How to Present Data-Backed Insights to Leadership

Presenting data analysis effectively to leadership

Data-backed insights can help internal communicators identify problems, spot opportunities, and shape strategies that boost their ability to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

Sharing these insights with the leadership team in a persuasive way that leads to action, however, is another story. Presenting data effectively is key.

When presenting data to stakeholders, it’s important to consider the following:

• Approach your leadership team as a distinct audience with their own specific set of challenges. Therefore, adopt their language to speak in a way that resonates, much like how a gifted comedian wouldn’t address a group of retirees the same way they would a gymnasium packed with high school students.
• Metrics that matter most to you and your team may not matter to management. Explain how the data you’re highlighting relates to the business outcomes executives care about. If you can’t map out the value of internal comms, neither can they.
• While it’s tempting to assume more statistics make a stronger argument, this isn’t always the case. Don’t feel obliged to include every finding. A slideshow packed with chart after chart can become tedious and confusing. Members of the leadership team will lose interest fast if they sense the presentation lacks focus.
• Include context, such as benchmarking data, to show where your company stands on various metrics compared to other firms in the same industry.
• Don’t restrict what you say to just empirical evidence. Break up the numbers with arresting quotes from famous authors or thought leaders in your field. Use dynamic data visualization tools to create eye-catching graphics. Include personal anecdotes to underscore the human side of the equation. Embed humorous social media posts to keep everyone in the room, or on the Zoom call, entertained.
• Pretend you have much less time than you do. Keep your message simple, brief, and decisive. Focus on the conclusions and recommendations before moving onto the supporting evidence.
• Don’t make your presentation akin to a joke without a punchline. If you need help with structure, just stick to the basic three-part storytelling technique of setting, conflict, resolution. The bottom line: No one will listen to what you have to say unless you can first grab and maintain their attention.

How to Create an Executive Dashboard

One method of keeping leadership in the loop is by creating an executive dashboard.

This real-time visual tool should display an overview of key performance indicators (KPIs) that reveal whether certain strategies are working or not. By limiting it to a few charts and some jargon-free text that’s easy to understand, executives should be able to open the dashboard and quickly gather the information they need to make an informed decision.

Again, keeping your audience in mind, one dashboard won’t work for everyone. Tailor it as needed to match the concerns and responsibilities of the person accessing it, whether that’s the CEO, CFO, or CMO.

Not only do executive dashboards save everyone time, as there’s no longer a reason to schedule a weekly meeting to discuss your progress, but the unfiltered transparency into internal comms data will help build trust, as well.

That said, not everyone needs to see everything. Be discerning about what metrics you decide to include and what you leave out. Make it concise. The goal is to leave an executive feeling informed, not overwhelmed.