I recently returned from Mexico where I worked with executives of one of the country’s largest brands, helping them to shape and craft a corporate story to share with customers and stakeholders. During one of our conversations, one of the leaders turned to me to express how proud he was of the company’s commitment to the environment. “In the last five years we’ve planted thirty million trees,” he said. “That’s the equivalent of 60 Central Parks in New York City.”
This leader didn’t know it at the time but those four words—that’s the equivalent of—are the best words to bring numbers to life. Make statistics as relevant to your audience as possible and put the numbers into a context that people can instantly grasp. When I was working with strawberry growers in California one farmer told me, “Strawberries are packed with vitamin C. In fact one serving of strawberries is the equivalent of eating five oranges.” Although I only heard the statement once, I never forgot it and I make it a point to eat strawberries almost every day, all year long!
Statistics don’t need to be boring. Here’s a tip. When you deliver statistics in a presentation, especially if it’s a big number, put the statistic into context by adding one sentence that begins with:
“That’s the equivalent of…” or “To put that number into context…”
Apple CEO, Tim Cook, uses those words or a variation of those words in nearly every presentation when he delivers financial results. In one presentation when he reviewing Apple’s fiscal year (2010) Cook was discussing the importance of the Mac business to Apple and he said, “The Mac makes up 33 percent of Apple’s business. That 33 percent was $22 billion dollars. To put this into context, if the Mac business was a stand alone company it would be number 110 on the fortune 500 list.” Cook doesn’t just leave big numbers hanging. He provides context, bringing those statistics to life and, in the process, making them more interesting and memorable.
J.C Penney CEO, Ron Johnson, is another speaker who does a great job of breathing life into otherwise boring statistics. For instance, he recently told a room full of analysts that the department store has a 3 percent market share in apparel and home merchandise. Johnson compared it to his previous employer, Apple, which had 3 percent share of the computer market when he took over the retail division. “To put the opportunity into perspective, in this room there are 700 people,” Johnson pointed out to the J.C Penney analyst audience. “The twenty-one of you who are Penney’s customers, which is 3 percent, would fill one row to the middle. To grow, if we can keep you happy and add two of the rest of you in the room, this year we’ll a 10 percent same store increase. Now, over time, if I can just fill in the front row and the rest of you keep shopping where you are, we’ll double our business. We will grow to a $30 billion company by simply convincing one row in this room to come to J.C Penney. I like those odds.”
Statistics often don’t mean much if left on their own. In fact, the bigger the number, the more important it is to put into context. Have fun with it. Brainstorm ways to add context around the statistic and bring it to life with interesting, compelling PowerPoint visuals. It’s estimated that on any given day 30 million PowerPoint presentations are delivered. That’s the equivalent of 20,000 presentations started every minute. Most of those presentations are bland, confusing, and convoluted, especially if they are full of statistics, charts and graphs. Don’t add to the confusion. By bringing statistics to life, your audience will be more likely to recall the information later and thoroughly enjoy your presentation.