How can data make your speech more persuasive?

Data is powerful when speaking when it connects to examples and stories. It further can help to demonstrate points that are critical to the speech.

When including data in your speech, make sure that the data comes from an authentic source. Do mention the source when you quote the data. It adds weight to your words and can be very persuasive. Ex: The World Bank's 2020 survey on Debts taken by developing countries states that "xx" countries have more than "yy%" Debt/GDP ratio.

The role of an in-person or even online live presentation has changed since the advent of easy transfer of documents, wiki pages and, most recently, access to AI. While data are critical when on stage, they must come to life, create emotion, and be memorable. The worst that could happen is that someone feels they could have read a .pdf instead of listening to you. How you present is more important than what you present.

All good points, there exists a bit of a double edged sword present. When Al Gore presented his (in)famous “An Inconvenient Truth” he showed a graph of global temperatures, a hockey stick, with markedly rising recent temperatures - dramatically riding a cherry-picker to emphasize the recent warming trend. Another contributor suggested that one should choose data that clearly and unambiguously supports their message. Mr. Gore certainly did so! If his data had extended further into the past he would have needed a second (larger) cherry picker on the left. Perhaps showing the range,median, and standard deviation of preceding fat would have been less misleading.

Data can enhance the persuasiveness of your speech in many ways: Credibility: Data from reputable sources lends authority to your arguments, increasing your audience's trust in your message. Evidence: Data offers concrete evidence to support your claims, demonstrating that your assertions are based on facts rather than mere opinions. Clarity: Visual representations of data, such as charts and graphs, can simplify complex information, making it easier for your audience to grasp and remember. Comparison: Data allows you to make meaningful comparisons, enabling you to highlight the superiority of your perspective or proposal. .

Refrain from the temptation of putting too many charts on one slide. As a rule of thumb, each slide should communicate one message unless you are contrasting two scenarios; in that case, two messages could be acceptable.

Easy to understand visual aids will help the auidence gauge the impact and thought that you wish to convey. You can go all creative too like using Spider graphs. Just make sure that your audience can interpret the visual aid that you use.

Ask somebody who isn’t involved in creating the presentation to explain what data you have visualized. If they can’t connect the data to the charts/ graphs it won’t work for your audience. Use large fonts in various colors to show differences, varying background colors. Keep it simple, concise and quick to understand.

At its core, data visualization is visual storytelling. When you're telling a story, you are walking your audience through a journey. What is the main message the viewer needs to know? Using appropriate color schemes can enhance comprehension. Different colors can evoke different emotions or highlight importance. It's also crucial to ensure visual aids are accessible to colorblind individuals.

Explain the data and the parameters to make the audience understand the importance of the data. Be precise. For example- If you are using a graph, let the audience know what the x and y axis denote.

Explain and, most importantly, provide the impact of the data. For example: It is not enough to show the new bus timetable. What matters is the impact that such changes have on the population, on the environment on traffic conditions.

Turn your data into embodied, relatable examples of what it means. Not everyone speaks math language. Yet, we all tend to remember better those things we understand and can relate to.

If you're finding it too difficult to simplify complex concepts in the data to a point where your audience can understand the material, analogies and metaphors can make intricate or unfamiliar concepts easier to grasp, likening them to familiar scenarios or ideas. Offer context, where possible, and cut out anything that isn't immediately relevant to the concepts presented. A technical audience may appreciate deeper dives, while a general audience may benefit more from simplified explanations.

It's important to provide more than one example as different people engage with information in different ways. Paradoxes and metaphors are often useful because they are memorable.

When emphasizing aspects of your data, try to tie back to your main point or problem you are trying to solve. This achieves a dual purpose. First, you reinforce the relevance of the data, ensuring your audience understands its significance in the broader context. Second, it helps maintain focus, preventing the audience from getting lost in a sea of numbers or sidetracked by peripheral details. This strategy not only enhances comprehension but also bolsters the power of your message, making it more memorable and actionable for your listeners.

Audience demographics should certainly be taken into account when presenting data - both in the type of data presented and the way it is presented - but also be mindful of not pandering so much that you lose authenticity. Also, unless you are at an industry specific or academic conference, always use easily digestible data. Don't make your audience have to search and try to find out what it is you are showing them with some overly technical chart or graph.

Review the data and also make sure you acknowledge and reference the source! I always find it very amateurish when I see data with no mention of the source. When possible leverage the "halo effect" by drawing data from prestigious organisations.

We should all be very cautious any time we hear data being presented. It takes a small amount of brain power to manipulate facts and findings to support a cause, hypothesis, or agenda that someone is trying to promote. Example: If LeBron James walked into an undergraduate class to give a guest lecture, the average salary of the people within that classroom (44 people in that room) would be approximately $1,000,000 dollars per year. The median would be more like $500 dollars. One makes it sound like a class full of tech millionaires taking a high-profile night class, the other just a run-of-the-mill undergrad course. Anytime you hear data being shown to you, remember to turn your brain - as things aren't always as they appear.

I have no interest in “persuading”. I seek to facilitate an experience, one very different for each person in attendance, and then make it safe to share differences, using reflecting and reframing to build common ground, thus teaching true cooperation and collaboration.