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Do More Than Share Data
Presenting information is a challenge. Presenters frequently click through their slides while talking, as if no one were trying to understand or process the information on the slides. They think, "I just have to show them all this information so I’ll do it as fast as possible." Here are some ways to stop talking as fast as possible and actually make the information understandable and relevant to the audience.
Provide Analysis, Not Just Raw Data
Imagine that your ten-year-old son comes home from school and tells you he scored 82 percent on his math test. How do you react? Do you congratulate him enthusiastically? Or do you express some other view?
Although your son has shared some raw data, it’s not useful information on which to base a decision. If he goes on to tell you that the class average was 89 percent and that only three kids got less than 85 percent, the information starts to become useful. If he adds that he studied extensively for the test but was feeling ill on the day it was given, this information adds a whole new perspective to the situation. You are now emotionally involved and even moved by his story. The additional data provides a perspective that is dimensions above the initial 82 percent data point he provided.
Quite frequently we see presentations with fancy screens used to glorify the communication of raw data, such as the 82 percent math score. After seeing tables filled with numbers, people walk out of such presentations asking, "What did all that mean?"
The Wall Street Journal reported this tendency in an article titled "What’s Your Point, Lieutenant? Just Cut to the Pie Charts." The article stated: "Congressional support for new weapons programs isn’t as strong as expected. Army Secretary Louis Caldera suggests that PowerPoint presentations are alienating lawmakers. ‘People are not listening to us, because they are spending so much time trying to understand these incredibly complex slides.’" One senior official, Mr. Danzig "announced last year that he was no longer willing to soldier through the slide shows. He maintains that PowerPoint briefings are only necessary for two reasons: If the field conditions are changing rapidly or if the audience is ‘functionally illiterate.’ He now asks to receive all his briefings in written form."
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Jim thought he had a winning presentation, but he was in for a surprise. Jim spent days putting together a presentation for a prospective customer. He worked with the multimedia group in his company and added some video clips. He was very proud of his colorful screens and fancy pie charts. As he was giving his talk, he began to notice the prospect’s lack of enthusiasm and interest. He wanted them to be impressed by the statistics and the pictures of the product. Plus, one of the audience members began asking aggressive, in-depth questions about his statistics. What was happening?
On first glance the presentation screens looked fine: clear, lots of space on the screens, numbers big enough to read. But the screens mostly conveyed raw data. The people asking questions just wanted to find out more information. They wanted information that would enable them to make decisions.
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| Figure 1.4 |
When you stir viewers’ emotions and entertain them in the process, their retention of information will be higher and your presentation’s impact much greater. Your audience will be more willing to commit to action and support you and your recommendations.
Here’s a sample of how to use the Communication Staircase when creating a slide. Renee Atkinson submitted the slides shown in Figures 1.5 and 1.6 to the Texas Legislature. The slides show what a mental health worker has to make in order to afford a one- or two-bedroom home.
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| Figure 1.5 |
First, the one-bedroom home and five homes on the left wipe up with the $10 an hour text at the top. The presenter says that in order to rent a one-bedroom home the worker needs to make $10 an hour. Then the two-bedroom home along with the seven homes wipe up with the $14 an hour text at the top. This now tells the audience what’s the problem with the pay of $7.50 an hour.
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| Figure 1.6 |
Frequently, a presentation such as this would only show the $7.50 wage, perhaps in a chart. By interpreting the information and sharing a vision, these slides help build a stronger emotional case for a wage increase.
Tell a Story
Look at Figures 1.5 and 1.6 again. The presenter can just read off the statistics on those slides or tell a story about real people who find themselves in the situation the slides are showing. Many people will remember the story more than the statistics. Stories can more emotionally connect to a person and help them to remember your message long after the talk is over. People also appreciate hearing a story when it’s relevant to the topic and enables the audience to more easily understand what you are attempting to say. If you can, use a story or a personal experience you or someone you personally know has had. Make it a story the audience can relate to. Use the story to illustrate your message. Don’t use a canned story you read or heard from a speaker. Chances are someone in your audience will have heard it. When you tell a story, it takes your audience’s eyes off the slide and gets them focused on you, the presenter. Here are several guidelines for telling a story.
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