Have you ever been on that big stage? If your answer is “YES,” then you know it can be both intimidating and confusing. Where should I stand? Can I walk over here? What should I do with my hands? If your answer is “NO,” then get ready… because your day is coming! After working in public …
2 Options to Influence Your Audience
Answering the front door one day, my immediate thought was, “What is he going to try to sell me today?” The salesman used his influence as he held out a small plastic vial and said, “I will only ask for two minutes and two ounces… of your tap water, please.” Well, he was courteous and …
3 Steps to Build Trust Through Conversation
“That’s ridiculous. I tell you what… If I’m ever presenting to a group of 5th graders, I’ll call you.” This was the response he gave me when I suggested a different approach for his new sales opportunity. As you can imagine, his response did wonders for developing our relationship. Just in case you think I’m …
3 Ingredients to Communicate Change
We All Handle Change Differently Some of us deal with change better than others, but the key to remember is that change doesn’t just happen. We all deal with it. As the leader, you need a simple method for helping your team deal with changes they need to address. What you say to them will …
5 Tips to Untangle Your Data Presentation
Is Your Data Presentation a Tangled Mess? Computers have brought us to an age where data can be wrangled 8 ways to Sunday in a matter of nano-seconds. Some people call that the “heavy lifting” of data analytics. In my opinion, the toughest lifting of data analytics is when the data has to be communicated …
3 Ways to Fix the Data Dump Presentation
“We really want to help our technical teams communicate better.” This was the request from our data analytics customer when I asked, “What are you trying to change with training?” This is not an uncommon request. I’ve heard it increasingly over the past ten years. When I probe further to ask what they mean by …
Why should I listen to you?
Have you ever been asked to deliver a data-driven presentation and it ends up being a tangled mess? You’re not alone. There are four levels of interpretation for data-driven presentations. These levels range from inform to interpret to recommend to influence. Depending on your goal with the audience (the reason you’re speaking to them) your …
4 Messaging Approaches for Data Analysts
“Why are my leaders always questioning my data results?” This was the question from my data analytics student and he was frustrated. So, I asked him, “What do you mean? Can you give me an example?” “Sure. Every time I give them the test results and I tell them what the results mean, they start …