"Knowing how to develop and deliver a data-driven presentation is now a crucial skill for many professionals, since we often have to tell our colleagues a story about the success of a new initiative, the promise of a new business opportunity, or the imperative of a change in strategy — stories that are much more compelling when they’re backed by numbers.
...start by thinking about your audience. Who are you presenting to, and how much do they know about the topic?
...be sure you know the overall story you’re trying to tell, and use charts sparingly to support your story. You’re not trying to subdue your enemy through the sheer volume of data you can bring to bear on your argument
...Take the time to spell out the story you see in the data so that it’s clear to someone who hasn’t been poring over that dataset for the past six weeks.
... produce your charts with a tool like Infogr.am or Tableau — both of which will produce charts that look a heck of a lot better than what Excel spits out — you’ll immediately improve your data-driven presentations.
...You don’t have to have the perfect dataset or the world’s most beautiful infographics to make data storytelling a valuable part of your communications toolbox. All you need is to break down the wall that keeps math in one part of your brain, and storytelling in another."
Based on How to Give a Data Heavy Presentation by Alexandra Samuel, Harvard Business Review.