5 Trust-Busting Data Presentation Mistakes You Might Be Making
Trust.
Trust is a tricky character. We all want people to give us theirs, and yet we are super wary of giving it out ourselves. In family, in love, and of course, in business.
Earning the trust of others as a data analyst is a tall order. Trust is an ephemeral entity that can instantly vaporize during a presentation if certain checks and balances aren’t in place to cement your credibility.
At the end of my flagship Raise the Bar Chart Boot Camp workshop for analysts and marketers, I conduct the Live Exercise, where students present a revamped presentation to the class using the principles I teach. The students then communally critique the presentation with my gentle assistance. The Live Exercise is arguably the most valuable component of the training because it locks in core concepts in a way that teaching alone can’t accomplish.
And after delivering this workshop enough times, I’ve identified patterns of how we unwittingly present data in a way that can undermine our audience’s confidence in us.
This post will take you through the five most common mistakes we make in presenting data that break trust.
Now, we’re going to have a little fun with this one. I’m going to show you each slide first, and then ask you to take a minute to be your audience and think about what might throw you off. Think of it as a modified “Check...and Double Check” exercise of Highlights Magazine yesteryear.
Ready?
Challenge #1
From a stakeholder’s perspective, what would throw you off about this slide?
ANSWER: The title insight doesn’t match the visualization
Notice that while the title insight references campaign-level performance, the graph only depicts what’s happening on the channel level.
A mismatched insight to visual can create a trust chasm between you and your audience. Most accusations won’t hold up in a court of law without presenting the evidence. Presenting your hard-won insights to an audience of skeptical stakeholders is no different.
Visual reinforcement of your statements not only can bridge the trust gap, but research suggests that it can also increase the recall of your information up to 65% three days later [source]. So if you’re using a chart to substantiate your claim, make sure the written insight is easily gleaned from the visual. Here’s how I’d present it:
Notice how I’m reinforcing what the graph is showing, but also providing calculated context within the portfolio.
One of the most common reasons I see this happen is because of what I call “crystal ball” syndrome: the analyst has access to all the data things, and quotes a stat they came across during an offline analysis. But that stat isn’t reinforced by the visual, so it appears to the audience that either the presenter is eerily clairvoyant or just full of...well you know.
The exception I use to this rule is when I’m using just text and relevant imagery to visually communicate a stat or insight. Here’s an example:
Note that I use this technique sparingly, and often I follow up that slide charting a related metric that visually represents both of the insights. Or, I’ll include a charted representation of the figure in the appendix.
BOTTOM LINE: The critical role of your graphical visuals are to reinforce your message, so take care to ensure your insight and visual are on the same page!
If you're interested in learning the other four trust-busting presentation mistakes, visit the full post at LeaPica.com:
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