Making presentations without data inclusion and verifications guarantees your audience will raise an eyebrow, ask perplexing questions, or just switch off. However, simply delivering data points doesn’t always make for a compelling or successful presentation either. What to do?
To capture the attention of your audience and to induce them to take your findings seriously means structuring every chart, pie graph, or other graphic presentation to create an “I get it!” moment that flashes in the reader’s brain. In other words, the question to ask oneself is whether this data image (with an explanation as an integrated message) drives home a crucial observation.
Without data to back your claims, your audience might frequently be wondering, “But how do we really know?”
Data support based on verifiable research that is sample-significant goes a long way toward erasing doubt and compelling your audience. Indeed, it doesn’t matter what your presentation focus is – a sales pitch, a fundraiser, or even a project update – delivering an accurate yet engaging presentation is imperative.
Want to learn how to do it? Here are eight groundbreaking presentation rules that cover all the do’s and don’ts.
1. Know your audience
For example, your presentation to venture capitalists (VCs) may be one of many they’re viewing today. As a result, you need to create something that stands out.
The next step is to understand what really appeals to them. They are looking to understand why your idea has potential. What is it about your business proposition that deserves the funding compared to all the other people who are coming in.
At this point, having data to back up your claims and projections can be pretty helpful. By creating a presentation around what your audience wants, you can keep them engaged throughout, (and also increase your chances of getting that funding, in this case!)
2. Ensure your data is visible
No, I’m not making an obvious statement where you might say,” Of course it’s visible!” Indeed, what’s visible on your laptop or desktop sometimes translates to “murky” on another medium, such as a screen.
The minute you have to say, “Although this is not clear…” you’re behind the eight ball covering presentation gaps. Hard-to-see numbers and labels are a turn-off, so pre-screen your presentation on the medium you intend to use with a small test audience (even one person) sitting as far back as you expect the spectators to be on the big day. Negative responses to your test means going back to redesign mode.
3. Explain what your data signifies
The moment your audience is doing mental gymnastics trying to connect data to your messaging, you’ve lost them – probably irretrievably. If you insert the data item, use it to drive a critical observation point home.
Another way of looking at this is through the eyes of customer experience (CX). Trying to sell something requires you to progress along a series of touchpoints (like stops on a map), referred to as the customer journey (CJ). Your presentation slides are vital touchpoints designed to move an audience, perhaps into a more profound interest phase, conviction, or closing the deal. So, if confusion throws the presentation off-track at any touchpoint, the entire journey will derail – sometimes permanently.
How do you know your data is relevant? When you can point to it and the message begins with, “This data shows…” or “As you can see from this chart…” or “These numbers conclude…”
4. Follow the “one chart, one point” rule
Squeezing too many details on a single slide or into one chart can overwhelm anyone.
So, for every chart or slide you prepare, ask yourself, “What’s the single revelation I want this chart to hammer home?” That’s the one you should highlight before moving on. Now, if the same chart has something else to show, reinsert it lower down with a different highlight, making an independent statement with it instead.
The next obvious question is, “Then why bother to show them any additional data?” It might be for one of the following reasons:
- Sometimes, you have no choice; it’s the entire table or nothing.
- Sometimes the information you present is not isolated, but rather a continuance of something, and as a result additional data is required.
As long as the attention is driven where the data impact is required, you’re on the right track. In short: Stay relevant, one data touchpoint at a time.
5. Ensure data labeling is spot on
One of the worst errors occurs when your audience is unclear on the constructs you’re trying to show. As examples:
- If it’s “time,” clearly indicate if you’re discussing minutes, hours, weeks, months, or years.
- If it’s value, write it as dollars in thousands, millions, or billions. Don’t assume the spectators know the multiple that applies.
- When it’s ratios (like a percentage), make it as clear as daylight.
It’s a communication disaster when presenters and audiences are not on the same page. Also, did you know that abbreviations befuddle the mind?
Yes, everyone knows what $ is, but not so – for example – Gross Domestic Product and Return on Investment reflected as GDP (‘ 000s) or ROI. So, the first step is to cut back on abbreviations where possible. And if you do happen to mention them, make sure you explain what the term means.
6. Highlight the “Got it!” zone
The best way to capture audience attention is to intrigue. Make them interested, and help them complete the puzzle by giving them all the pieces one after another. But instead of making the audience search for each puzzle pieces throughout your presentations, you can highlight these in your slides, keeping your audience engaged while creating a series of “aha” moment as all the pieces come together.
In other words, your presentation must draw audience attention to the key puzzle pieces, and nothing else. How? Shade it a different color. Follow a graph with a thick liner, or magnify the numbers you want to emphasize graphically with designer tools.
7. Title the page (slide) with a hard-hitting message
Believe it or not, the most effective slide content resides in the title position. It’s the first thing the audience sees when its members begin processing. Unfortunately, presenters miss this opportunity by writing in some generic title, “like more on the statistics,” instead of using it to spell out the data’s signature message.
For example, if the data shows that tech stocks recovered 44% of their lost value in 2023, title the page saying just that. In other words, point out the “Got it” part of the data before graphically demonstrating it in the images below.
8. Don’t lose yourself in the data
Allowing the data to become so overwhelming that it dominates your attention is a significant error. When one works with numbers and charts for days or even weeks, it tends to overwhelm thinking. Once on the screen, it almost beckons, “Here I am, at last, focus on me.” As a result, some presenters fail to make eye contact with the audience, staying glued to the PowerPoint. As a result, they direct all the conversation in that direction.
Of course, you want to draw the audience’s attention to the numbers and the charts, but people respond better when you look them in the eye while pressing the points you want to make. Don’t get me wrong – the extreme of never looking at the screen also doesn’t work. Glance at it appropriately, but that doesn’t mean staring it down, excluding audience engagement. Remember that the data is there to help you convince your audience. Consequently, losing yourself in the morass of slide content, thus detaching from the audience, isn’t the way to do it.
Conclusion
The first step to effective presentations is not a charismatic personality, but good data that can substantiate your insights. Next, you need to present the data just right and follow the points above for persuasive presentations.
Sogolytics can help you do everything, from collecting data by engaging the right audience, analyzing it to reveal valuable insights, to delivering presentation-ready reports!
Our platform is designed with numerous custom features to help you see the data in the format you prefer best, so that you can present insights that inform strategic decisions, every time.
Ready to get started with collecting the right data? Sogolytics is your answer!
