6 Tips for Incorporating Statistics into Your Speech

When done appropriately, incorporating statistics into a speech or presentation can help validate your argument. Statistics will add truth and credibility to your message. To help you use statistics to your enforce the message of your speech, follow these public speaking tips from professional speaker Lawrence Mitchell:

1. Don’t overuse statistics — While statistics can support your claim, they can often come off as boring. If you are just spitting out numbers, your audience will likely not be able to process them and their significance.

2. Be repetitive — If you have an important statistic, you want to repeat it at least one. The first time you present the statistic, the audience may not understand the context for the number. You can repeat a statistic by relaying it as a number and then as a percentage, so your listeners can better process it.

3. Round long numbers — If the statistic you wish to incorporate is a long number, round it up or down to make it easier to say and easier for your audience to comprehend. However, when you round the number make sure you do not distort its importance. For instance, rounding 3,299,781,945 to 3.3 billion makes it more manageable without changing its significance.

4. Make a connection — When you state a statistic, don’t expect your audience to just understand it. You need to explain the relationship between the statistic and your message and why it’s important.

5. Use a comparison — Show your audience how the statistic has changed over the years by comparing it to itself at an earlier time. You can compare it to the same statistic from the previous year or decade.

6. Pause before and after — A short pause before presenting the statistic is a good way to create suspense and get the audience’s undivided attention. Also pause immediately after you say the statistic to allow time for the audience to process it and its impact.