You're looking at a chart and it contains a date labeled “10-02-2007.” What day is that, exactly? Feb. 10, 2007? Or October 2, 2007?

How about “10-Feb-07”? Is that Feb. 10, 2007, or Feb. 7, 2010?

To ensure that your chart readers know what the dates in your chart actually are, choose a date format in which:

✔️ The month is alphabetic (e.g., “Aug” instead of “08”)
✔️ The year is four digits (e.g., "2011" instead of "11")

As long as the date format that you choose checks both of those boxes, your readers will always interpret the dates in your charts correctly.

BTW…

At the moment, I have a small number of openings in March and April for private workshops. If you're interested in having me deliver my Practical Charts or Practical Dashboards course live online or in-person to 15 to 60 employees of your organization, contact us for private workshop scheduling and fee details.