The Valuable Lesson a Back Massage Taught Me About Presenting Data in Challenging Times

Do you ever have epiphanies or a-ha moments in the oddest of places?

I do, I suspect because my brain is inhabited by rocket-fueled carnival squirrels. ???

I had one of these epiphanies just yesterday, inspired by hosting visitors who were trying to figure out their next step in the midst of this global whackadoodle.

One of them was skilled in the fine art of Thai massage, an arm of therapeutic bodywork that I’d always passed over in lieu of more familiar techniques like Swedish and Deep Tissue.

When she offered an in-home session, I almost declined. My first thought was that I shouldn’t indulge myself in this time of uncertainty. 

I knew the prudent thing to do was to conserve my funds for things that really matter, like my addiction to fat bombs.

The deciding factor, though, was that I was in pain.

You see, I had yanked the entire right side of my back into a Bavarian pretzel during a vigorous yoga session the day before. My mind was quite preoccupied with a constant ache I couldn’t escape. ??

So I took the plunge, and I didn’t regret it one bit. The session was AMAZING, and for the rest of the day, my back didn’t ache anymore. 

That’s when it hit me.

She had alleviated my pain. And as such, I believed I made a worthwhile investment.

Yes, that same money could have been used to buy more essentials like the last remaining roll of toilet paper on earth. Something I’d eventually need.

But I didn’t care. Because her service alleviated my pain.

What does any of this have to do with your work, and presenting your data to stakeholders and clients?

Everything.

They may not outwardly show it, but they are in pain right now. 

Especially right now. 

Unless they were born before 1929, this level of economic uncertainty is unprecedented for them. 

They’re not sure what they can do to keep customers engaged and bottom lines intact.

They’re not sure if their companies, their initiatives, their teams, and maybe their jobs will outlast the storm. 

And they’ll go to great lengths to alleviate their pain.

Here’s why that matters to you:

1. Your data contains the answer. 
2. Your unique insight into your data can transmit that answer. 
3. Your recommendations can provide the roadmap.

So your tip for today is to ask yourself these questions:

• How are my stakeholders in pain right now? 
• What are they preoccupied with? 
• What’s keeping them up at night? 
• And how can my insights alleviate their pain?

If you can’t intuit the answers on your own, do something crazy and ask them. Fire up that email engine or dial them digits.

Have an actual 1-1 conversation with them that meets everyone’s needs for social distancing.

As an unexpected side effect, you may notice an increase in goodwill and satisfaction when they see your effort to understand their challenges.

By the way, it occurs to me that you might be in pain right now too. If you’re here, you clearly care about making an impact by presenting your insights.

And, you might be finding that even harder to do considering the current state of emergency and working remotely.

Keeping an audience engaged during presentations over the web and phone present unique challenges.

But with the right presentation skills for in-person or over the web, social distancing does not have to mean becoming invisible to your stakeholders. You can still be their hero from afar.

That's where I can help.

Namaste,

Lea

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