How to Make a KPI Presentation [Tips by experts]
- Ink Narrates | The Presentation Design Agency
- Apr 23
- 7 min read
Emily, a client of ours, posed a question that made us think. While we were working on her KPI presentation, she asked,
“How do you make key metrics actually stick with an audience?”
Our Creative Director’s response was simple but spot on:
“It’s all about clarity and the story you tell with the data.”
This question isn’t just a one-off. It’s a challenge we face time and time again. KPI presentations are crucial. They show the health of a business, the progress of a project, and the potential for growth.
But here’s the thing: more often than not, they get it wrong. They drown the audience in numbers, graphs, and charts that no one actually remembers five minutes after the presentation ends.
As a presentation design agency, we’ve worked on countless KPI presentations. And what we’ve learned is this: the biggest mistake companies make is thinking that presenting the data is enough. But that’s not the case. The real magic happens when you can take that complex data and turn it into a compelling narrative that drives action.
So, let’s get into it. In this blog, we’ll break down the exact steps to craft a KPI presentation that not only conveys the right message but also keeps your audience hooked from start to finish.
What is a KPI Presentation?
Before diving into how to create a killer KPI presentation, it’s important to first understand what a KPI presentation truly is. At its core, a KPI (Key Performance Indicator) presentation is all about showcasing the metrics that matter most to your business or project.
These are the numbers that tell the story of how well you're doing against your goals—whether it's revenue growth, customer satisfaction, or team productivity.
But here’s the catch: the very nature of KPIs means they can be technical, complex, and dry. For most teams, it’s easy to get lost in the weeds of detailed data points. And that’s where the problem lies—just because you know the numbers doesn't mean your audience does. You need to bridge the gap.
A well-designed KPI presentation should do more than just show numbers. It should highlight insights, trends, and implications in a way that’s clear and persuasive. Your audience needs to understand, instantly, what the data means, why it matters, and most importantly, what actions they need to take as a result.
So, what does that look like in practice? Let’s break it down.
How to Make a KPI Presentation that Works: Expert Tips
When it comes to making a KPI presentation that doesn’t just convey data but actually resonates with the audience, there are several critical steps to follow. These aren’t just design tips; they’re fundamental principles for crafting a presentation that works—not just in terms of aesthetics, but in terms of impact.
Let’s walk through these expert tips, grounded in years of experience helping businesses across industries transform their KPIs into actionable narratives.
1. Start with the End in Mind
This is a tip that applies to virtually every presentation, but it’s especially important for KPI presentations. Before you even begin pulling data or designing your slides, ask yourself: What action do I want the audience to take after seeing this presentation? Is it a decision? Is it to secure buy-in for a new project? Or perhaps to inform a course of action moving forward?
Once you’ve clarified the desired outcome, you can structure your KPI presentation to support it. A presentation where you simply display data can easily become a static, disjointed series of charts and graphs. But when you align your KPIs with a clear purpose, you’ll immediately start framing the data in a way that makes sense to your audience.
Take a moment to think about the journey the audience will take. Start with the key insights, highlight the context, and then walk through the numbers in a way that tells a story leading up to that final call to action.
2. Tell a Story, Not Just a Data Dump
Numbers are essential, but they’re not the star of the show. The story you tell around those numbers is what actually matters. KPIs should be woven into a narrative that gives the audience context and meaning. Without that context, the data will fall flat, no matter how impressive the numbers are.
A good way to think about this is in terms of why the data matters. What is it revealing about your business? Is your customer retention rate higher than expected because of a recent feature launch? Are sales down because of market conditions? These are the types of questions that help tie the data to a broader business strategy.
For instance, if you’re presenting quarterly revenue growth, don’t just show a chart with a percentage increase. Instead, explain what contributed to that increase—was it a new marketing campaign, a product innovation, or perhaps a shift in customer behavior? Tell the story of how these metrics came to life.
3. Focus on the Key Metrics
Here’s where most KPI presentations go wrong: they try to cover everything. Companies often attempt to showcase a broad array of metrics, from sales figures to social media engagement, and in doing so, they dilute the impact of each individual number. The result? The audience walks away feeling confused and overwhelmed.
Instead of presenting a kitchen-sink approach, focus on the key metrics that matter most to your business or project. These should be the metrics that directly tie back to your overarching goals. If your company’s priority is growth, focus on revenue, new customer acquisition, and retention rates. If the goal is improving product efficiency, showcase operational KPIs like cycle time or defect rates.
The rule of thumb is this: don’t present more than 5-7 KPIs in a single presentation. The audience won’t remember more than that, and if you try to cram in too much, it’s easy for the most important data to get lost.
4. Visualize the Data, Don’t Overwhelm with It
When it comes to displaying data, clarity is key. While it might seem tempting to show as much information as possible, the most effective KPI presentations are those that simplify complex data into clear visuals. Charts, graphs, and infographics are essential tools for making KPIs digestible and engaging.
But here’s the catch: not all visuals are created equal. Some types of charts or graphs can confuse your audience more than they clarify. For example, a 3D bar graph might look cool, but it’s often harder to interpret than a simple 2D bar chart. Pie charts can be misleading when there are too many categories. And don’t even get us started on tables full of numbers—nobody wants to try and sift through a page full of raw data.
The best approach? Use visuals that reinforce your message without overcrowding the slide. Line graphs are excellent for showing trends over time. Bar charts work well for comparing quantities. And use color to emphasize key data points or highlight changes. A strong visual hierarchy—where the most important data stands out immediately—will keep your audience focused and ensure that your key message is clear.
5. Context is Everything: Explain the Why Behind the Numbers
No matter how compelling the numbers are, they’re not enough on their own. You need to explain what the numbers mean and why they matter. This is where most KPI presentations fail—they simply present raw data with little to no context.
Always ask yourself: What does this metric really tell us? Don’t just display a percentage increase or decrease—explain what’s driving that change. Was it a seasonal spike? A successful product launch? Or perhaps a new competitor entering the market?
Context helps the audience understand the significance of the data, making it more actionable. For example, let’s say you’re presenting quarterly sales growth. Instead of simply saying, “We grew by 12%,” you could add, “This 12% growth is attributed to the launch of our new marketing campaign in January, which led to a 15% increase in leads and a 10% increase in conversion rates.”
6. Be Consistent with Your Visual Language
A KPI presentation is a professional piece of communication, and it should have a visual language that reflects that. Consistency is essential to ensure that your presentation feels cohesive, not fragmented. This includes everything from the font choice to the color scheme and the type of visuals you use.
If you’re using color to highlight key metrics, make sure that color scheme remains consistent throughout the presentation. If you use blue to represent growth in one graph, continue using that same shade of blue every time you display growth. This builds familiarity and helps the audience quickly interpret the data.
Consistency also applies to the layout of the slides. Don’t overwhelm the audience by cramming too much information onto a single slide. Break the data up into digestible chunks. A good rule of thumb is one idea per slide. This keeps the attention focused on the most important aspects of your KPI presentation.
7. Highlight Actionable Insights, Not Just Data
A KPI presentation isn’t just about reporting data—it’s about what the data means for the future. Don’t end your presentation with a series of metrics and expect the audience to figure out what to do next. Always highlight the actionable insights that stem from the data.
For example, if your customer satisfaction score is down, don’t just present the figure and leave it at that. Follow it up with what needs to happen to improve it. This could be a new customer support initiative, an improved product feature, or perhaps a marketing campaign aimed at addressing customer pain points.
The key is to ensure that every KPI you present has an associated takeaway—a conclusion that drives action. When the audience understands the “what” and the “why” of your KPIs, they’ll be in a much better position to make decisions and move things forward.
Why Hire Us to Build your Presentation?
If you're reading this, you're probably working on a presentation right now. You could do it all yourself. But the reality is - that’s not going to give you the high-impact presentation you need. It’s a lot of guesswork, a lot of trial and error. And at the end of the day, you’ll be left with a presentation that’s “good enough,” not one that gets results. On the other hand, we’ve spent years crafting thousands of presentations, mastering both storytelling and design. Let us handle this for you, so you can focus on what you do best.