Presenting the analysis of data to the stakeholders is as important as analysing the data. In the book ‘Making Numbers Count’, Chip Heath and Karla Starr provide us with guidance on how to convey the data-driven message to the stakeholders such that comprehension is easy and memorability is good.
#1 Steer clear of numbers
Math is a second language which we have learnt through our education system. Making sense of the number-driven statements is not intuitive. Hence, the authors suggest translating the analysis summary into sentences in the native language which would provide a concrete and meaningful message, even without the numbers. An example to illustrate from the book:
#2 Focus on the ONE
Don’t try to provide a lot of information at a go. Identify that one thing (trend, hypothesis, outlier, metric, etc) you want to highlight through the visualization to the stakeholders. Keep the visualization simple and just focus on that single narrative at the moment.
#3 Use reader-friendly figures
Converting the actual figures to reader-friendly figures help in improving the comprehension and memorability of the analysis. While converting to reader-friendly figures, we should take care that the magnitude of the change being highlighted is in lines with the actual change.
#4 Use familiar comparisons & Personalize the message
Using analogies from the stakeholders’ real world for creating comparisons helps in making the analysis summary memorable. Try to identify similar-sized items which would be well-known among the stakeholders. Eg: During the COVID era in India, instead of asking to maintain 6 feet distance from peers in a queue, the campaign suggested that citizens should maintain a 2 arms distance from their peers in the queue.
Read the book to view more examples of how to present the data better
Making Numbers Count by Chip Heath and Karla Starr (Kindle | Audiobook | Hardcover | Paperback)
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Analytics