According to ChatGPT: “In the rapidly expanding technological world of today, when data is the cornerstone of every conversation, including business decision-making, data professionals must know how to best present the data they work with.”
Hahahahahaha…. Nah, let’s not continue with Chad (as I have come to call him). No, instead read about how you can really create presentations of your data which makes an executive audience happy. All based on my experience of 20+ years in tech and storytelling plus some 10 years in ML.
Before we start!
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The Artificial Intelligence Chasm
I met a fellow data professional over coffee the other day and coincidentally, we both were making decks for executives and in one breath we said “Making data presentations for an executive audience is so different”. The way we present our data and insights differs so much per the audience. From an extremely high-level overview to raising the smallest of a potential red flag, the same data can be narrated in so many different ways, the mere art of adapting when storytelling with data motivated me to write this blog.
Everyone knows how to use PowerPoint, Prezi, Canva, Visme, and other such tools to create compelling presentations but what matters the most is the way that the data is presented!
People understand stories better than raw data
Knowing how to develop and deliver a data-driven presentation is a quintessential skill for data professionals today. Data alone cannot hold a great presentation. Storytelling with data is a highly valued skill in the workforce today and translating data and insights for a non-technical audience is rare to see than it is expected.
Here’s my six-step routine to make and deliver your data presentation right where it is intended —
1. Understand Your data & make it seen
Data slides aren’t really about data; they’re about the meaning of that data.
As data professionals, everyone approaches data differently. Some like to look through the entire dataset before mentally visualizing whereas some like to wireframe the solution first and then manipulate and structure the data to meet the visual picture. Regardless of the approach, it is quintessential that the data is understood, thoroughly.
Before creating a story, I like to lay out the business context and understand the nuances within the data. That helps me make assumptions or create hypotheses about the analyses. For me, it is imperative to evaluate, clean, and summarize the data while connecting it back to the business.
- If you have things about your data to highlight, make sure you include them in your presentation
- If you followed the steps to clean and manipulate the data, add some text about the methodology to educate the audience
Understanding data is a skill in itself, from collecting data to presenting that data to make informed decisions, what you do with your data dictates your story to unfold.
2. Find your unique style of storytelling
One thing that helped me a lot in creating data presentations was finding MY style of storytelling.
I enjoy jokes or saying something funny when talking about the challenges with a project. As a consumer or a creator of analyses and data presentations, I like when the content is placed in a way that it makes it easier to understand the analyses. It could be —
- adding memes or GIFs (if your organization allows that)
- creating a trademark structure to layout your slides
- use real-life examples or draw from experiences to present a point
see what fits the best in your role and team.
When your slide deck is shared with a person who knows, they should be able to tell it’s your presentation. In short, it is important to find or create YOUR style.
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3. Use storytelling techniques to present your data
Narrating your data in a compelling and engaging way is the key to a successful presentation.
There are a couple of storytelling techniques out there that playwrights and storytellers use like the Three-Act-Structure (has a setup plot, midpoint, and a conclusion), the Show, Don’t Tell method, or the seven steps of storytelling which is what I use —
- Back Story
- Catalyst
- The Big Event
- Midpoint
- Crisis
- Climax
- Realization
Now, it is NOT necessary that you have to cover all seven steps in your presentation. If your audience is aware of the back story and what motivated your analyses, you can skip that OR there may be no crisis in your analysis OR your analysis is not complete yet, the results can be shared in an email later — it’s your discretion!
4. Adapt per the knowledge level of your audience
Reading the room is a quintessential skill to have as a presenter.
Understanding your audience and adapting to the interests, level of understanding, attitudes, and beliefs of your audience is the key. A lot of the time, I have the same presentation, data, and methodology but the flow of my story has to be tweaked based on the knowledge level of my audience.
Data cannot speak by itself so ALWAYS provide context to what you’re sharing!
As a presenter, always be on the lookout to find common ground with the audience. You could come up with a clever icebreaker if the audience is new to you and will make them feel comfortable with what you have to say. I’ve also read about audience analysis as a concept to identify the audience through research and navigating through audience expectations, their knowledge of the topic, demographics, voluntariness to attend, and more to better narrate the story.
5. Label your components clearly
While working with data and creating a presentation about it, I understood everything that was on my presentation agenda, and in my initial years, I would not label the charts, mark the outliers, etc.
Over time, I’ve realized, only for the better that a chart’s visual intuitiveness and clarity are crucial to its consumption. This is so obvious but one of the most grave mistakes data professionals make. Make sure to—
- label your visuals
- add legends to your charts
- use simple, clear language
- indicate what the axes mean
- introduce abbreviations and jargon at the start of a presentation and spell out the abbreviations from time to time
6. Share three key takeaways from your story
It’s all about the aha! moments
In the past, I used to share one key takeaway per slide but not everyone has a great memory to remember what you pointed out 20 minutes ago. Instead, share three key takeaways at the end of your presentation and send your audience away with a crisp summary of your work.
I love the art of storytelling and I attempt to design my key takeaways from the beginning, middle, and end of my analysis — which could be the challenges, workaround, and the results of an analysis.
While drafting your key takeaways, keep in mind —
- what your audience will care about
- what are the implications of the results you’ve found out
- what insights will leave the biggest impact on your analysis
Now, there is no rule to having only three takeaways, you could do four too, but three being the easiest number to remember, it will leave a lasting impression and stay with your audience
In conclusion, data stories become more compelling when presented with accurate, supporting data but presenting that data poorly not only misses the point you want to make, it may also lessen your ability as a storyteller, which for a data analyst, is significant.
Well, that’s a wrap for today. Tomorrow, I’ll have a fresh episode of TechTonic Shifts for you. If you enjoy my writing and want to support my work, feel free to buy me a coffee ♨️
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Signing off – Marco
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