Speechwriting
Jun 19th, 2008

Wrap Your Naked Statistics in a Warm Blanket of Meaning


Wrap Your Naked StatisticsProfessional writer John Hewitt has just published a guest article I wrote on this topic: how to use statistics which connect with your audience and strengthen your argument.

Here’s a preview:

Including facts and statistics lends credibility to your assertions and grounds them in reality. Quoting a statistic from a credible source means that your arguments are no longer just your arguments: you stand united with experts.

However, a naked statistic – one provided without any meaningful context – leads to confusion rather than clarity. Numbers are often too large to grasp by themselves. Unless your audience are experts in the field, they won’t be able to intelligently interpret the statistic. You might get a momentary “wow” factor for a big number, but it won’t be memorable.

Read the rest of the article, including examples which illustrate techniques you can apply to improve your next presentation.

For further information on explaining data in a presentation, see my speech critique of Hans Rosling: Six Simple Techniques for Presenting Data.

This is one of many public speaking articles featured on Six Minutes.
Subscribe to Six Minutes for free to receive future articles.

Image credit: riot jane

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    June 20th, 2008
    6:53 pm

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Comments for "Wrap Your Naked Statistics in a Warm Blanket of Meaning"

  1. simon - presentation skills training UK

    July 5th, 2008
    9:19 am

    I agree with you… really I do… I’ve read the article and commented on it… but….

    but….. but while I like to look at pictures of attractive women in their underwear, what’s she doing on this post?!?! Tell me it’s not just a visual pun on the word “statistics”! :)

    S