might use a chart to:

Announce a new sales competition for your staff.
Show the number of volunteers each of your regional sites has trained in the previous quarter using a pie chart.
Show the staff how the new construction on your building is coming along by placing a bar chart over a photo of the building as it’s being constructed.
Point out which sites are recruiting the greatest number of volunteers using textured columns.

NOTE

What’s the difference between a chart and a graph? Nothing, really. The terms are often used interchangeably to describe the graphical depiction of data—early on, the term charting referred to a type of mapmaking. Graphing, on the other hand, involved plotting data points and discerning trends and relationships. Today, the terms mean essentially the same thing; charts and graphs help you illustrate trends and relationships in your data. Diagramming usually refers to the process of using a specific model to generate flowcharts or diagrams.

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