11 Tips to Deliver a Data-Informed Business Presentation

Imagine if you spent days and days performing complex data analysis. When it’s time to deliver and present the results to your team and your leaders, you can’t get the message across clearly, and they leave the meeting without really understanding how your research can help the company. 

No professional who works with data would want to go through that, right? In addition to being uncomfortable, episodes like this could harm your professional growth.  

Well, from now on, you won’t have to worry about it; in this article, we will give you tips to deliver a data business presentation simply and effectively; keep reading to find out. 

11 TIPS TO DELIVER DATA-INFORMED IN A BUSINESS PRESENTATION 

1. Make a script of your presentation and follow it to the letter 

A remarkable data presentation begins behind the scenes. The first step before entering the stage is to make a complete script of your presentation, with details about the procedures you went through and the most relevant content. 

Study and reread this script a few times and try to find points of improvement in the way you present the results of your analysis. 

And an important aspect: follow your script. During presentations, it is widespread that you divert your attention from what needs to be said due to nervousness, lack of practice, or simply carelessness. 

Of course, it may be that someone asks a question in your presentation and that you need to deviate from the pre-arranged path briefly. But if you’ve studied the content of your presentation and are clear about what needs to be shown, you’ll have no trouble picking up where you left off.

2. Explain your methodology and justify 

With the script ready and revised, it’s time to think about the essential elements of your presentation. At this stage, pay special attention to the methodologies and techniques you used in your data analysis. 

Justify your choices during the analysis, explain why you used a particular database, and make it clear that these decisions were the most effective in finding points for improvement and solving problems in the company. 

For example, if you choose to perform a predictive analysis, explain how the procedures it predicts can help you find consistent and promising results.

3. Choose the ideal graphics 

There is no disjointed mixing colors and inserting graphic elements that don’t talk to each other on your slides. When presenting data, remember that less is more. 

The first step is to take care not to leave your presentation polluted. Visual elements need to be aligned with the relevance of the content, organized in a hierarchy that makes sense and that is in favor of the message you want to convey. 

For example, if you intend to show a percentage increase in the level of sales in a certain period, choose an arrow facing up with the value of this increase on the side and not a graph that can pollute your presentation or take a toll. Unnecessary time from your audience for a relatively simple message.

Data-informed business presentation

5. Make it easy to understand with examples 

A presentation of data naturally carries a high level of complexity. The message most faithful to your analysis may not always be easily understood by the audience you are speaking to. 

In these situations, a tip facilitates understanding the data through examples. You can quote the story of a book, everyday cases, or even make comparisons with elements familiar to most people. 

In this way, you will be able to hold people’s attention even if the content is complex, allowing them to visualize the results and applicability of your analysis more directly.

6. Pay attention to font size and graphics 

Your computer can be deceiving, and you should confirm with a colleague or family member that your presentation is visible even from a distance. If you notice that the other person is squinting or that he can’t give an immediate affirmative answer, it’s time to modify the slide in question.

7. The meaning of the data is more important than the data itself 

Just saying that a project got x number of sales doesn’t mean anything in itself. You must explain what the results translate into the product’s success with the customer, the correct use of the new social networks, and greater popularity with a particular audience at the expense of another.

8. Focus on relevant data 

Imagine that you are on a slide that demonstrates your website traffic using the origin of the visitors as a metric. If there are 49% Portuguese and 51% Spaniards, you should highlight both, explaining that the product sells well in both countries. 

Know how to distinguish critical information from secondary information that could cause visual pollution, making it difficult for the other to analyze. However, suppose the percentage is 89% Portuguese, 5% Spaniards, and 6% French. 

In that case, the number highlighted should be that of Portugal, avoiding taking up space to demonstrate two probably less essential aspects of the report.

9. Avoid using too many abbreviations 

If you are presenting the data to a specialist in social networks, you may choose to use abbreviations such as FB (Facebook) or IG (Instagram); however, choose terms such as WP (WordPress) or GA (Google Analytics) when if it is aimed at a less specialized audience.

 It will end up confusing and even indirectly insulting them because it presumes that knowing these abbreviations is something so banal that everyone present should know them.

10. Present your conclusions with conviction (but not just that) 

Are you sure that the path taken during your analysis has generated consistent and promising conclusions for the company? Then it’s time to defend them with conviction. 

As a rule, the objective of a market-oriented survey is to identify gaps and areas for improvement. Therefore, when presenting the conclusions of your data analysis, highlight the benefits that these findings can bring to the company. 

If necessary, project the possible numerical results that this conclusion can generate for the business. In this way, everyone will be able to understand, in fact, the relevance of their work.

11. Offer insights for new surveys and raise further questions from the results you’ve found 

No research, by itself, exhausts the possibilities on a subject, theme, or problem to be solved. Most of the time, the conclusions of an analysis generate a series of options for further investigations. 

So, at the end of your presentation, raise new hypotheses and show other opportunities for analysis. We do not doubt that, with this simple action, you will be seen as a professional who always goes above and beyond and performs above average. 

Conclusion 

When presenting your company’s data or a specific project to a client or partner, you must know how to do it, preventing the other from losing interest or not remembering the striking information. That depends on you and your strategy. Who chooses. 

It is also essential to explain the meaning to your stakeholders and give them space to comment and share their opinion.

Reference and Further Reading 

Present Your Data Like a Pro 

5 Top Tips For Presenting Data More Effectively

How bad data influences decision-making

Emidio Amadebai

As an IT Engineer, who is passionate about learning and sharing. I have worked and learned quite a bit from Data Engineers, Data Analysts, Business Analysts, and Key Decision Makers almost for the past 5 years. Interested in learning more about Data Science and How to leverage it for better decision-making in my business and hopefully help you do the same in yours.

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