Billions of dollars and thousands of hours are lost every year during ineffective business meetings worldwide. Data practitioners painstakingly present their valuable analytical insights, only to fall flat, inspiring more yawns than yeses.
In Present Beyond Measure: Design, Visualize, and Deliver Data Stories That Inspire Action, Lea Pica provides a 4-phase, step-by-step blueprint for planning, designing, visualizing, and delivering compelling data storytelling in business presentations. Following her blueprint, you will learn how to use neuroscience and cinematic storytelling techniques to galvanize your stakeholders into action.
By the final page, you'll know exactly how to: - Choose the data that matters most to your decision-makers - Speak to different stakeholder audience personality types (even the most challenging) - Infuse your data presentation with a persuasive narrative storyline - Craft strategic recommendations that get approved and implemented - Design simple, stunning slides that communicate without confusing - Transmit your data story with best-practice data visualization techniques - Avoid the most common data visualization violations and charting pitfalls - Prepare for and deliver your presentation like a professional speaker - Navigate challenging meeting conversations and logistics with ease
Whether you work with little or big data, this book will show you how to prevent presentation zombies and inspire the action and credibility you and your organization deserve.
Table of Contents
Prologue xi
Act I Conceptualize: Presentation Planning, Story, Structure, and Brainstorming 1
1 Understand Why Effective Data Presentation Is Critical to Good Business 2
2 Be Your Audience 9
3 Learn to Speak Different Audience Languages 17
4 Transmit a Clear Message 23
5 Tell an Actual Story 29
6 Create Conceptual Clarity with Analogies 42
7 Suit Up Your Recommendations for Action 46
8 Translate Your Content into a Persuasive Outline 53
9 Brainstorm Your Content into Slide Format 70
10 Digitize Your Analog Slide Content 77
Act I Intermission 85
Act II Design Your Slides: Slide Graphics, Layout, and Emphasis 86
11 Why Bad Slide Design Is Not a PowerPoint Problem 87
12 Sharpen Their Vision with Preattentive Attributes 97
13 De-fluff Your Slides and Embrace White Space 106
14 The Lethal Downside of Bullet Points 115
15 Create Hype with Your Type 122
16 Harness the Power of Real Imagery 139
17 Master Motion with Simple Animation 162
Act II Intermission 172
Act III Visualize Data: Data Visualization + Storytelling featuring the PICA Protocol Prescription 173
18 Data Storytelling: The Intersection of Conceptualization and Design 174
19 P is for PURPOSE 176
20 I is for INSIGHT 182
21 C is for CONTEXT 194
22 A is for AESTHETICS 201
23 Choose the Right Chart 219
24 Avoid the Most Common Visualization Violations 234
25 Next-Level Charts to (Carefully) Consider 253
26 Create Ethical Data Visualizations 260
27 Build the Story: The PICA Protocol in Action 268
Act III Intermission 281
Act IV Deliver: Public Speaking, Preparation, and Communication Mastery 282
28 Why Does Delivery Even Matter? 283
29 Practice Like the Pros 285
30 Refine Your Speech Patterns 290
31 Master Your Mind and Body 295
32 Master Your Audience and Overcome Challenging Communication 304
33 Beast Mode Techniques for Maximum Audience Engagement 309
34 Send an Effective Presentation Handout 317
Act IV Intermission 324
This Is the End and Just the Beginning 325
Did You Enjoy This Book? 329
Resources 330
Recommended Reading, Resources, and Experts 332
Closing Credits 333
About the author 336
Index 337
