How can you balance data and storytelling in ROI presentations?

1 Know your audience

Before you design your presentation, you need to understand who you are talking to and what they care about. What are their pain points, expectations, and decision criteria? How familiar are they with the data and the context? How do they prefer to receive information? Knowing your audience will help you tailor your message, tone, and style to their needs and preferences. It will also help you avoid jargon, technicalities, and irrelevant details that might confuse or bore them.

2 Define your message

The next step is to define the main message or takeaway of your presentation. What do you want your audience to remember, believe, or do after listening to you? How does your data support your message? How does your message align with your audience's goals and values? Your message should be clear, concise, and compelling. It should also be consistent throughout your presentation and supported by evidence and logic.

3 Structure your story

Once you have your message, you need to structure your story around it. A good story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning sets the scene, introduces the problem, and hooks the audience's attention. The middle presents the solution, shows the data, and explains the benefits. The end summarizes the key points, reinforces the message, and calls for action. A good story also has a plot, a conflict, and a resolution. The plot is the sequence of events that leads to the outcome. The conflict is the challenge or obstacle that needs to be overcome. The resolution is the result or impact of the solution.

5 Narrate your data

Visualizing your data is not enough. You also need to narrate your data and explain what it means and why it matters. You need to tell a story with your data, not just show it. To do that, you need to use language that is simple, specific, and emotive. You need to use words that describe, compare, and contrast your data, such as increase, decrease, more, less, better, worse, etc. You also need to use words that evoke emotions, such as happy, sad, angry, surprised, etc. You need to link your data to your message and your audience's interests and concerns. You need to answer questions such as: What does this data show? How does this data relate to the problem and the solution? What are the implications and consequences of this data? How does this data make you and your audience feel?

6 Practice and refine

The final step is to practice and refine your presentation. You need to rehearse your presentation several times and get feedback from others. You need to check your data for accuracy, clarity, and relevance. You need to check your story for coherence, consistency, and impact. You need to check your delivery for confidence, enthusiasm, and rapport. You need to make sure that your presentation is balanced, polished, and persuasive. You need to be ready to answer questions, address objections, and handle surprises.