Present Beyond Measure

3Learn to Speak Different Audience Languages

“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.”

—Frank Smith

Don't you just love presenting insights to a room full of like-minded, rational people who “speak geek” with you?

Don't you love it when they get it all right away, showering you with glowing accolades and thoughtful questions that show that they totally get it?

Don't you love it when they all have the same interpretations of your data, pleasantly praising each other's perspectives and amicably agreeing to the same courses of action?

Don't you love subtle sarcasm? [subtle sarcasm]

I wish I could say that the previous scenarios are the norm for data presentations…but alas, I cannot. One reason is that audiences are comprised of individual human beings who have a diverse array of needs, desires, challenges, and biases.

But another reason that flies under the radar is that, depending on each stakeholder's role, experience, and personality type, they speak different communication languages.

I'm going to give you a mighty lens through which to examine your stakeholders. It was inspired by wisdom dropped by e-commerce marketing legend and podcast guest Kevin Hillstrom of Mine That Data.

I call it the Stakeholder-Savvy Quadrant, and it's helping practitioners all over the world effectively tailor what they say to whom.

What Is the Stakeholder-Savvy Quadrant?

The framework for the Stakeholder-Savvy Quadrant plots stakeholders into ...