Formatting isn’t just about making spreadsheets look nice. It’s about communication. It’s what transforms a sea of raw data into something people can actually read, analyse, and act on.
In this episode, Mike covers the essential formatting skills every Excel user needs, starting with the basics on the Home tab before diving into number formats, including how percentage formatting actually works and why it sometimes catches people out.
He also explains how Excel stores dates as serial numbers behind the scenes, why that matters, and how custom number formats give you full control over how your data is displayed.
The second half of the episode is dedicated to conditional formatting, from highlight rules and top/bottom rules to data bars, colour scales, and icon sets.
Mike also covers managing multiple rules on the same cell, including how to use formula-based rules for more advanced scenarios.
If you want your spreadsheets to do more of the communicating for you, this episode is a great place to start.