Making data interesting in order to get results
I am sure most of you have felt that wall we hit after staring at data all day. We are also probably all aware that stakeholders are often bombarded with statistics through the day. So how do we make our data stick out? How do we ensure something is done with it?
Katie Petri, senior manager of consumer and market insights at Tillamook will provide some ideas to do just that in her session at the Quirk’s Event New York.
“I’m excited to share some of the fantastic work that we’re doing at Tillamook, and I hope to inspire others like past Quirk’s presenters have inspired me,” Petri said.
Petri recently answered some questions I had about her session. Find out what she does to prepare, an idea she wants attendees to take away and one of the tips she will be discussing in her session.
What do you do to prepare before speaking?
It is important for me to practice, but not to a point where it feels over-rehearsed or memorized. The vibe of the crowd is very important to how I approach any speaking opportunity. I like to be able to interact and engage with the audience based on crowd reactions, and so, often there is some ad-libbing. I also like to approach speaking engagements knowing that it’s an opportunity to learn, grow and connect with people which puts less pressure on the event itself.
Name one thing you want attendees to take away from your session.
As a career market researcher, I’ve always been inspired by partners who have been able to share research in more engaging ways. I think many of us can become glassy eyed after looking at page after page of data tables or bar charts. I never think presentations like that leave an audience motivated to move into action. I’d love attendees to walk away feeling inspired to build more engaging and immersive presentations. In sum, less time making sense of charts, more time basking in the a-has! Hopefully there’s one example that I share that an audience member feels like they can immediately implement into their research sharing process, resulting in one more person taking action based on the findings.
Could you share one tip for researchers who are looking to present to stakeholders in a more immersive way?
Think about your stakeholders as consumers. For example, how does your brand breakthrough in a cluttered world when your end-consumer is being fed so many messages by other brands? Your stakeholders absorb information in the same way, they are likely being bombarded with statistic after statistic, or bar chart after bar chart. So, we must find new ways for our message, our insights, our learnings to stick with them when they leave the room. Next time you present research, think like a consumer thinks.