GRAPHS and CHARTS

Graphs and charts are often used to present information and data.
Below you will find useful phrases and vocabulary for presenting figures and trends.

• As you will see from this graph ...
• I'd like to show you this chart on which you will see ...
• Let me draw your attention to this part of the graph.
• Let's look more closely at this month's figures.
  
• This figure refers to the sales in China only.
• This pie chart shows our share of the European market today.
• As you can see, our main competitor has an even bigger share.
• The bar chart represents sales in our Asian outlets.
• Here you can see a comparison between ...
• On the line graph you will note :
  
  • a strong upward trend in the sales of product A ...
    • despite occasional fluctuations ...
    • with a slight drop during the holiday season ...
    • with occasional variations due to ...
  • the overall performance of product B is good.
    
    • The initial surge in sales was followed by a period of slower growth in the second half of the year.
    • The instant success of the product was followed by a period of stability in the level of sales.

• Increases :
  • a slight/constant/marked/substantial/increase in sales
  • an increase of about/roughly/approximately/in the region of ... %
  • a little over/above what we predicted
  • the recovery/upturn began in (month)
  • an overall increase in ...
  • an upward trend in the demand for ...
  • sales reached record levels / reached a peak in (month)
  • a strong surge in the sales of ...
  • by (month), the figure had risen to ...
  • we predict that sales will soar in the coming year / over the next ... months
    
    
• Decreases :
  • just under our target
  • way below our expectations
  • a slight / notable / significant decrease in ...
  • the downturn began in (month)
  • the situation began to deteriorate in (month)
  • the number has continued to fall
    
    
• Fluctuations :
  • a slow start developed into steady progress in sales
  • an initial upward trend was followed by ...
  • we note slight fluctuations through the year
  • normal seasonal variations are the cause of occasional downward trends
  • sales have been (rather) irregular
  • the level / the rate has been unstable since ...
  • you will note a certain instability in the rate of ...

• We must focus our attention on ...
• What I suggest is ...
• There is a necessity for ...
• We need more ...
• We have no choice but to ...
• Appropriate measures must be taken
• The only option we have is to ...
• These changes are inevitable.
• We will have to revise our estimation.
• The result / outcome will be ...
• I strongly recommend ...
• To conclude, I am happy / I regret to announce that ...