How can you present trend research effectively in a short amount of time?

If we define trends as phenomenons that may impact the business, for me the most important thing is to make sure I understand what are my stakeholders’ business goals. Once I understand that, I can put insights about trends into context by explaining how they can impact the business and business objectives. Lastly, if possible, try to quantify trend impact to business KPIs - talk business. Will it impact profits, brand awareness, brand image, or something else? Understanding that and clarifying such implications usually raises attention.

It is imperative to know the objective of the meeting before tailoring your presentation. Often, we see meetings as a chance to show what we have spent time on. This is at odds with the attendees who want to know the main outcomes and take decisions if required. Always remember the meeting is not for you, but for the stakeholders.

Investors don't want to hear a good story, they want to hear the bottom line and the numbers that led you to it. To make things clearer think of the old Buddhist Proverb: "When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet." So YES, know who are you talking with & why. If you don't do so you won't have a presentation, you only have annoyed people and wasted time. Good Luck! ??

Very often, the first hurdle will be the cynic in the room who has kids and know how Gen Z behave. Hence, making clear what your sources are , how trustworthy and reliable they are, becomes the first step in all presentations. We have all read trend reports that never materialise . Citing a report that ‘got it right before ’ already breaks one barrier to adoption.

The main thing is to think of the question you are going to be asked. List doubt and questions that might arise from the findings (knowing who your audience is!) and work backwards. Beyond that, of course you have to keep in mind short attention spans and the power of images and potent insights to convey the messages you want.

A presentation on trends should focus on insights gained from the research and be tied to actionable steps for execution. Your audience should leave with three to five imperatives they can remember and implement.

In my experience, trend research goes hand in hand with consumer behaviour. In order to explain trend search effectively, first explain the consumer mindset and behaviour for that trend and then compare that with the trends research. I’ve seen this as a very crisp way of presenting trends and consumers both. In one slide, talk about consumers age group and behaviour patterns and link that to the uplift or downfall of product/service trend. This is an easy way to present the hypothesis. This will allow the presenter to also hypothesise the shifting preferences and tastes of the consumer.

Trend research becomes useful if we go beyond and answer the SO WHAT and NOW WHAT for the business. It’s the translation of a trend to an actionable business opportunity that creates value. Provide case studies and cite examples where the trend has been applied in other markets or adjacent categories or even other industries to make it more meaningful and spark action. End each trend topic with questions that the team can use to start ideation.

To effectively present trend research in a short timeframe, prioritize your key insights. Identify the most impactful findings that directly address your audience's interests and concerns. Focus on trends that are relevant, timely, and have significant implications for your audience. Keep the presentation concise by selecting only the most compelling insights that support your main points. Utilize data visualization tools to highlight key statistics and trends, making complex information easier to understand at a glance. Finally, provide actionable recommendations based on your insights to help your audience apply the research findings to their own context.

When choosing insights from your trend research, use a framework like PESTEL or 4Ps. For the big picture, explore political, economic, social, technological, environmental, and legal factors. Zooming in, consider product, price, place, and promotion. Pick the standout insights from each category for your presentation. This method helps streamline your message, making it engaging and ensuring your audience grasps the key points.

The hallmark of a good presenter is the ability to engage effectively at their knowledge level. Often technical experts feel that using abbreviations and jargon shows that they have an in-depth understanding. However, during presentations, the objective is to transmit the message clearly and succinctly. Only if one has a deep understanding can they use simple language to get the key points across.

Begin with a compelling narrative that encapsulates key insights, weaving them into a coherent storyline. Tailor the presentation to directly answer pertinent business questions, emphasizing the tangible impacts of identified trends on the bottom line. Utilize visual aids and concise summaries to reinforce key points swiftly, ensuring clarity and retention. Focus on prioritizing information that directly relates to the audience's interests and objectives, providing actionable insights that align with their strategic goals. By combining storytelling with a targeted approach to addressing business needs, you can efficiently communicate the significance of trend research within a limited timeframe.

Storytelling is a potent tool in presenting trend research, fostering engagement and driving action. To effectively utilize storytelling techniques, a structured approach, emotive connection, and clear call to action are essential. Begin with a captivating hook, introducing the problem or opportunity addressed by your trend research. Present key insights as the solution or potential, guiding the audience through your findings. Conclude with a robust call to action, specifying the next steps for the audience to take. A compelling narrative thrives on emotions, examples, and metaphors. Use anecdotes to humanize data and vivid imagery to illustrate future possibilities, fostering a deeper connection with the audience.

When presenting research, do not use the "usual" Hollywood storytelling technique. Rather, use the "law of the three" (see my previous point above). If you allow for the audience to start "generating" their insights you lose them and you will not be able to pass your message across. Instead, present the key insights in an Exec Summary (tell them what you are going to tell them), then present the nights (tell them), and back them up with 3 key data points. End with telling them what you told them so your message can be remembered.

One thing that could help is numbers, even if, talking about trends, it will not be "usual numbers" (sales, market share or else). Instead you should quote google trends search volume, number of newspaper articles or blog articles, volume of tweets. In order to convince that sales and market shares are not measurable yet but should be later.

A mi me gusta mostrar diagramas de trabajo, esquemas de trabajo, que no entregables, que muestran el proceso de investogación y de análisis para que tu audiencia conecte con tu "journey" desde las preguntas a las respuestas, de las hipótesis a los hallazgos...

The presenter should understand the audience before deciding on appropriate visual aids. For general management who need to see the big picture, trend graphs and side by side summaries work better. However, if it is a technical working meeting, more details can be included. One tip is to share additional information as a pre-read for stakeholders to begin the meeting with sufficient background.

Whichever medium of Visual aids one is using, the major focus of the visual aid should be to highlight or create a impact w.r.t. Brand. If one can Visualize your brand or remembers your brand name and Details that means we did the job well of designing the same.

Practice, practice, practice. Experiment with the order of the slides. What flow is more impactful ? It can be different based on your audience. Show it to a kid or someone that is not familiar with the topic. Eliminate any slides or topics that don’t pass the “so what” test. Time yourself and stick to the plan as much as possible. Don’t be rigid, leave some flexibility and time for potential comments and live updates. Chances are your content and its context could evolve by the time you present. Be agile, informed, and prepared to include “on the moment” expertise if needed and if relevant, and don’t be derailed by it.

To present trend research effectively in a short time, practice and refine your presentation until you're confident. Practice improves delivery, timing, and tone while refining polishes and simplifies content. Rehearse aloud for constructive criticism, record and review for improvements, and test on various devices and platforms for functionality and aesthetics.

Consider reading the Talk Like Ted book and using their methodology. On top, prepare your communication session so it can be made in 5 mins, 20 mins and 1 hour. 5 mins for the case you are not given the time for a full preso, 20 mins for the main preso and 1 hour to address all the details and questions the audience may have.

Working in innovation trends are obviously very useful, yet 2 points that stick out wrt using them. 1. You need to make sure you all talk about the same. What is trendy is not the same as a trend. There are different ways to classify trends, and I tend to work with Macro (big shifts), Meso (stuff impacting consumer dynamics) and the Micro trends (signifiers, or market level manifestations) 2. Secondly what always surprises me is that the big trends decks look completely different every year! While many (macro/meso) trends only slightly shift. So when trying to condens trend reports, I tend to focus on the shifts that impact consumer dynamics. As that will usually be the primary focus when applying trends in an innovation context.

This can go two ways but consider it as an option nevertheless. Depending on the audience, consider sending the deck ahead of time. This provides your audience the opportunity to review the data ahead of time and you can focus on storytelling during the presentation. This can create time for robust dialogue instead of spending your presentation time reviewing numbers.

Además de lo ya mencionado anteriormente, asegúrate de contagiar un genuino entusiasmo por el tema; eso mantendrá la atención del público, les facilitará seguir tu contenido, pero aún más importante, les generará interés por aplicarlo.

Por mi experiencia, siempre funciona comenzar con una síntesis de las "ideas fuerza" encontradas en la investigación, aquellas que contienen la esencia de los mensajes que pretendes que la audiencia retenga, el marco general, para despues, continuar con una explicación de cada una de ellas, apoyada en datos, se?ales y verbatings que las refuercen. Cada idea o tendencia, debe estar claramente argumenda, y conectada con las otras, bien por similitud o por diferencia, pero, sus conexiones son importantes y a través de ellas el discurso será más robusto y se transmitirá mejor la idea global.

Siempre es un reto sintetizar docenas o hasta cientos de voces en una presentación ejecutiva rápida y efectiva. En mi experiencia desarrollando presentaciones gerenciales, considero que la clave es el storytelling. Hacer al espectador parte de una historia que va de lo general a lo particular, con imagenes claves de apoyo, verbatims que permitan humanizar los resultados cuantitativos y dejar claro el insight de cada slide presentado. Iniciar siempre recordando la problematica y objetivos del estudio y finalizar siempre con conclusiones y recomendaciones de valor. Ah y claro!, la gesticulación y la entonación de la voz hará que mantengas al espectador intrigado por tu discurso.