The results of the primaries on Super Tuesday were very interesting to watch - and not just because of the historic changes in our choices or the dollars invested in campaigning.  The interesting part to me was the way in which each of the news venues displayed the numbers.  Apparently, they have decided that providing election results in numeric form is just not good enough.

I could not help noticing all of the different technologies that were being employed - from the touch screen map that expanded or contracted based on the reporters' focus, the "what-if" analysis of different elections on the candidates' delegate counts (shown on an adjustable pie chart), or the various numbers behind the numbers showing how different groups voted for different candidates.  I think they were on the right track in terms of finding ways to make the results more interesting and vivid, but in some cases the whirling, moving, expanding, contrasting graphics made it hard for me to concentrate on the message. 

I was not the only one who noticed.  The Daily Show featured a segment this week on this very subject. The Fox News spinning pie chart that moved with Anderson Cooper's head was their favorite misused graphic.

So in summary, visuals are usually better than just numbers, numbers in context are better than stand-alone figures, and "what-if" views of information are more lively than static results.  Just use these different techniques sparingly in your presentations so your message doesn't get lost in a sea of dazzling special effects.

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If you haven't seen the show, these are the main points.  It's a team of new designers who are given an assignment, a limited budget, and a limited amount of time to create something that meets a given design objective.  They are given models who wear whatever outfit they create for judging by a team of experts.  The losing designer is off the show at the end of the segment.

Ok, so what does this have to do with presentations?  Let me enlighten you.  All of these designers have talent and a unique style.  Some of the designers have such a unique style that they create the same kind of outfit regardless of the client and regardless of the assignment.  If their execution is really superb, these designers manage to stay on for a while, but they never win.  The designer who wins, season after season, is the designer who can take his unique style and match it to the desires of his client.  One week he might be asked to design an outfit for Barbie and the next week he might be designing a prom dress for a Catholic High School student.  (No kidding, these are actual episodes.) 

Presentations are exactly like designs.  They might have the best execution in the world and fit the speaker perfectly, but if they don't resonate with their audience they are not going to make the cut. 

So in your next presentation, decide who you are designing for - a 12 inch plastic doll or a runway model - and tailor your message accordingly.  

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