Visual Analytics with Excel

Data doesn’t speak for itself, but with the right visuals, it can tell a story that drives real decisions. This two-day, hands-on course teaches participants how to unlock the full power of Microsoft Excel for visual data analytics. Through practical exercises and real-world examples, learners will explore foundational visualization principles, advanced charting techniques, interactive dashboards, and even AI-supported analysis.

By the end of the course, participants will know how to design clear, accurate, and engaging visuals; build dynamic dashboards; interpret patterns and insights; and confidently present data-driven stories to stakeholders.

Visual Analytics with Excel Benefits

• Course Benefits

  • Transform raw data into compelling visual narratives using Excel’s full suite of charting, formatting, and dashboarding tools.
  • Learn both the “why” and the “how” by combining strong visualization theory with step-by-step, real-world practice.
  • Build polished dashboards that highlight trends, outliers, and insights for business decision-making.
  • Avoid common visualization mistakes and learn to design visuals that are accurate, intuitive, and trustworthy.
  • Understand how AI fits into Excel workflows and how to structure data for AI-driven analysis and insights.
  • Boost confidence and credibility when presenting charts, dashboards, and data stories to colleagues and leadership. 

  Important Information:

  Prerequisites

  • Basic knowledge of Excel (data entry, formulas) highly recommended but not required.

Visual Analytics with Excel Course Outline

Learning Objectives

Chapter 1: Understanding Visual Data Analytics

• Define Data Analytics
• Discuss the relationship between Data Analytics and decision-making
• Review the fundamentals of data visualization
• Identify the data processing chain used in data mining

Chapter 2: Excel and Power Query Clean, Structure, and Use Data

• Import and transform data with Power Query
• Structure data with Power Pivot
• Create queries or data tables in Excel
• Work with the basics of data manipulation

Chapter 3: Using AI for Data Analysis with MS365 Copilot

• Introduce AI
• Discuss the benefits and drawback of using AI
• Use AI with Excel Dashboards

Chapter 4: Using Excel’s Charting Tools

• Overview of Excel Charting
• Discuss Chart types and usage
• Create Excel charts
• Edit charts using chart items
• Modify colors and styles for clarity
• Work with data series
• Consider chart templates

Chapter 5: Visual Analytics for Decision Making

• Highlight use of trends and outliers
• Create time series visualizations
• Leverage conditional formatting

Chapter 6: Dashboards in Excel

• Review principles of dashboard design
• Integrate multiple charts and data sources
• Create interactive elements
• Build a functional dashboard

Chapter 7: Course Summary