Statistics are numerical values that support your presentation’s main idea. While they’re popular in building arguments, they can be boring and confusing to your audience.
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Not everyone can understand a series of statistical data, especially when they’re presented verbally.
Present this information without making your discussion less interesting and less effective. Below are some engaging ways to throw out stats.
Use Graphs and Charts
Your audience members may have different learning preferences. Since most people today are visual learners, using graphs and charts help your listeners comprehend a large numerical data set quickly and easily.
Graphs and charts not only visualize data, they also compress it so that only the most important parts stand out.
These visual representations are best for displaying data analysis such as measurements, trends, or comparisons. Maximize this graphic display of data so your audience remembers your point.
Use Analogies
As renowned authors Chip and Dan Heath have stated in their best-selling book, Made to Stick: “Statistics will, and should, almost always be used to illustrate a relationship. It’s more important for people to remember the relationship than the number.”
These relationships and associations are often present in analogies. Analogies effectively simplify a difficult statistical concept by associating a number with something relatable and concrete.
If a company experiences an increase in sales, it’ll also have a high score in revenue growth, business reputation, and human relations. Analogies are ideal for link building, problem-solving, and decision-making.
Use Infographics
Infographics make great marketing tools. They get the message across in a more concise and appealing manner. They’re also a visual tool that makes the complex understandable.
Of all the tools discussed, infographics are the most effective for both informing and entertaining. They’re also great for comparing and illustrating processes.
Look at sample infographics that visualize a statistical value while summarizing intended messages.
Conclusion
Statistics are great for supporting a point or purpose that you’re sharing with your audience. Always be on the lookout for creative ways for showing them off in your presentation.
Step away from simply verbalizing facts. Instead, present them in a way that stimulates fun learning. While speaking, compare the info you’re discussing with easy-to-digest visual images or situations. People remember relationships more than they memorize random numbers.
For more technical and formal clients, charts and graphs are a simple way of presenting hard data. On the other hand, infographics engage audiences more to talk about information while entertaining your audiences at the same time.
Got a presentation requirement to work on? SlideGenius is pleased to help you. Email us at sales@slidegenius.com and we’ll contact you ASAP.
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References
“Dig into Your Presentation Audience’s Key Learning Styles.” SlideGenius, Inc. May 8, 2015. Accessed June 29, 2015.
Heath, Chip, and Dan Heath. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. New York: Random House, 2007.