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Appeal to the logos, pathos, and ethos of your audience. How do you do that?

 

Data alone cannot be absorbed by the audience passively. Instead, data needs to be presented with purpose and intentionality. 

 

I’ll share a comparison - film: you can’t have a good movie without a good screenplay. Similarly, data alone doesn’t translate to an effective presentation. So what can you do to present data effectively? How can your presentation be credible and persuasive?

 

I distinctly remember a presentation where a senior therapist was presenting on seating components to colleagues. It was sponsored by the medical vendor to highlight why their seating components are the industry leader. The presentation was difficult to follow. Slides had numerous charts and data points. Each slide felt convoluted. An audience member asked the presenter, “what does this chart highlight?”. The presenter fumbled and stuttered for a few long moments, then sheepishly admitted, “I actually don’t know what this chart means.”

Wow.

As an audience member, I was mentally checked out after seeing that interaction and I felt the embarrassment of the presenter as I sat a few feet away in the audience. 

 

So what can you do to avoid this? And moreover, how can you deliver a persuasive, impactful, data-driven presentation?

 

Data can be manipulated and statistics can be juked. Here are some guiding principles which can lead you to success:

 

1. Ensure each slide is shared with purpose

 

As the presenter and expert, you want to ensure the data can be interpreted simply. Ask yourself:

• What am I trying to say?

• Who is my audience?

• Can I describe the take home message in 1 to 2 sentences?

 

Share details concisely. You want to avoid overloading the audience with data points. Would you be able to use the following phrases to describe your data?

• “This data suggests….”

• “This chart highlights…”

• “What we can glean from this chart is simply….”

 

Especially if you’re presenting virtually: you have to be intentional about keeping the audience engaged as you compete with distractions. Remember, you may have the urge to share all of your data and justify all of your findings. Resist this. Instead, focus on the salient features. As as example, let’s look at this pie chart:

 

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Do you need to speak to the smaller slice of the chart? The answer is…probably not. Focus instead on what is significant and simply your message. Can you combine a couple of the slices to further drive your recommendation?

 

2. Think about your slides from the perspective of your audience 

 

As the developer of the presentation, there is the risk that you get too close to the material. As a result, you may be able to interpret the data in a few seconds as you have seen the slides before. It’s second nature to you. Ask yourself, if you were seeing this slide for the first time, would you be able to interpret this slide in a few seconds? 

 

Take a step back and ask yourself: is this clearly labelled and easy to follow? Have I highlighted the take home message?

 

3. Reinforce Takeaways

 

Use the title of the slide to be specific, relevant, and suggestive. For example, slide titles such as “Pie chart” or “Statistics” are not functional for the audience. Instead, consider titles such as “Q1 Trends” and “Geographical Preferences”.

 

Cater your slides to visual and verbal learners. Visually highlight the salient features to show importance: use color, arrows, circles, or demarcations to explicitly draw attention towards what you want your audience to see. 

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4. Consider the phrase “storytelling with data” by integrating story elements

 

 This involves the following and makes for an intuitive way to follow the slide:

-Setup: here is the baseline situation

-Conflict: introduce your change agent (example a big client won, government policy enacted, an acquisition)

-Resolution: this is a the new situation

 

Hint: This can be easily highlighted with the  time element as the x-axis. Time naturally lends itself to a narrative structure. 

 

5. Lastly, let’s not forget: the audience is human

 

They don’t want to be talked ‘at’. Integrate story elements as stated above or an impactful quote. Remember that human moments can translate to being more credible, approachable, and trustworthy.  Some suggestions for this include:

-present in standing so you can carry yourself naturally

-include vocal variety

-use pauses effectively

-remember eye contact (if your presentation is virtual, look at the camera)

-check in with the audience by asking: “how are you doing today?” or use poll questions to promote engagement

 

Informing your audience clearly and concisely is a win. Using data to challenge their assumptions and change their behaviour is an art and a science. What can you do to positively persuade?

 

I hope these tips improve your ability to present data. In part 2, I will share specifics and include discussion of slides as examples. Questions? Contact Reach With Speech