Workshop 7: Get to the Point! Presenting Survey Research Data for Maximum Impact

Survey data don’t just present themselves. We do. And successful presentations don’t just happen. They are crafted, refined, and delivered by practitioners exercising attention, care, and energy. The success of the presentation of survey results sets the tone for what happens next. If it succeeds in grabbing the attention of key audiences, it can energize the organization to take meaningful action. A presentation that overwhelms with detail and contains no discernable conclusions or focus can leave the audience confused, directionless, and lacking the energy to tackle critical issues. A poorly crafted survey presentation is a lost opportunity to influence the direction and actions of a business.

Organizational survey results have been presented countless times over the years. Yet, it is fair to say that many presentations contain one or more weak spots that limit impact. Some present the right data to the wrong audience. Some do a great job presenting data but a poor job telling a clear story about results. Others fail to build interest and excitement in the results of the survey and fail to move groups to action. More than a few have been sidetracked by impatient managers who have their own “interpretation” of results. We aren’t all naturally gifted presenters, but there are several approaches any survey practitioner can take to improve their data presentation impact and maximize the influence of their presentation.

This workshop presents an approach for crafting and delivering a high-impact survey results presentation that will influence key decision makers and lead to meaningful action. It includes steps for developing and refining content and provides practical advice for dealing with presentation bumps in the road. The presenters draw from their combined 35 years of survey research and presentation experience to provide participants with a practical toolkit of tips and techniques. Although the workshop will benefit relative newcomers to survey research, even seasoned practitioners will find a few tips and techniques they can use to improve their delivery and impact.

This workshop is designed to help participants:

• Analyze the audience and their information needs
• Identify critical survey results and key messages that will help build a clear and compelling storyline that effectively communicates what’s most important
• Know the difference between the “what” and the “so what” to decide what to leave in and, more importantly, what to leave out
• Use a storyboarding technique that creates a logical flow of information, building to a conclusion that is supported by data
• Choose appropriate and varied presentation formats and graphical displays that simply and visually communicate a clear and compelling message to a nontechnical audience
• Create a strong closing that summarizes what is most important and leads the audience to action
• Apply practical presentation techniques that can improve “stage presence” and ability to handle the audience

Sarah Johnson is senior consultant and director of Client Services with Genesee Survey Services, developing custom survey process and tools to create organization change for clients such as GE, Xerox, and Wegmans Food Markets. Prior to joining Genesee, Sarah was director of Executive Talent Management and Organization Research at Eastman Kodak, managing worldwide employee research and executive recruiting, assessments, and succession planning. Prior to this, Sarah was program director, Worldwide Human Resources Research at IBM, where she led a major redesign of the company’s employee survey strategy. At Procter and Gamble she helped design their first employee survey. She speaks frequently to professional groups on employee surveys and has contributed to several books on employee surveys. Sarah received her BA in psychology from Purdue University and her MA and PhD in I-O psychology from The Ohio State University.

Kristofer Fenlason is director of Organization Effectiveness at Data Recognition Corporation (DRC) where he is responsible for developing and providing survey consulting services. Over the last 15 years, Kris has designed and executed a variety of employee opinion, 360-feedback, and customer satisfaction survey programs for a wide range of organizations. He has been deeply involved in all phases of the survey process and has worked both as an external and internal consultant. His primary research and consulting interests lie in Web and dual-method (paper and Web) surveying, facilitating action based on the data, linking customer and employee survey data, and usability testing. Kris received his MA and PhD in I-O psychology from Central Michigan University.

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