How to Wash a Chicken

by Tim Calkins

  Companies aren’t like this. People can have different points of view. It is fairly unlikely that everyone on a team will agree on a particular recommendation, given the variety of backgrounds and perspectives people bring to the group. If you can’t reach agreement, you can still create an effective presentation.

  One option is to present both sides of the story, and then the group’s recommendation. Another option is to evaluate the size of the opposition; do most people on a team support the recommendation? This logically leads to a voting situation.

  Once you have agreement on the recommendation, the group can then work on crafting the story.

  It is quite possible to storyboard a presentation with a group. With a whiteboard and a pen, you can sketch out a story and then seek agreement. People will likely have suggestions, which is good; they may have identified issues. At the very least, they will have input on the presentation, which should build longer-term agreement.

  Once the story is clear, then people can take specific pages to collect the data and do the necessary analysis. This is sometimes a useful way to divide up the work.

  When you are splitting up the analysis, don’t ask people to create slides. Ask them to just gather the information and perhaps create a chart or graph. This limits the damage that pride of ownership can cause. People may not feel so connected to a particular chart. If you want to include the information, you easily can.

  Remember that someone ultimately has to be responsible for the finished product. There has to be just one person who will draft the headlines. Once everyone contributes their material, one person has to take the role of polisher. This is the job of making sure one headline flows to the next, charts are formatted in a similar way and the overall presentation hangs together.

  The person assembling the final version does not have to be the person who will ultimately deliver the presentation. These are two different steps: creating the presentation and delivering it.

  A well-crafted presentation is easy to deliver. It is clear and logical. The data is well supported. With a good presentation, the delivery isn’t all that challenging; the argument will unfold simply by going from page to page. It doesn’t really matter who presents it.

  There needs to be a final review step in the process, where everyone has a chance to look at and comment on the presentation. This will ensure there is alignment. It is critical at this point to check that everyone is still on board; dissension in the ranks is a huge problem.

  Setting expectations is key. If people think that their slides and material will go directly into the presentation, they will be disappointed and perhaps angry when this doesn’t happen. If people know right up front that things will be combined and moved around, they won’t be surprised when this happens.

  9

  USE COMPELLING DATA

  * * *

  A great presentation is grounded in data and information. In a business setting, people generally aren’t interested in your hunch or inclination; they are looking for a recommendation that is supported by facts. As Ricardo Marques, vice president of marketing for Budweiser, observes, “Facts first, and then we make the call.”1

  You need to include compelling information in your presentation to make it credible. This is easier said than done. Some data points are stronger than others, and some presentation techniques are more powerful than others.

  Focus on the Data

  At some point in life, people understand that their opinion simply doesn’t matter very much.

  This can be a difficult moment. As children, we are encouraged to share our opinions. People praise our presentations. Teachers greet papers with positive feedback and good grades. Even a relatively poor assignment usually receives some encouraging words, with a few gentle suggestions on areas for improvement. Friends and distant acquaintances on social media respond to almost every comment with a flurry of likes and shares. At college, even the strangest views are regarded as valid and important, the reflection of individuality expressed in an open and welcoming culture.

  Eventually, however, things change and we learn that our opinion simply isn’t important. People don’t care. When a new employee, just out of college, suggests a company make a major strategic shift, senior executives are quick to roll their eyes and dismiss it. The newcomer has no experience or expertise. Youthful enthusiasm is nice, but it often borders on naivety.

  For me, this moment came early in my consulting career at Booz Allen when I was working on a sales force analysis for a major insurance company. I was looking at why some agents were far more productive than other agents. After studying the sales data for several weeks, I had a good sense of the core dynamics. I presented my thoughts to my manager. She was not impressed or moved. She simply said, “I need to see the data.” My opinions were only as solid as the information backing them up.

  This isn’t just a factor for junior people; senior executives, even CEOs, face the same situation. A CEO may have a friendly board, quick to agree with everything presented, but there are still investors and analysts. These people don’t care about opinions; they need to see the information. As Bernardo Hees, CEO of Kraft Heinz, observed in a recent presentation, “I don’t think anything. Show me the data.”2

  Facts are the foundation of a great presentation. If the information is solid and strong, the presentation will hold up, just like a building constructed on solid ground. Advertising legend Leo Burnett explains, “If you have the facts on your side and honest conviction in your heart, you rarely lose by fighting for your idea all the way.”3

  If the facts are weak and unstable, the presentation can easily fall apart, much like a building built on sand. Chris Anderson from TED observes, “Style without substance is awful.”4

  As you assemble a presentation, then, it is critical to incorporate strong, solid pieces of information.

  Three Types of Information

  Not all information is created equal; some quotes and figures help your case substantially. Other figures are weak and easily questioned, providing little value. Some information hurts your argument and credibility.

  You can put support points into three buckets: strong, irrelevant and dangerous.

  STRONG SUPPORT POINTS

  The core of a strong recommendation is solid support points. These facts are rock solid. They provide a stable base.

  For a point to work well, it has to be clear and credible. Consider these two quotes.

  Rule No.1: Never lose money. Rule No. 2: Never forget rule No.1.

  WARREN BUFFETT

  A satisfied customer is the best business strategy of all.

  MICHAEL LEBOEUF

  The first quote is from a recognizable character. Most people in business know Warren Buffett and respect his opinion. He is known as a savvy and honest business leader.

  The second quote is from a relatively unknown person. Who is this, anyway? Most people won’t know him, and as a result, the quote has less impact. It does little to support your case.

  IRRELEVANT POINTS

  The world is full of information and most of it is irrelevant to your presentation. It simply has no significance. If you are doing a presentation on pricing of a particular surgical procedure, these facts will probably have little bearing on your recommendation:

  The price of WTI crude oil in 2016 averaged $43.33 a barrel.

  It is 1,116 kilometers from Hong Kong to Manila.

  The first VCR was sold in October 1976.

  There are 7.6 million dogs in France.

  You want to cut irrelevant points from your presentation; you need to identify the information that doesn’t matter and then prune it.

  Irrelevant data creates two problems. First, it might distract your audience. If you mention the number of dogs in France, someone might then comment, “Wow! I had no idea there were so many dogs in France. More than seven million. That is a lot of dogs! I just got a dog last year. A lot of work, dogs, but such fun. Susan, have you gotten a dog yet? I know you
were thinking about it. You really should.” This isn’t ideal.

  Second, irrelevant information obscures the information that really matters. A key analysis can easily get lost when surrounded by seven other interesting points. You want to get people to focus on the important and relevant information. This means you have to cut back everything else.

  DANGEROUS POINTS

  Weak support points aren’t just a missed opportunity; they can be a significant problem because they can undermine your credibility.

  Consider this scenario. You are presenting a recommendation to restructure pricing. It is a controversial idea; while there are reasons to support the move, there is also a risk that incremental sales won’t offset the cost of the move.

  In the middle of your presentation, the senior director reviewing your presentation notices that your pricing figure for a competitor is incorrect; instead of $1,546, you have $1,645. It is a small typo. You note that you flipped the numbers, a little and innocent mistake.

  Unfortunately, this small mistake creates a big problem. The executive now looks at all the other figures in the presentation, searching for mistakes. They also start to wonder if there are other errors in the analysis. If you flipped the revenue figure, then you might have flipped a pricing figure. If you flipped a pricing figure, then perhaps the entire analysis is flawed. You can’t make a big decision on a flawed analysis.

  At the end of the meeting they note, “Well, this has been an interesting discussion but clearly we need to think more about it.” They head off. The meeting was a failure; it did not convince the target. Instead, it raised doubts and questions. It did more harm than good.

  If someone can identify a problem with your data, they then have a reason to question your entire recommendation. Small mistakes can create big problems.

  Facts and Belief

  There is a difference between information that is true and information that is believable. Just because something is true doesn’t mean that it is believable. People don’t believe everything that is true, and sometimes they believe things that are false.

  For many years people debated about whether the Earth was flat or round. Those favoring the round point of view were correct, but they were not able to convince others.

  In a presentation, it is best to base your recommendation on things that are both true and believable. These facts and figures will strengthen your case substantially; people will grasp the information, believe it and see how it connects to your recommendation.

  If you present a rather surprising finding from a particular analysis, people may not believe it. They might think

  you are using incorrect information,

  you did the wrong calculation or

  you made a mathematical mistake.

  If someone questions your figures, if they don’t believe your findings, you can have a significant problem. They may quickly dismiss the analysis and, as a result, question the entire report.

  Remember this when assembling your argument. For each fact, consider whether your audience will believe it. Ask yourself, “Will they believe this piece of information or not?”

  It you are presenting facts that people will likely believe, you are in good shape. Simply include the information. If your audience is likely to be surprised by your data, proceed with care.

  The first question: Do you need to include this information? If it isn’t critical, you might be better off just leaving it out. Why risk it? If the data plays an important part in your analysis, consider building up to it. Explain the analytical approach or the source. Once people agree with the basis for the information, it will be harder for them to discard it.

  You also could use allies to support the data. If a respected person endorses the information, it becomes more credible. When I was at Kraft, a piece of market research data gained more significance if the head of market research explained that the approach was viable and significant.

  Stories

  A presentation shouldn’t be all facts and figures. Stories can be equally effective, sometimes more effective. The problem with numbers is that they lack emotion. A table just sits there. It isn’t memorable. It doesn’t move you.

  A story, by contrast, can bring everything to life. You can show data on purchase habits of new moms, but a story about the time you spoke with a new mom is much more engaging. I teach a business case about sepsis in one of my classes at Kellogg. I can tell students that sepsis is a terrible disease, and I can show the grim statistics, but the class doesn’t really sit up and engage until I tell a story about a Kellogg student who became septic while working on a consulting project in Germany, spent a month in a German hospital, unconscious, swelled up to twice his normal size, and almost didn’t survive.

  Stories are interesting. Kellogg professor Craig Wortmann teaches strategic selling at Kellogg and wrote the book What’s Your Story? He explains that stories are powerful because they create engagement: “In the very act of telling a story, we can’t help but engage people. The act of telling and the act of listening build the necessary engagement to help get important information and knowledge across.”5 Stories also provide a welcome break in the presentation. As Wortmann notes, “Almost unconsciously stories make us slow down and listen.”6

  As you build your case, think about stories that support your argument. You might not actually put the story in the written presentation; you might just tell it when you go through a cer-tain section.

  An effective story should have three characteristics. First, it should be brief. In a business discussion, people rarely have patience for a long, detailed narrative. Get to the point! Second, it should be true. You want to speak from the heart. It is easiest to do this if you are telling an actual story. Third, it should support the data. A story on its own wouldn’t be particularly credible; you are just reporting on a single person or incident. It could be an isolated situation. Ideally, you show the data and then tell the story, or you tell the story and then show the data. This way, you are using two different approaches to make your point.

  For example, this combination of fact and story is powerful: “The vast majority of MBA students view recruiting as a top priority. In our most recent study, 68 percent of our MBAs put recruiting at the top of the list. I saw this just last week; my classroom was only about half full because students were out on second-round interviews.”

  One important note: the best stories are your own; they are experiences from your life. These stories are authentic. In addition, you can easily remember them and respond to questions.

  Simple and Complicated Analyses

  When in doubt, it is best to use simple analyses. If your calculations are easy to follow, people will believe them; they can see the actual numbers.

  Solid support points are comprehensible. If someone doesn’t understand a figure or calculation, it won’t help your argument. You aren’t going to lose people when you say that 18 plus 14 equals 32. You will confuse them if you start talking about binomial distribution and Chebyshev’s inequality.

  Be careful about advanced analytics. A complicated set of equations might be very nifty, but if people don’t understand what you are doing, it won’t help your argument. Be careful, too, about using new types of information; presenting new data from the latest social media platform might seem impressive, but it won’t be very powerful since people don’t know what they are looking at.

  A complicated set of calculations will be difficult for your audience to follow. This is a problem for two reasons. First, your audience might just skip the analysis entirely. Who wants to wade through a dense batch of numbers? It your audience skips the analysis, it adds no value. If anything, it distracts from the key points.

  Second, the analysis will tax your audience’s mental capacity. Daniel Kahneman, the Nobel Prize–winning psychologist, explored the idea of cognitive load in his book Thinking, Fast and Slow. Complex analyses and difficult charts impose a mental burden on people, making it more difficult to get agree
ment and commitment. If you want to persuade people, Kahneman writes, “The general principle is that anything you can do to reduce cognitive strain will help.”7

  Consider two exhibits:

  Exhibit A

  100 + 21 = 121

  Exhibit B

  The TC model shows that the answer is 121.

  The first exhibit is simple. You nod your head and see the calculation. It is hard to disagree with it. The second calculation introduces a new level of complexity in the form of a model. What is the TC model? What goes into it?

  In general, you will be far better off sticking with simple, easy-to-follow calculations, exhibits and data points. Use figures that people understand. Make the labeling clear. Show your work.

  The simple calculations create confidence. When you present a simple calculation that people can follow, you aren’t asking them to trust you; you are simply showing them the numbers and the data. It is clear and logical.

  Still, there are rare times when you may need to use a complex analysis. It could be that you really need the set of calculations to show a key point. A heavy dose of analytics also can increase your credibility.