Present Beyond Measure

Present Beyond Measure

by Lea Pica
Released September 2023
Publisher(s): Wiley
ISBN: 9781394202171

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Book description

Are you suffering from Data Presentation Zombification?

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

  1. Cover
  2. Table of Contents
  3. Title Page
  4. Prologue
    1. Why Are You Here?
    2. The Way Out Is Through
    3. Prepare to Reimagine What's Possible for You
    4. Why Listen to Me?
    5. How to Get the Most Out of This Book
    6. Learn by Doing
    7. Set Regular Practice Dates
    8. Note
  5. Act I: Conceptualize: Presentation Planning, Story, Structure, and Brainstorming
    1. 1 Understand Why Effective Data Presentation Is Critical to Good Business
      1. Bad Meetings Cost Money
      2. Winning Over the Audience
      3. The Two Pillars of Successful Data Presentations
      4. Throw Down the Gauntlet
      5. Chapter Recap
      6. Notes
    2. 2 Be Your Audience
      1. The Most Important Person in the Conference Room Is…Not You
      2. There Is No “Stakeholder School”
      3. More Essential Questions to Get Started on Your Data Presentation
      4. Chapter Recap
    3. 3 Learn to Speak Different Audience Languages
      1. What Is the Stakeholder-Savvy Quadrant?
      2. Chapter Recap
    4. 4 Transmit a Clear Message
      1. One Tool to Rule Them All
      2. Make the Title Slide Your Presentation Trailer
      3. Chapter Recap
      4. Note
    5. 5 Tell an Actual Story
      1. Data Storytelling: It's Not What You Think It Is
      2. The Narrative Arc in Storytelling
      3. The Five-Step Narrative Arc Structure
      4. Avoid the Three “Kiss of Attention Death” Opening Phrases
      5. The Role You Play in This Story
      6. Chapter Recap
      7. Notes
    6. 6 Create Conceptual Clarity with Analogies
      1. Communicating Relatable Scale with Large Numbers
      2. Chapter Recap
      3. Notes
    7. 7 Suit Up Your Recommendations for Action
      1. S for Specific: The Recommendation Outlines a Clear Course of Action
      2. M for Measurable: The Recommendation's Impact Is Feasibly Measured and Motivating Toward Action as a Result
      3. A for Assigned: A Person or Team Is Accountable for Task Completion
      4. R for Relevant: The Recommendation Is Tied Directly to an Insight in the Presentation
      5. T for Time-Bound: The Recommendation Is Given a Reasonable Deadline
      6. Chapter Recap
      7. Note
    8. 8 Translate Your Content into a Persuasive Outline
      1. One Method to Rule Them All
      2. The Role of the Appendix
      3. Chapter Recap
      4. Notes
    9. 9 Brainstorm Your Content into Slide Format
      1. Why You Should Brainstorm Offline
      2. How to Brainstorm Offline
      3. The Single Idea per Slide Philosophy
      4. Edit and Organize Your Brainstorm into Your Boxes
      5. Chapter Recap
      6. Notes
    10. 10 Digitize Your Analog Slide Content
      1. Avoid the “Flushed Money Trap”
      2. Transpose Your Boxes into a Linear Format
      3. Install Your Boxes Framework into Your Deck
      4. Transpose Your Box Outline in Your Slide Deck Using Sections
      5. Chapter Recap
    11. Act I: Intermission
  6. Act II: Design Your Slides: Slide Graphics, Layout, and Emphasis
    1. 11 Why Bad Slide Design Is Not a PowerPoint Problem
      1. Design Matters
      2. Prezi Is Not the Solution to PowerPoint
      3. Presentation Zombification Is a People Problem
      4. Time to Put on the Right Mindset
      5. Chapter Recap
      6. Notes
    2. 12 Sharpen Their Vision with Preattentive Attributes
      1. How Memory Works
      2. Preattentive Processing: In the Blink of an Eye
      3. Gestalt Principles: The Relationship of Objects
      4. Chapter Recap
      5. Notes
    3. 13 De-fluff Your Slides and Embrace White Space
      1. Overworking the Working Memory
      2. Resist the Fluff and Embrace White Space
      3. Distracting Object Misalignment
      4. Effectively Effecting Change
      5. Keep It Clean—and Legal
      6. Chapter Recap
      7. Notes
    4. 14 The Lethal Downside of Bullet Points
      1. Why We Love Bullet Points
      2. One Idea Per Slide
      3. A Compromise: The Story Point Solution
      4. Chapter Recap
      5. Note
    5. 15 Create Hype with Your Type
      1. The Power of Type
      2. How to Emphasize Text
      3. Putting It All Together
      4. A Few Final Type Tips
      5. Chapter Recap
      6. Notes
    6. 16 Harness the Power of Real Imagery
      1. Imagery Elicits Empathy
      2. Imagery Stimulates Their Attention
      3. Basic Design Techniques for Images
      4. Web-Based Screenshots
      5. Chapter Recap
      6. Notes
    7. 17 Master Motion with Simple Animation
      1. Object Pacing
      2. Shape Pacing
      3. Final Animation Pointers
      4. Chapter Recap
      5. Note
    8. Act II: Intermission
  7. Act III: Visualize Data: Data Visualization + Storytelling featuring the PICA Protocol Prescription
    1. 18 Data Storytelling: The Intersection of Conceptualization and Design
      1. Introducing the PICA Protocol
    2. 19 P is for PURPOSE
      1. Purpose Starts with a Q
      2. Steering the PURPOSE Conversation
      3. Chapter Recap
    3. 20 I is for INSIGHT
      1. Transform Your Data Statements to Storified Insights
      2. Applying the Narrative Arc to Your Insights
      3. Where to Put Your Insights
      4. Visual Tools to Facilitate Insight
      5. Chapter Recap
      6. Note
    4. 21 C is for CONTEXT
      1. Visual Context Tools
      2. Chapter Recap
    5. 22 A is for AESTHETICS
      1. Chapter Recap
      2. Notes
    6. 23 Choose the Right Chart
      1. Chapter Recap
    7. 24 Avoid the Most Common Visualization Violations
      1. Viz Violation: Dual-Axis Charts with Different Scales
      2. The Solution: The Table Lens
      3. Viz Violation: Tables
      4. The Solution: A Table…Lens!
      5. Viz Violation: Stacked Bars
      6. The Solution: A 100% Stacked Bar Chart
      7. Viz Violation: Clustered Bars
      8. The Solution: It Depends
      9. Viz Violation: Mismatched Title to Chart
      10. Chapter Recap
      11. Note
    8. 25 Next-Level Charts to (Carefully) Consider
      1. The Target Variance Bar Chart
      2. The Slope Graph
      3. The Dumbbell Dot Plot
      4. How to Use These Charts
      5. Chapter Recap
    9. 26 Create Ethical Data Visualizations
      1. Truncating the Measure Axis
      2. Exception: Truncating Line Chart Axes
      3. Check Your Own Bias
      4. Chapter Recap
      5. Note
    10. 27 Build the Story: The PICA Protocol in Action
      1. Case Example #1: The Conversion Rate Caper
      2. Case Example #2: The Roguish Redesign
    11. Act III: Intermission
  8. Act IV: Deliver: Public Speaking, Preparation, and Communication Mastery
    1. 28 Why Does Delivery Even Matter?
      1. Chapter Recap
    2. 29 Practice Like the Pros
      1. The Cure for Presentation Nerves
      2. Make Presentation Practice Non-Negotiable
      3. When Practice Makes Perfect
      4. Chapter Recap
      5. Note
    3. 30 Refine Your Speech Patterns
      1. Hyperspeed
      2. Filler Words
      3. Uptalk and Vocal Fry
      4. Get “Fun-Comfortable” with This Process
      5. Enlist Some AI Assistance
      6. Chapter Recap
      7. Note
    4. 31 Master Your Mind and Body
      1. I'm Terrified Before Even Going in There!
      2. Why Are They Looking at Me Like That?
      3. I Can't Remember What Comes Next!
      4. I'm No Expert/They're Going to See I'm a Fraud!
      5. Believe That Nerves Are OK
      6. Sound Body, Sound Mind
      7. Chapter Recap
      8. Notes
    5. 32 Master Your Audience and Overcome Challenging Communication
      1. It's All About Needs
      2. Answering Challenging Questions
      3. Chapter Recap
      4. Note
    6. 33 Beast Mode Techniques for Maximum Audience Engagement
      1. Two Questions Your Audience Is Silently Asking You
      2. How to Invoke Suspense
      3. Three Ways to Make Them Wait
      4. Chapter Recap
      5. Notes
    7. 34 Send an Effective Presentation Handout
      1. Never Goad a Godin
      2. Why Sending Your Slides Doesn't Work
      3. The Double Document Doctrine
      4. The Practical Presentation Handout Solution
      5. Final Thoughts on Presentation Handouts
      6. Chapter Recap
      7. Notes
    8. Act IV: Intermission
  9. This Is the End…and Just the Beginning
    1. Make Small Moves
    2. Take the Next Step
    3. Learn Through Teaching
    4. Parting Thoughts
  10. Did You Enjoy This Book?
  11. Resources
    1. Data Presentation Process Documents
    2. Phase I: Conceptualize
    3. Phase II: Design Slides
    4. Phase III: Visualize Data (PICA Protocol)
    5. Phase IV: Deliver
  12. Recommended Reading, Resources, and Experts
    1. Data Storytelling
    2. Presentation
    3. Data Visualization
    4. Delivery
    5. Dashboards
  13. Closing Credits
  14. About the Author
  15. Index
  16. Copyright
  17. Dedication
  18. End User License Agreement

Product information

  • Title: Present Beyond Measure
  • Author(s): Lea Pica
  • Release date: September 2023
  • Publisher(s): Wiley
  • ISBN: 9781394202171