How to Visualize a 9-Box Talent Matrix in Google Slides Using a Scatter Plot

May 23, 2026

Talent reviews are stressful enough without having to fight your presentation software.

I’ve sat through dozens of quarterly reviews where the famous "9-Box Matrix" was just a sad, hand-drawn table in Google Slides. Managers would manually drag tiny text boxes with employee names into different squares.

One accidental click, and suddenly Steve is floating in the "High Potential / High Performer" box when he definitely shouldn't be.

There is a much better way to do this. You can actually build a data-driven 9-box matrix using a scatter plot. By mapping Performance on the X-axis and Potential on the Y-axis, your employees automatically plot exactly where they belong.

Here is how to build a professional, updatable 9-box grid right inside Google Slides.

Why a Scatter Plot is the Secret Weapon for HR

A 9-box grid is just a 3x3 matrix.

  • X-Axis: Performance (Low = 1, Moderate = 2, High = 3)
  • Y-Axis: Potential (Low = 1, Moderate = 2, High = 3)

If you score your team on this 1 to 3 scale, you essentially have X and Y coordinates. A scatter plot takes those coordinates and places a dot (or a label) precisely on the grid.

The problem? Native Google Slides charts are notoriously clunky when it comes to custom scatter plots with specific data labels. It’s hard to make them look like a clean 3x3 grid, and formatting the employee names is a headache.

This is where ExtraChart comes in handy. It’s a Google Slides add-on we built to handle advanced data visualizations without making you leave your slide deck.

Step 1: Open ExtraChart and Select "Scatter Plot"

First, if you haven’t already, grab ExtraChart from the Google Workspace Marketplace.

Open your talent review presentation in Google Slides. Go up to Extensions > ExtraChart > Create & Edit Charts.

Once the sidebar pops open, scroll down to the Business & Analytics section and click on the Scatter Plot icon.

Sidebar menu: Selecting the Scatter Plot icon

Step 2: Prep Your Talent Data

When the ExtraChart editor opens, you’ll see a spreadsheet-like Data tab. You can paste your team’s data directly from Excel or Google Sheets.

You only need three columns:

  1. Name (e.g., Sarah)
  2. Performance Score (X-axis, scored 1.0 to 3.0)
  3. Potential Score (Y-axis, scored 1.0 to 3.0)

Pro-tip: Don't just use whole numbers like "2" or "3". Use decimals like "2.4" or "1.8". This prevents dots from perfectly overlapping if two employees have similar ratings. It spreads them out naturally across the box.

Step 3: Customize the Grid

Now for the fun part. We need to make this standard scatter plot look like a 9-box talent matrix.

Switch over to the Settings tab in ExtraChart. Because you get granular control over the axes, you can force the chart to look like a grid:

  1. Set the Axis Limits: Lock both your X-axis and Y-axis minimums at 0 (or 0.5) and your maximums at 3.5. This keeps the chart perfectly square.
  2. Adjust the Gridlines: Turn on the major gridlines for both axes and set them to interval steps of 1. This instantly draws your 3x3 boxes.
  3. Turn on Data Labels: You don't want your VP of Sales guessing which dot is which employee. Toggle on the data labels and set them to display the "Name" column. ExtraChart lets you tweak the font—I usually go with Inter at a smaller size so the names don't overlap too much.
  4. Color Coding: Use ExtraChart's color palette manager to style the dots. You can even set specific hex codes if your company has strict branding guidelines for internal decks.

Step 4: Insert and Update Later

Once your 9-box looks perfect in the live preview, click Create. ExtraChart drops a high-resolution, perfectly formatted image right onto your slide. No manual dragging of text boxes required.

But here is the absolute best part about doing it this way.

Six months from now, during the next talent review, you don't have to rebuild this chart. You just click the 9-box image on your slide, open ExtraChart, and it instantly loads all your previous data and formatting. Update Sarah’s performance score from a 2.1 to a 2.8, hit update, and watch her dot slide perfectly into the top-right box.

Stop wasting hours manually formatting HR slides. Give the scatter plot method a try for your next talent review.