Reports Can Be Boring But They Don’t Have To Be: Learn From These Reporting Templates To Level Up

Is there anything more dreadful than having to pull reports and explain them to people who don’t quite get it? There’s no denying that reporting can be complicated. From running the reports, digesting the data and information, and presenting it to your team, clients, or other stakeholders, it’s a tedious process. But we’re here to help make it a little easier. 

How you analyze survey results and present reports matters. Your reports can help you close a deal, get additional funding, show company wins, or evaluate how competitors measure up to your company.

We get it, reports can be boring— but they don’t have to be. Let’s level-up your next reporting presentation. 

Let your data tell a story

The easiest way to present your reports and results in a way that everyone can digest is by wrapping it up in a strong narrative. Tell a story with your reports through data visualization. Once you’ve run your reports, pick only the most meaningful findings to share with your audience. Then decide how you will present those findings in a way that makes sense. You should start there before you even open up a new slide or deck. If you’re stuck, selecting pre-built templates can help you structure your story in a way that you may not have thought of and looks visually appealing with little-to-no extra effort. 

In data visualization, choosing the right chart can make or break your presentation. Once you’ve nailed your narrative, you can start plugging your content into charts and graphs and watch them come to life.

Start with a shocking statistic

You’ve heard it before, but we’ll say it again: you should always opt to start your presentation with a bold quote, a personal (heartfelt) story that is relevant to your overarching message, or a shocking statistic. The wow factor in starting with something like that is far more effective than a simple introductory slide. When you’re gearing up to spam your audience’s brain with granular details of various reports, it’s critical to hook their attention from the beginning. Starting with a shocking statistic can help you capture their attention from the second you take stage and hold it throughout the duration of your presentation. 

Bring your reports to life with animations

Here’s the cold, hard truth: even with a strong story, a killer intro, and next-to-perfect data visualization, you’re still going to lose a portion of your audience to daydreaming. Command their attention, and direct it towards the screen, with the use of dynamic animations. Animations are anything but boring. The subtle motions bring your slides to life by building onto the screen as you change slides. You can choose the style, speed, and order so that you have complete control of your story— and your audience. 

Four report templates to get you started

If you’re still not sure where to start, start with one of our pre-built presentation templates. The following four report templates are fully customizable so you can add in your own reporting and tell your story.

Weekly report template 

Just as an annual report reviews the past year’s goals, projects, and progress, a weekly report presentation examines the past week completely. Your weekly report should quickly recap what was completed in the past week, what you’re working on now, and plans for the week ahead. However, this template isn’t one-size-fits all, and can be customized to accommodate your weekly, monthly, quarterly, or annual reporting. 

SEO report template

An SEO report lets your clients, supervisors, and investors know how your SEO campaigns are performing. It helps you identify which strategies are working, and what needs to be fine-tuned for additional growth. SEO (search engine optimization) isn’t something that everyone understands at first glance, so using a template can help you structure your reporting in a more clear and concise way. 

Social media report template

A social media report not only shows how your social media campaigns performed, it shows how that performance relates to bigger company goals, like boosting site traffic or product sales. You can use this template to report on campaign traffic, growth, engagement, and to assess how you might proceed moving forward. Although it’s labeled social media report, this isn’t limited to TikTok, and can be customized to be used as a marketing report template or sales report template, too. 

Competitive analysis report template

A competitive analysis report template can help you identify competitors in your field, as well as analyze their reach, products or services, areas of operation, online presence, and more. Once you understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, you can create strategies that help you bridge the gaps. Using this template will help you display your findings in a way that flows and makes sense to the audience.