Speaker – Ann K. Emery – The Active Cell

SPEAKER

Ann K. Emery

Ann K. Emery is an internationally acclaimed speaker who equips organizations to get their data out of dusty spreadsheets and into real-world conversations.

Each year, she delivers over 100 keynotes, workshops, and webinars with the aim of equipping organizations to visualize data more effectively.

She has been invited to speak in 31 states and 11 countries; 10,000 people have enrolled in her online training academy; and she has consulted to 200 organizations, including the United Nations, Centers for Disease Control, and Harvard University.

She earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a Master’s degree from George Mason University.

After traveling full-time as a digital nomad, Ann now resides in Florida along with her husband and five children.

Dec 2 | 09:00 AM - 9:55 AM

Create Better Charts Without Any Design Skill

A one‑hour, fast‑moving, myth‑busting session for anyone who’s ever felt like their charts look “fine… but not great.” This talk shows that you don’t need artistic talent, fancy tools, or a designer’s eye to produce clear, confident, professional‑looking visuals. You just need a handful of reliable, repeatable moves grounded in how people actually read charts.

You’ll learn how to strip away noise, highlight what matters, and make Excel do more of the heavy lifting—so your charts look intentional instead of accidental.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, you will learn:

Practical chart upgrades — simple formatting changes that instantly improve readability without adding complexity.
Reliable design heuristics — rules of thumb that work even if you don’t consider yourself “visual.”
Better storytelling structure — how to guide your audience’s eyes to the point you want them to see.
Excel‑friendly techniques — small, repeatable steps that make your charts look polished with minimal effort.
A reusable checklist — a quick way to sanity‑check any chart before presenting it.