Has this ever happened to you?

You’ve discovered a fascinating statistic that clinches your persuasive argument. You save it for your last point, and deliver it clearly. You expect a wave of emotion to hit your audience, but…

Nothing. Your audience doesn’t react at all. Do they not get it?

If this sounds familiar, then you are not alone. A Six Minutes subscriber, Akiko Takeshita, sends this question via email:

I wonder if you have any advice for working statistics into a speech. Sometimes it works for me, but I often feel like the audience isn’t impacted by the statistic when the statistic seems very powerful to me. What am I doing wrong?

In this article, we examine the importance of using statistics in your speech, and how to do so effectively.

Why use statistics in your speech?

Knowing how to leverage statistics in your speech is an important skill.

• Statistics add realism to your speech. It’s okay to talk about big ideas in abstract terms, but you also have to make it real. Numbers and facts are one way to staple your speech arguments to reality (thus boosting logos). For example, claiming that correctly setting your tire pressure will increase your fuel mileage is one thing. But stating that it could save $500 a year in fuel costs is much better.
• Statistics can have an emotional impact (pathos) on your audience. For example, you can amplify the emotional response in your speech about poverty by revealing the percentage of children in your community who will not be receiving gifts this holiday season.
• Statistics raise your credibility (ethos) in two ways. First, using a statistic demonstrates that you’ve done research and are working hard for the audience. Second, using statistics from trusted sources (e.g. the World Health Organization) boosts your credibility by association.
• Statistics can be memorable, sticking with your audience beyond the duration of your speech.

How do you choose the right statistics?

If you plunge yourself into research for your topic, you’ll find that you are soon swimming in statistics. With so much data to choose from, how do you decide which material to use?

Here are several factors to consider when making your choice:

• Which statistics would impact your audience most? While it helps if you feel the statistic is powerful (so you can speak with sincerity), it’s more important to choose statistics that your audience will find powerful.
• Which statistics are most surprising? This, too, is dependent on the audience. Your goal is to have your audience members leave the room and say to their friends, “You’ll never believe what I learned in a speech today…“
• Which statistics help validate your individual arguments? Statistics should not be included in your speech because they are merely interesting trivia; they must be closely tied to your core message or supporting points. If it isn’t relevant to your speech, your audience may remember the statistic, but they won’t remember you or your message.

The art of weaving the statistic into your speech.

If you remember just one thing from this article, remember this: you must provide a meaningful context for your statistics. A naked statistic will not impact your audience if they do not have the background knowledge to assess it properly.

For example, suppose I tell you that Six Minutes has ten thousand subscribers. You may be impressed, but you may not. Is that a big number? A small number?

However, if I also tell you that this makes Six Minutes one of the most popular speaking blogs on the planet (or perhaps the most popular), this allows you to interpret the statistic in a more meaningful context.

• Follow up the statistic with a comparison in concrete terms to which your audience can relate.
• Bring your statistic to life by telling the story of one of the “numbers”. For example, if your statistic is the number of people with breast cancer, you might begin by telling the story of a breast cancer victim and then reveal that “she is just one of 100,000 women in this country who will find out they have cancer this year.”
• Compare the statistic to itself earlier in time. The most powerful aspect may be to see how the value has changed from one year to the next, or from one decade to the next.
• Don’t rely on your audience to just “get it.” Explain the connection between the statistic and your message. A direct approach is usually best, such as “This is important because…“

Delivering the statistic for maximum effect

Assuming you’ve used one of the earlier tips for weaving the statistic into your speech, your effectiveness still hinges on successful delivery. Here are a few techniques you can use to maximize the effect you desire:

• Hint at its importance. You can do this earlier in the speech to build suspense (e.g. “In a few moments, I’m going to reveal a shocking statistic that will make you change the way you view civic politics…“) or use a quick, immediate approach (e.g. “If you remember just one thing from this speech, remember this…“)
• Pause immediately before the statistic to create suspense.
• Articulate clearly, and speak slightly slower than your normal rate. This will also signal the importance of the statistic.
• Pause immediately after the statistic (a little longer than before) to give your audience time to process the meaning and “feel” the impact.
• Use gestures to demonstrate the magnitude. Standing with your arms wide open, for example, creates a sense of size.
• Use facial expressions to convey the appropriate reaction. (i.e. show your own shock, surprise, sadness, etc.)
• If you are speaking with slides, you might reveal a slide to coincide with your statistic. You could use a chart to highlight the magnitude of the number, or you could use a photograph to strike a more emotional tone. Whatever you do, make sure that slide is simple! You want your audience to easily digest the meaning along with your spoken words.

Your Turn: What’s Your Opinion?

Have you had success with statistics in your speeches? What works for you? What doesn’t?

Please share in the comments.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Imagine that you are writing your next great speech. As you scour your mind for the fact that will clinch your case, you will discover one of two things: either you know it, or you don’t.

Most of the time, you won’t know every piece of information you need to make a compelling argument, but you can find it.

The seventh Toastmasters speech project encourages you to go beyond your own knowledge and opinions, and fill in the gaps with various forms of research.

This article of the Toastmasters Speech Series examines the primary goals of this project, provides tips and techniques, and links to numerous sample speeches.

Why is This Speech Important?

The objectives for this speech project are to conduct appropriate research and then incorporate this research into your speech to provide support for your key arguments.

Tips and Techniques

1. Don’t know what to research? Anticipate audience questions.

As you take your speech from an idea to an outline, and then to a rough draft, ask yourself the following question: “If I delivered this speech as is, what question would my audience have?” If you don’t have the answer (due to your subject expertise), then you’ve got to research it. Then, once you incorporate this new research into your speech, ask yourself the question again. Repeat a few times until you’ve covered the key questions.

2. Use websites, but use them wisely.

There’s a wealth of information out there, and you’d be stupid not to utilize it.

But don’t be lazy when choosing your sources. I’m a huge fan of Wikipedia and I have used it for early speech research. However, I wouldn’t always trust my reputation as a speaker on the information provided by an encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Instead, look for primary sources. For example:

• Speaking about the health benefits of apples? Seek out a nutrition website, not a chat room.
• Speaking about high-definition televisions? Grab specifications from the  manufacturer website, not Twitter.
• Speaking about the Oregon Dunes? Head to the US Forest Service website, not Facebook.

The quality of your source matters. (See this article about speaking ethos.)

3. Don’t use only websites.

Sure, the Internet has lots of answers, but not all of them. You might also try:

• Books, newspapers, magazines, etc.
• Go to the business, the attraction, the town hall meeting, the park, the beach, the mall, or whatever location allows you to gather first-hand knowledge.
• Interview an expert, whether in-person, on the phone, or via email.
• Conduct a survey yourself.

You will raise your credibility by going beyond the “easy” or “expected” source (the web).

4. Keep it relevant.

Remember the lesson learned in speech 3: every element of your speech must reinforce your purpose.

Don’t include statistics just because they are jaw-dropping. Include them because they improve the strength of your argument.

Similarly, don’t include quotations from a famous person or source with the intent of name-dropping. Include them because they express one of your arguments more succinctly than you could otherwise express it.

5. Cite your sources.

As mentioned in a previous article about improving your persuasiveness:

A statistic may be accurate, but without citing a source, your audience may dismiss it. By citing a source, you tip the scale towards believability.

6. Provide necessary context.

Facts, statistics, quotations, and whatever else you discover in your research can rarely be presented all alone. In most cases, you’ll need to wrap your research by providing some context, and explaining the relevance.

For example, suppose that your research tells you that a certain exercise burns 800 calories of energy. Depending on the knowledge of your audience, this may be a meaningless number. To give it meaning, you have to provide the context. e.g. 800 calories is one third of the recommended daily caloric intake. (Note that this value depends on gender, weight, etc. Choose a value which is representative of your audience… or provide a range of values.)

7. Don’t cram too much in.

Avoid the temptation to just collect an array of statistics and then spew them at your audience, one after the other. Your speech should be supported by your research; it should not be the research.

But what if you have more research than you can reasonably fit…?

8. Surprise your audience with a handout.

In your speech, you only have time to refer to the most relevant research. But a great way to follow up your speech (all speeches, but especially for this project) is to provide additional research on a handout. A single page is often enough. It’s a good place to list websites or other sources, or any other information which leads your audience towards your call-to-action.

What I Did for Speech 7

I researched options for cutting the fuel costs for your car, and presented these to my audience.

I included the following research in my speech:

• A chart showing gas prices for a 3-year period (on gasbuddy.com). I presented this as a chart early in the talk to illustrate how drastic the overall change has been to set the context for my talk.
• The sum of federal, provincial, and local (transit) taxes that are included in the gas price. (Where I live, taxes add up to one third of the total price!)
• The range of fuel efficiency among different classes of vehicles (a factor of six between a Toyota Prius hybrid and a Dodge Ram truck), and also between vehicles in the same class (varies from five to forty percent).
• The fuel efficiency difference between a vehicle which is properly maintained, and one which is not (up to 13%).
• The fuel costs associated with running your air conditioning rather than opening your windows (up to 10%, depending on your speed).
• Fuel savings from driving style (up to 25%) e.g. maintaining a steady speed rather than constantly speeding and braking.
• Fuel savings from streamlining your car (up to 5%) by removing roof racks or heavy items from the trunk.
• Fuel savings from buying at the “right” time of day (up to 5%).

Most of my research was done on various government, automotive, and consumer websites. I presented the sources as part of my talk. (Unfortunately, the links are dead now.)

For the “time of day” research, I compiled this myself by recording the price difference at the same gas station every day for one month when I drove by it several times per day (to and from work, etc.) On average, the gas was 5% cheaper in the evening relative to the morning price.

To make the research more meaningful, I also presented the dollar savings which could be realized for an average commuter in Greater Vancouver, where I live. ($632 a year!)

Toastmasters Speech 7 Examples

Here are a few sample video speeches which may provide inspiration for you. As you watch them, ask yourself which elements of the speech were likely researched, how well was this researched material presented, and did it support the speaker’s arguments?

• Sugar Blues by Kelly Cornell
  • Note how the speaker makes numbers more meaningful by comparing them to other values. Also, she uses teaspoons to aid understandability rather than the less commonly known grams. e.g.
    • Average American consumes more than 100 pounds of sugar every year, compared to 8 pounds of broccoli.
    • Lemon poppyseed Clif Bar has 21 grams of sugar (5 teaspoons).
      Chocolate glazed cake donut (Dunkin donuts) has 14 grams (3 teaspoons).
      16 ounce Starbucks frappucino has 44 grams of sugar (10 teaspoons). “That’s like eating 3 donuts!”
  • Although the speaker cites the USDA as the source for the 10 teaspoons/day recommendation, no other sources are cited through the speech. For example, who says Americans consume more than 100 pounds of sugar a year? Since the speaker is an authority herself (she is a nutrition counselor), citing her sources isn’t critical, but it would be good.

• Adapt or Die – Income Diversification by Mary Ann
• Let the Music Play by Ravi Mittal
• The Monster that Ate Wall Street by Srinivas Ankareddy
• The Hug Effect by Heather
• The Federal Reserve by Frank
• Things You Did or Did Not Know About Victoria by Matt
• Some Like it Hot by Reuben
• Fear of Rejection by Anonymous
• Who gets more rebounds? by Jason Zhang

Next in the Toastmasters Speech Series

The next article in this series will examine Speech 8: Get Comfortable with Visual Aids.

Similar Articles You May Like... How to Weave Statistics Into Your Speech Book Review: Made to Stick 15 Tactics to Establish Ethos: Examples for Persuasive Speaking What is Ethos and Why is it Critical for Speakers? Ethos, Pathos, Logos: 3 Pillars of Public Speaking Toastmasters Speech 6: Vocal Variety

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Defer the customary “nice-to-be-here” platitudes.

Direct your audience more into fawning than yawning over your speech opening. How?

Start your speech better by diving in! Instead of gingerly dipping your toes into the proverbial speaking pool, open with a splash! Pattern your platform performance after the TEASE opening which Saturday Night Live has made famous for more than 25 years.

Learning from Saturday Night Live to Start Your Speech

The opening of Saturday Night Live is much anticipated and always engaging. Consider the formula they use:

1. First, a “cold” open. There’s no warm up. No toes in the water. They just jump in with the opening skit (usually one of the most memorable of the night).
2. Then, following the catchy “Live from New York, it’s Saturday night!”, the host introduces herself and the musical guest, and sets the agenda for the show.

Can you apply this formula to start your speech?

First, TEASE your audience from the second you open your mouth. And open their eyes to something new, different, and even entertaining. Pique their interest. Immerse your audience into the action from the opening second with a verbal splash of cold water. With a powerful 30- to 60-second opening, your audience will be engaged to stay tuned for more.

Then, you can then formally introduce yourself, and give your audience an overview of your speech. It’s important they know up front why your speech is important to them.

Let’s examine those first thirty to sixty seconds. What’s a TEASE?

What is a TEASE Speech Opening?

TEASE is an acronym for five ways to gain and retain your audience’s attention:

• Testimonial
• Evidence
• Anecdote
• Statement
• Example

Example: How to Start a Speech About Speaking

Let’s say you wanted to design, develop, and deliver a speech on the importance of public speaking. Here are five TEASE techniques you might use:

1. Testimonial
   Cite the behavior of a celebrity and/or quote an influential person the audience will know of or respect.
2. Evidence
   On the impact of public speaking in your career success.
3. Anecdote
   Of someone benefiting directly from their public speaking expertise.
4. Statement
   On the significance of public speaking to the quality of life.
5. Example
   Of a person whose career really took off because of public speaking.

Let’s look at examples of each of these TEASE techniques for a great speech opening.

1. Start Your Speech With… a Testimonial

Cite the behavior of a celebrity and/or quote an influential person the audience will know of or respect.

“If all my possessions were taken away from me with one exception, I would choose the power of speech. For by it, I would regain all the rest of my possessions.” That’s what former Senator and Secretary of State Daniel Webster once observed of the significance of effective public speaking. Likewise, Pericles, the Greek orator, also understood the significance of public speaking when he said: “The person who can think and does not know how to express what he thinks is at a level of him who cannot think.”

2. Start Your Speech With… Evidence

Present statistics or other data on the importance of public speaking.

The University of Michigan conducted a survey of 1,290 business school alumni who were recently promoted. They were asked what specific subject area prepared them the most for their business success. More than 70 percent cited effective communications as the top business skill — ahead of financial and business acumen!

3. Start Your Speech With… an Anecdote

Tell a story of someone directly affected by the benefits of public speaking.

Isabelle lived alone for the first six years of her life. Very alone in her silent world. She lived only with her reclusive mother who also could not speak. She was a deaf mute. Isabelle was so isolated from other people she had no chance to learn or practice speaking.

When authorities finally rescued her from her silent and isolated world, she seemed ineducable. But after being around people who could speak, Isabelle broke out of her silent world. In one week, she vocalized sounds. In two months, she spoke in full sentences. In 16 months she learned 2,000 words. And in 56 months her IQ tripled, in part due to the power of being around people who could speak.

4. Start Your Speech With… a Statement

Make a bold observation on the importance of public speaking.

Public speaking is the sine qua non* of leadership. Without it, you cannot lead. With it, you can “lead nations, raise armies, inspire victories and blow fresh courage into the hearts of men” as Adlai Stevenson eulogized Sir Winston Churchill.

[* Ed. sine qua non: Latin for "essential element".]

5. Start Your Speech With… an Example

Cite a person whose career really took off because of public speaking.

After graduating from college with degrees in chemistry and microbiology, Wilma Subra figured she’d spend more time with a microscope than a microphone. But that was before she found out how many families were being exposed to high levels of chemicals and other toxins as part of her field work for a company in Louisiana. Her employer did not want to release the polluting information. So Wilma decided to start her own company, conducting environmental tests and reporting her results to government authorities and the media.

Wilma soon found herself in a variety of public speaking platforms. Her work directly cleaned up dozens of toxic sites across the country and saved thousands of lives in more than 800 communities over the last 20 years. Wilma credits her public speaking ability for much of her environmental campaign success. She says public speaking is the best way to “engage people and get them involved.”

Your Assignment to Start Your Next Speech

TEASE ‘em to please ‘em. Think Testimonial, Example, Anecdote, Statement, and Evidence for the next speech you write. And dive in!

Note: You may also be interested in Peter Jeff’s companion article: 10 Ways to End Your Speech with a Bang.

Similar Articles You May Like... Speech Critique: Dan Pink (TED 2009) Bookending Your Speech: A Master Technique How to Weave Statistics Into Your Speech How to Introduce a Speaker: 16 Essential Tips for Success Toastmasters Speech 7: Research Your Topic Book Review: Better Beginnings by Carmen Taran

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Peter Jeff has served an adjunct public speaking instructor at Grand Valley State University for the last 10 years. He is a former leadership development consultant with more than 20 years experience in corporate public relations. Mr. Jeff is also the author of a personal leadership book -- Get a Grip on Your Dream: 12 Ways to Squeeze More Success Out of Your Goals -- and can be reached at jeffp@gvsu.edu.

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.

Similar Articles You May Like... How to Weave Statistics Into Your Speech Toastmasters Speech 7: Research Your Topic TEASE ‘em: 5 Ways to Start Your Speech Toastmasters Speech 4: How to Say It Toastmasters Speech 3: Get to the Point Free E-book – Visualizing Information for Advocacy: An Introduction to Information Design

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

This free ebook was created by John Emerson as a tool to help advocacy groups:

• Tell their story more effectively;
• Make their message more compelling; and
• Use information design techniques to do it.

You may not speak on behalf of an advocacy group, but every time you speak, you are attempting to deliver a message. Your message will be more compelling if you understand and apply the visualization principles in this guide.

Visualizing Information for Advocacy is full of rich content and nearly every page contains visual examples demonstrating design principles such as:

• Color
• Typography
• Structure
• Elements
• Technology
• Clarity

Hans Rosling (previously featured in a speech critique) is one of many experts profiled. Here is another example demonstrating effective use of contrast in presentation design. One can imagine toggling between two PowerPoint slides to illustrate the contrast.

Most of the examples are too complex to go on a PowerPoint slide, but the principles scale well to simpler media as well.

From the back page:

You’ve got data, now what do you do with it?
How do you tell your story effectively?
How can you move your audience?

Get your free copy on the downloads page.

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Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.

Hans Rosling uses six simple techniques for presenting data which transform a run-of-the-mill presentation into a must-see presentation.

I encourage you to:

1. Watch the video;
2. Read the analysis in this speech critique; and
3. Share your thoughts on this presentation.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Six Techniques for Presenting Data

Rosling employs GapMinder to display his statistics. This is a wonderful software tool for displaying data, but the real magic of this presentation lies in the techniques demonstrated by Rosling. These techniques are easy to do, but I’ve rarely (if ever) seen them all demonstrated so well in a single talk. The techniques are:

1. Explain the data axes
2. Highlight subsets of data
3. Dig deeper to unwrap data
4. Place labels close to data points
5. Answer the “Why?” questions
6. Complement data with energetic delivery

Let’s examine each one and compare this presentation to common approaches.

Technique #1: Explain the Data Axes

Common approach. Graphs are displayed with either no explanation of the axes, or a quick, obligatory “Here we see variableX versus variableY“.

As Hans demonstrates, don’t assume that your audience intuitively “gets it,” particularly when presenting statistical data.

Starting around 2:43, he devotes approximately ninety seconds to:

• Explain what quantities are on each of the two axes (e.g. fertility rates versus life expectancy at birth);
• Provide the background story as to why he chose these two quantities (“We vs Them = Western World vs Third World“);
• Share his students’ prediction as to what the data will show.

Because of this careful preparation, the audience understands the context thoroughly. A very energetic description of the data follows while the time advances the “movie” for about 45 seconds.

The “instant reply” is a nice touch which fills the otherwise empty time during audience applause, although I suspect this was added in the post-production by the good folks at TED.

Technique #2: Highlight subsets of data

Common approach: Presenters attempt to explain complex data which they have studied for days, weeks, or months in just a few minutes. The audience grasps little.

Rosling recognizes the impossibility of explaining all of the data in detail. Instead, he carefully selects and explains subsets of the data.

• Example #1: 1964-2003 United States and Vietnam [5:15 to 6:06] This is a clever choice as his (mostly American) audience will easily connect the early part of this period with that of the Vietnam War.
• Example #2: 1960-2003. South Korea, Brazil, Uganda, United Arab Emirates [12:22 to 13:40]

Technique #3: Dig deeper to unwrap data

Common approach: Presenters restrict themselves to one level of data inspection. Deeper analysis is often only present in scientific journals.

Several times, Rosling displays first a high-level data view (e.g. one point for a country) and then digs deeper to lower-level view of the data (e.g. country quintiles).

• Example #1: Income versus population
  Compare the global curve [7:26] to the one broken down by geographic region [7:54]
• Example #2: GDP per capita versus Child survival rate
  Compare the Sub-Saharan Africa bubble [9:48] to the individual country bubbles [9:54]
• Example #3: GDP per capita versus Child survival rate
  Compare Uganda bubble [14:12] to quintile data points for Uganda [14:18]

Technique #4: Place labels close to data points

Common approach: Data legends and labels are often absent. The presenter assumes that the audience will follow their verbal cues. Or, when legends and labels are present, they are often presented far away from associated data points. This forces the audience to visually scan back and forth.

Throughout Rosling’s talk, data labels are presented right next to the data points. An example is shown here for the OECD data point [9:28].

Additionally, the appearance of these labels is synchronized well with the verbal component of his speech. In this way, the visual labels complement the audio.

Related to this, there are several instances where GapMinder shows a bubble “about to burst” a second or two before the data is expanded. This is a subtle touch, but an effective measure to draw the eye to the right spot on the screen. The Sub-Saharan Africa example shown is from 9:48. Others are at 10:33 and 10:40.

Technique #5: Answer the “Why?”questions

Common approach: Large data sets are presented, and the presenter often explains only the dominant trend or the one measure of most interest. The audience is left to wonder things like “Why is that data point there?” or “What caused that point to be low/high/odd?”

Obviously, no presenter can answer every question the audience might be thinking, but Rosling does a good job of anticipating these questions. He anticipated several “Why?” questions, and answered them on the spot.

For example:

• Q: Why does the progress in Vietnam accelerate in the 1990′s? [5:43]
  A: They give up communist planning and go for a market economy.
• Q: Why is Mauritius so different from most of Sub-Saharan Africa? [9:54]
  A: Mauritius was the first country to get rid of trade barriers. They could sell their sugar. They could sell their textiles.
• Q: Why is China moving up and then to the right (when most countries are moving diagonally)? [11:52]
  A: Mao Zedong bought health to China (up) and then he died. Deng Xiaoping then brought money to China (right).

Anticipating and answering the why questions achieves two goals:

1. It allows you to satisfy the audience’s curiosity while also maintaining an energetic pace (rather than being interrupted by questions).
2. It demonstrates your credibility and solid grasp of the subject.

Technique #6: Complement data with energetic delivery

Common approach: Statistical data is often presented in a dry, clinical manner. Perhaps the theory is that the audience should naturally be excited about data?

The most memorable technique displayed by Rosling is his energetic delivery. Examples are numerous, and include:

• Highly energetic sequence as he narrates 1962-2003 fertility rates versus life expectancy [4:15 to 5:03]. This is the highlight of the presentation for me. The audience seems to agree, rewarding Rosling with 13 seconds of applause.
• Spider-web shape with his hands to demonstrate how the bubbles burst [9:55]
• Ghost-like acting to accompany “overlooking the United States, almost like a ghost” [18:11]
• Approaching the screen numerous times to align his arms and body with the data

The thoughtful presentation of data makes this an understandable talk. Rosling’s energetic delivery makes it memorable.

Other Opinions from the Public Speaking Blogosphere

• Lisa Braithwaite: Best Presentation Ever?

Your Thoughts?

Did you enjoy this speech? What did you like most? How could this presentation be enhanced?

Similar Articles You May Like... Video Critique: Majora Carter – Greening the Ghetto (TED 2006) Video Critique: Al Gore (TED, 2006) Speech Critique: Dan Pink (TED 2009) Speech Critique: Elizabeth Gilbert @ TED (Author of Eat, Pray, Love) Speech Critique: Jacqueline Novogratz (TED 2009) Video Critique: J.A. Gamache (Toastmasters, 2007)

Have a Question? Contact me anytime, or find me on Twitter: @6minutes

Andrew Dlugan is the editor and founder of Six Minutes. He teaches courses, leads seminars, coaches speakers, and strives to avoid Suicide by PowerPoint. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator. Andrew is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada.