Just focus on the problem and the solution. Many years of experience and coaching has taught us that it can, however, be far simpler than you think. You can also create a visual to explain your complex concept. Does this encourage understanding or cause more confusion? for engaging the audience and adding credibility, relying too heavily on numbers can quickly bore your listeners. Follow this author to improve your content experience. We've been talking to ourselves and to other specialists or people who know exactly what we do people in our own industry for so long that we forget that we're using jargon. That's a simple description focusing on the problem and the benefits. And nobody understands it. Direct your audiences attention to where you want them to focus. A:One bite at a time. "Communicate your message by creating a quick video, slowly but effectively explaining the key concepts you want your audience to know," Diggity recommends. Writing in the public sector means condensing lengthy documents into short summaries while also having that information understood by readers with various levels of knowledge. 4 Strategies for Effectively Communicating Complex Ideas. In the same way you only have a few seconds to read a billboard when youre driving to get the gist of the message, your slides should do the same. We can't even imagine what would be like to genuinely simplify and remove the jargon from our own language.

Do you find yourself having to present lots of data to people who dont have the same level of knowledge or expertise as you do? The next three tools are strategies you can use to break down information into useful, understandable pieces. There are a number of methods insight teams could use, for example, creating sentences with an actively lower word count than normal, and working to understand the day-to-day terminology of stakeholders in their organisation instead of specialist vocabulary that insight teams might be used to using often. The Forbes Worlds Most Influential CMOs List: 2022, Josh Fabian Builds Metafy To Provide Platform For ESport Coaches And Players, 4 Lessons From The Decision-Driven Consumer Insights Revolution At Blue Diamond Growers, Economic Predictions With The Alternative Data Crystal Ball. Fill out this form to request a call back from our team to explore our pricing options. Angelika Dimoka, director of the Center for Neural Decision Making at Temple University tells us that as people reach information overload: They start making stupid mistakes and bad choices because the brain region responsible for smart decision making has essentially left the premises., Thats all well and good but when youre tasked with sharing complex information, keeping it simple doesnt appear so easy for most professionals. Here are 10 simple tips on how to keep your audiences attention when presenting more challenging information: Make sure you can hear them at the back.

All Rights reserved. Image: 100 Powerful Marketing Words to Boost Your Brand (and 75 More to Avoid Like the Plague), Image: 7 Types of Branding Strategies and How to Select One (+ Examples), Image: 20 of the Biggest Marketing Fails of All Time (and Why They Sucked), Image: 25 Best Promotional Giveaway Ideas People Will Love, Business 2 Community. Chances are that the data and information you are trying to convey isnt going to be understood by the wider stakeholder organisation, and the stakeholders you talk to on a regular basis are going to be in on the jargon and speech required to understand the points. Here are some possibilities: These visual assets help to break up walls of text and present data simply. A great way to convey complex information is to do it in video format, as research has shown that content from videos is typically retained better than text, Diggity Marketing founder and CEO Matt Diggity says. They can't understand the perspective of their audience. While metaphors may sound poetic and challenging, in everyday conversation we use them all the time without thinking. Starting a presentation, report, or even a simple conversation with pure data or technical statistics can alienate your audience. Like suspenseful narratives, an intriguing story setup engages brain areas associated with mentalizing, predictive inference, and possibly cognitive control. When our audience is engaged and asking questions, we are preparing them to look for answers to their questions. We are the insights empowerment company. challenge. Learn the top skills and qualities you need to improve your writing skills in the public sector. What if it was your job to explain these nuanced and technical terms to someone who had no experience with digital currency? Because Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are notoriously hard to understand for lay people, before CNN tried to use visuals to explain it, they used intrigue to capture their audiences attention with this statement, A quarter of all the electricity in this county is powering Bitcoin mining. This gets the audience asking questions: What county? A vast array of financial products can now be divided into two categories: loaners include bonds, mezzanine debt, asset-backed securities and owners include real estate, private equity, and stocks. New research in the Journal of Consumer Psychology finds that visual metaphors such as an illuminated light bulb to suggest new ideas can prompt participants to have better insights than those who are shown no image. speculative. We have done since we were small children and we still do today, so whatever youre trying to say keep it to 3 points or less. "Keeping words to a minimum, or avoiding them altogether if possible, and using imagery that's universally recognized will expand understanding to the most people possible.". I help leaders build relationships, credibility & impact via stories. He could put it in terms that answered anyones so what? whether the person was 6 years old or 60 years old. This is great for keeping the reader stimulated and reengage them if theyve switched off. You really dont have to show them everything, just what they need to see. Out of these 4 million errors, a significant number of people get hurt because they take the wrong drug, or because they fail to get the drug that they need. This engages with the audience and brings real life to the data through visuals and games. Each time they described it, it was way, way, way too complicated. hbspt.cta._relativeUrls=true;hbspt.cta.load(1682149, 'a07b9b9f-fee9-447c-a050-1e3fa9d77f53', {"useNewLoader":"true","region":"na1"}); We are The Insights Empowerment Company. Why does Bitcoin take so much energy? All those in customer-facing industries know the terms customer and consumer. "Understanding ModernGov is the training division of GovNet Communications, the UKs leading public sector events supplier. Sophie is a graphic designer who brings the FlexMR brand to life through creative, impactful and inspiring visual communication. Concision is a vital skill that not only helps you communicate complex information, but it can also help lead stakeholders to solutions for complex problems. Moore sidesteps the jargon of the financial industry to divide and conquer the information he conveys to his clients. According to Madden, the best way to get around this limitation is to find someone who isn't an insider in your industry -- a friend or family member -- and get their feedback. Weve catered it specifically to those writing daily in the public sector so you can create copy that resonates.

The more engaging you can make your information, the more likely it is to be absorbed by the audience. Practice saying what you're going to say so you don't struggle for the right word when the time comes to explain your work. Discover how to build close customer connections to better support real-time decision making. If you would like to find out about ways you can present information through creative visuals, check out our animated insights video that explores more about visual insight communication. There are many tools and platforms out there that help compile and present complex information. A simple structure that provides the foundation for providing complex information is AIA. Quickbase is dedicated to building a culture of DEI and wellbeing for our employees and beyond. Complex vocabulary might seem impressive, but it rarely helps understanding and can actually alienate your audience. Forget about all that fancy stuff I said about probability of errors. What is Smart Contract? April 2022. Use them but do so wisely, creatively and powerfully. Founder and CEO Mike Simmons and his team at andros needed to explain to potential customers that their cloud-based platform could reduce overhead costs and improve turnaround times by 10 fold. If its the latter or youre not sure, just take it out. You want to know exactly what to say. Presenting complex information with simplicity requires some extensive editing to achieve the right balance. Turn ideas into reality with Quickbase + Lucidchart. In 2007, when he introduced the iPhone, he said: Weve designed something wonderful for your hand. Who cant grasp that? When Jobs first tried to explain to others what a personal computer was and how it would work, he became frustrated when others didnt understand. Our services drive operational and strategic success in challenging environments. However, an audience-centric approach to corporate communication can help businesses adjust their messaging and avoid communication mistakes before it's too late. Know what drives your audience, make it personal for them and most importantly focus on impressing them by making a difference not blinding them with data. You can use as many slides as you like provided they each serve a clear, relevant and powerful purpose and are not simply there as part of your script. Learn how Quickbase can help raise the voices of everyone in your business to facilitate effective communication and drive change. In addition, video content is processed faster and shared 1,200% more than text and images combined, while also conveying emotion better -- a key factor in getting to a sale. Our attention has been commodified, and we are constantly in competition with all the distractions the internet can offer. When I gave this talk in front of an audience, I asked a couple of the audience members to volunteer to talk about their own research. Presenting complex information can be a significant challenge for even the most seasoned presenter. An example of how you could present insights to spur a relatable connection would be to create a concise infographic of research points using related imagery that's universally recognized. We dip into savings, sponge off friends or skim funds off the top.. Investing is Working on your copywriting skills is a great way to start - here's 5 quick-fire ways to improve.

Its frustrating for providers and in-house teams trying to do the heavy lift of administration. 7 Ways to Effectively Communicate Complex Information, MemberPress founder and CEO Blair Williams. The key to ensuring clear communication of a complex issue is to zero-in on the essence of the product or concept you are trying to communicate, Melrose PR CEO Kelley Weaver believes. Im going to give you four simple techniques to allow you to effectively communicate complex information. One great way to provide this life-context, is to use user-involved platforms such as interactive infographics and videos. "Ask them to read your content and then explain it back to you. I think these tips are more generally applicable, not just for scientific communication, but any time you have to communicate an unfamiliar idea to an audience, and do it effectively. So, make sure to shop around and find what would work best for both you and your audience. Your comment may not appear immediately. "By leveraging tools like video ad sequencing in YouTube or similar ad sequencing features in Facebook, brands are able to communicate multiple value propositions that build over time rather than trying to communicate too much in a short video or a small banner ad," Golden concludes. However, you need to be as clear and concise as possible but not patronise your audience by making it seem easier to understand than it really is. If they get it, then so will your audience. What is a market research and insights playbook, plus discover why should your team consider building one. We'll partner with you to create tailored plans and empower you to continually improve and govern with Quickbase. "Save it in your highlights so it never expires and can easily be referred back to.". So, we want to simplify. Being able to target, identify, and express a pain point or issue is essential to solving it in a way that is ultimately successful. Editors note: This blog post was originally published in June 2014 and updated in October 2020.

Quick Bases dashboard reporting tools allow users to visualize data in many forms: summary reports, charts, maps, calendars, and timelines. Sign up to receive the latest posts on everything from Operational Excellence to Digital Transformation. Just keep practicing it. I'm a college professor and I do research, and I often have to communicate extremely complex information to both scientific and non-scientific audiences. You may not hit that number exactly, but it will force you to think of boiling the information down to the bare bones. Why does comparing the unfamiliar with the familiar work so well to unlock new concepts? I can take two drug names in either the orthographic, or the phonological representation. To get your copy in seconds, click below. People Arent Moving For Better OpportunitiesBut Maybe They Should, Employers Could Do More To Protect Workers From Severe Weather: New Survey. "A webinar is a great way to inform your audience about new launches and complex information in detail," MemberPress founder and CEO Blair Williams advises. we may receive commission from the companies we feature on this site. If you want them to look at it, make it big and bold; dont leave it buried in a plethora of numbers. If you are looking for a more compelling way to communicate data, using relevant visuals such as images, gifs, videos, and illustrations alongside your information will, allow users to understand data on a deeper level. It can also be used to automate essential workflows and track progress through complicated processes, so you are always able to answer the who, what, when, and where of any issue that arises. Thus, they will be ready to listen to the complex information. Communication styles have had to adapt to be even clearer, more concise, and more compelling for it to be effective. And in a world where acting quickly in response to change is a business imperative, ensuring that your message is getting through to senior leadership and key stakeholders can make all the difference in the success of your project. I'm going to give you an example from my own research. It needs to be like second nature. There are a number of methods insight teams could use, for example, creating sentences with an actively lower word count than normal, and working to understand the day-to-day terminology of stakeholders in their organisation instead of specialist vocabulary that insight teams might be used to using often. The question is, what will you say? If youre looking to write better reports, more informative minute taking, better present complex information or even brush up on your writing in general, then this guide is for you. Interactivity and relatability have the power to make insights click in the mind of the stakeholders by drawing a comparison between something unknown and something familiar. And though this type of data is invaluable for engaging the audience and adding credibility, relying too heavily on numbers can quickly bore your listeners. The key is to keep the infographic crisp and concise, or else it defeats its own purpose, Manteiga adds. But they thought they were simplifying. The next time you find yourself prepping for a client meeting or team retreat where you will have some complex information to convey remember these five strategies for making the complex clear: Business communication can be tricky, but with the right storytelling tools theres no need to start from scratch. What language do they tend to use? Theres no place for flowery writing in the public sector, although metaphors can help explain complicated ideas better. So great advice is to go through the wording of your insights and take the time to make sure theyre concise and universally accessible. As stated before, storytelling is a great tool for communicating important insights and complex information; but sometimes we need to communicate a story with either no space or only a very little space for words. Every successful brand has, at its core, an in-depth and robust understanding of consumer behaviour. For example, Jobs described IBM in 1984 as Big Brother come to life, bringing the idea to a famous television commercial pitting the Mac against IBM. A member of our team will reach out within two working days. 3. By acknowledging your audience's experience, they are able to follow you to new unimagined territory like a credentialing process that takes days, not months. Terms and conditions, features, support, pricing, and service options subject to change without notice. These 5 strategies will help you connect with your audience while sharing complex info. Practice over and over and over again. In addition, companies can leverage webinars to build their subscriber lists. One of the main things I do research on is confusion between drug names. A mix of text and video also works great when trying to communicate complex information on social media, especially on Instagram via Instagram Stories, according to Leila Lewis, founder and CEO of Be Inspired PR. Again, Jobs was a pro at doing deep research so that he understood a product thoroughly. If you see a ton of numbers or text on a screen and see a powerful image with one big bold number on it which one do you think you will remember? The two simple categories serve as anchors that help his clients get oriented as they discuss their investing options. To explain financial products financial advisor Joel Moore divides them into two categories, loaners and owners. First, I'm going to describe it in complicated, scientific terms: I can compute the similarity between drug names, and predict the probability that one name will be confused with another. Thats why he left the boardroom to createa businesshelping leaders to do exactly View full profile, Join over 100,000 of your peers and receive our weekly newsletter which features the top trends, news and expert analysis to help keep you ahead of the curve. Or I could say something like this by focusing on the problem and the benefits: About 4 million times per year, people walk into pharmacies in the United States and they walk out with the wrong drug. After you've talked about the problems, talk about the benefits and the solutions to the problem, not the features of your solution. 2020 Understanding ModernGov", Company Registered Number 3307092 VAT Registered Number 686 2779 74 Partnership Media Group Trading as GovNet Communications, A Quick Guide to Presenting Complex Information With Simplicity, top skills and qualities you need to improve your writing skills in the public sector, copywriting skills is a great way to start - here's 5 quick-fire ways to improve.