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How to Speak Data to the Data-Challenged

Tips on communicating to everyday people without confusing them.
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How to Speak Data to the Data-Challenged
Photo by Keren Fedida / Unsplash

You're all hopped up because you discovered a fascinating insight into your businessβ€”or at least you think so. Maybe it's a previously unknown reason for employees leaving the company. Perhaps you unearthed a groundbreaking discovery on how to convert visitors to customers. You're downright giddy, and you can't want to tell everyone about it. You want to see the results of your epiphany as soon as possible. Riches and a promotion are sure to come your way.

Not so fast.

In their understandable excitement, far too many people ignore what is arguably the cardinal rule of business communication: Remember your audience. As a result, their findings and ideas don't have anywhere near desired impact, a huge point in Message Not Received.

To maximize the chances that others (fully) receive our messages, consider the following advice.

Recognize that Some People Actively Hate Data

Yes, even in this era of Big Data, plenty of execs are certifiable dataphobes. Some people know what they know, data be damned. (See Moneyball.) They don't much like others challenging their beliefs with quantitative evidence. Depending on their clout, you may have to tread lightly and follow a few of the laws of power.

The very thought of varying your approach may rankle you. After all, shouldn't "facts" and numbers speak for themselves? To quote W. Edwards Deming, "In God we trust; all others must bring data."

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