What performance indicators are and how to present them

Presenting indicators is a common practice in practically every company. Every area, at some point, needs to show results, justify investments or prove the effectiveness of its actions.

But the truth is that in many organizations these presentations have become almost an empty ritual: a series of disconnected numbers, shared without context, strategy or cadence.

The result? Rooms full of distracted people, presentations that do not lead to real decisions and that old disengagement that slowly erodes the performance culture.

When there is no clarity of purpose and a well-defined routine for this moment, the company loses one of its biggest opportunities to turn data into strategic direction.

But how do you create a good KPI?

To create a good indicator, it is important to understand the objective you want to reach, say: increase sales by 30% by the end of the semester.

Then, define a measure that can show whether that objective is being reached, for example: number of monthly sales.

Finally, based on seasonality, you set sales targets for each month so that you reach a little more than the 30% objective, say 40%, as a safety margin.

By evaluating this sales number month by month, you can tell whether the targets are being met and whether something needs to change to raise them.

A widely used methodology for this purpose is OKR.

But beyond the numbers themselves, how you present performance indicators plays a very important role and must be done well.

How to present performance indicators

If there is one thing I have learned over time, it is that presenting indicators is not just about showing what happened, but mainly about turning that data into understanding and action. And for that, you cannot improvise.

A good results presentation requires preparation, method and a strategic eye. Here are some tips for presenting indicators in your company:

1- Start with the objective

Before opening PowerPoint or generating the dashboardopens in a new tab, ask yourself:

Why am I presenting these indicators?

Is it for decision making? To be accountable? To engage the team? Knowing the purpose changes everything, from the data you choose to how you lead the conversation.

2- Choose the right indicators

Do not fall into the temptation of showing every possible number. A good presentation is focused.

So bring the indicators that really matter for the goal of the meeting and for the audience that will be listening. Avoid vanity metrics. If an indicator does not help you understand performance or does not lead to a decision, it can probably be left out.

3- Present the context

A standalone indicator says nothing. It is essential to give context: compare with targets, previous periods, benchmarksopens in a new tab (in Portuguese) or the market average. Only then can people understand whether the result is good, bad or just expected.

And more: when you give context, you avoid hasty or distorted interpretations.

4- Visuals matter, but clarity matters even more

You do not need to be a designer, but you need to avoid cluttered slides, confusing charts and too much text. Use colors to highlight what matters, clear labels and simple charts (bars and lines work better than colorful 3D and animated pie charts).

The rule I usually follow is: if someone takes more than 5 seconds to understand what is being shown, something needs to be adjusted.

5- Tell a story with the data

Presenting indicators with impact means knowing how to narrate what is behind the numbers.

What happened? Why did it happen? What did we learn? What will we do next? Use this sequence to guide your presentation and give meaning to the information.

6- Anticipate questions and propose next steps

A good presentation does not end with “that’s it.” It opens the way to next steps. So, whenever possible, bring a prior analysis of the causes and a proposed course of action.

If the audience is technical or strategic, try to anticipate questions and bring complementary data to answer them.

Tips on how to present performance indicators

1- Take the coldness out of the numbers

Performance indicators are numbers, statistics, dry data.

That is why your presentation needs to take care of its look.

Use soft colors and attractive, easy-to-read typefaces, and illustrate with images, but without letting them draw more of the audience’s attention than the KPIs.

There is no way to present performance indicators and hold the audience’s attention with a pile of numbers in “Times New Roman” across a series of white-background slides.

TIP: there are companies that specialize in turning your data-heavy presentations into interesting slides. Casuloopens in a new tab (in Portuguese) is one of them.

2- Start with what matters

Unlike a movie or a book, knowing how to present performance indicators has nothing to do with suspense.

Nobody goes to a meeting like this to get a final surprise and discover the “plot” behind the numbers in the last few minutes.

One of the first slides should say exactly why everyone is gathered and which KPIs will be presented.

You can even drop good news right away, for example: we beat our sales targets by 15%.

Then, throughout the presentation, you explain how you got there.

It is a way to show where you want to go and help everyone stay focused.

3- Few slides? It depends…

The number of slides should be proportional to the time available.

But giant presentations will certainly scare off your audience.

Slides should be a script, a reference.

Whoever gives the presentation should have the speech in mind, or notes at hand to complement the data.

TIP: if you want to include a bunch of appendix slides at the end of the presentation, with more detailed data in case you are questioned, that is an excellent way to present performance indicators without overwhelming your audience with numbers.

4- Visual aids

Visual aids mean using small elements, such as icons and symbols, that help the audience understand the meaning of the numbers more quickly.

In addition, as mentioned, charts, tables and diagrams make performance indicators much easier to understand.

5- Slides with little text

At most one short paragraph of 3 or 4 lines, or 5 to 6 bullets.

6- How did we get here?

Whenever you present a number or a result achieved, explain the action plansopens in a new tab that made it possible.

It is not enough to know only what happened. You also need to understand how it happened and why it worked.

7- Objective conclusions

The close of the presentation should bring a lesson, a relevant fact that makes clear how the KPIs were used in planning as well as in tracking and adjusting actions, and how this contributed to the success (or, occasionally, failure) in reaching the company’s goals.

Most common tools for presenting indicators

In practice, how you present indicators depends a lot on the maturity of your management, the company culture and, of course, the audience that will receive the information. But one thing is certain: the tools you choose can improve the clarity and impact of your presentation.

Below are the tools companies use most today:

Excel and Google Sheets

Yes, they are still the usage champions. Especially in companies with more manual processes or that are starting to structure their performance routine.

• Advantages: flexible, customizable, accessible and known by everyone.
• Limitations: higher risk of human error, hard to scale, hard to keep updated in real time and heavily dependent on the skill of whoever builds the dashboards.

Power BI, Tableau, Looker and other BI tools

If your goal is interactive, visual dashboards connected to multiple data sources, Business Intelligence tools are essential. They help not only to present indicators but also to analyze trends, forecast scenarios and create analytical autonomy for teams.

• Advantages: real-time dashboards, data cross-referencing, high scalability.
• Limitations: requires investment, technical knowledge and well-structured data governance.

Integrated management and performance systems

There are tools built specifically to transform how companies track goals, cascade strategies and present indicators in structured management rituals. A good example is Stratwsopens in a new tab, software developed by Siteware that includes, within the system itself, a specific tool for Visual Management.

Next steps

Stratws centralizes indicators, goals, action plans, meetings, projects and tracking rituals, all in one place.

It was designed precisely so that managers and teams can turn data into action, without losing hours building manual reports or hunting for information scattered around.

In addition to making it easier to present indicators in real time, Stratws helps build a stronger results culture, with clear priorities and a focus on execution. It is used by companies such as Vale, Unimed, Centauro, Cielo and many other organizations that see value in smarter, more connected and more strategic management.

Frequently asked questions

What are performance indicators?+−

Performance indicators, or KPIs, are used to measure and track the progress of a company, team or project against strategic and operational objectives. They make it possible to evaluate whether goals are being met and support more accurate decisions.

How do you present performance indicators?+−

The presentation of indicators should be clear and visual, since it is responsible for communicating performance. The ideal is to use charts, tables or dashboards that make the data easier to interpret and that are oriented toward decision making.

What are the steps for an effective indicator presentation?+−

1. Define the objective of the presentation;2. Select relevant indicators aligned with strategic goals;3. Organize the data in a logical, contextualized way;4. Use visual resources to make it easier to understand.5. Build a narrative that highlights insights and trends;6. Connect the data to decisions and next steps;7. Encourage participation and create space for discussion.

Which tools help present indicators?+−

1. Power BI: ideal for creating interactive dashboards.2. Google Data Studio/Looker Studio: tool for visual reports.3. Excel or Google Sheets: useful for charts and pivot tables.4. Tableau: suited for advanced analysis and visualization.5. Stratws: combines indicator tracking, presentation reports and action plan development.