1. Survey Training Pack Session 20 – Presentation of Findings

2. Basic principles When preparing a presentation of survey findings, we should ask ourselves the following questions: What am I trying to communicate? Who are my audience? What kind of presentation will be most effective? What might prevent my audience from understanding the data in the presentation? Decisions about type of presentation and tools depend on objective of the presentation AND target audience.

3. Basic principles Most common goal is to communicate key programmatic implications for improved decision- making Always make it easier for your target audience to understand your key points: – Avoid presenting complex tables – Avoid using technical jargon – Use graphs rather than complex tables in an oral presentation – Simply tables that you wish to use Use words that are simple, short and concise – keep it simple

4. Presentation content Enough information on methods without providing too many details – credibility of survey results Be clear about the limitations of the survey Organise your presentation by core indicators or themes of interest for the programme – Each section should have major points only Use visual illustrations – Know which graph serves what purpose – Limit the amount of text on each slide – Avoid cutting and pasting tables from the survey analysis report

5. Presentation content Support conclusions and recommendations with evidence Quote secondary evidence if relevant that supports or refutes your findings End your presentation with programme implications Consistency of style and logical flow of ideas are vital to a good presentation

6. Common mistakes Some common mistakes when presenting survey findings: Quoting percentages only when the “N” is quite small (e.g. Table 19 on page 24) Quoting results that are not practical Incorrectly making comparisons between two surveys – different populations

7. Different types of graphs, charts and tables for effective presentation of findings Survey Training Pack

8. Line graph Useful for displaying more than one relationship in the same picture – Response to fertiliser of three different varieties – Short time-series of trends More than four or five lines tend to become confusing unless well separated When more than one line, different line styles (e.g. solid, dashed, etc.) should be used – Use only colour if the reader can distinguish the colour – e.g. presentation printed in colour or oral presentation – Symbols can also be used

9. Bar graph Useful for simple results; not for large amount of structured information Often no inherent order to the bars – Clearer if bars are sorted in ascending/descending order of height if dealing with only one category – If different categories, shading of bars must remain consistent for subcategories Use of stack bars for more complex information – disaggregated data – For absolute values – 100% stacked bar chart for comparing percentages

10. Examples

11. Pie chart Useful for illustrating percentage distributions of components within a total – Rice trainees by training approaches (Table 3B) Not suitable for displaying data with multiple small percentages – Slices may be thin; comparisons are difficult to make – A maximum of 5 to 6 slices is optimal One pie chart can only show the distribution of data items at one point in time

12. Table Main disadvantage is that the reader only sees numbers, which require specific aptitude and skills to correctly understand and use them Tables need to be accompanied by descriptions and explanations which highlight the findings Therefore, the structure of the table becomes quite important Be cognizant of the objective of your presentation

13. Components of a table Title – main description of the table – Denominator and core indicator/sub-indicator need to be specified Heading for rows and columns – may be regrouped under a major heading Unit of measurement; essential for correct interpretation of the data – Usually given in the title or column/row headings Rounding off numbers – use common sense Footnotes – can be essential

14. Layout of a table Font style: different style used to highlight specific items of a table Ordering of rows and columns: natural/logical order, ranked by magnitude or alphabetical order Consistent appearance: be consistent in your formatting across the entire presentation; – E.g. same rule applied for ordering rows and columns Number the table: properly numbered for ease of reference Avoid complex tables in a presentation

15. When to use what? Tables work best when the presentation: – Contains many data series for cross-analysis – Examine and/or compare individual values – Requires the reporting of precise values – Contains values that involve multiple units of measurement Graphs work best when the presentation: – Used to identify patterns and trends – Used to communicate a message that can be highlighted in the shape of a graph – Used to visually reveal relationships among several values

16. Summary The goal of a presentation is to make the reader understand the key messages with minimum effort A good presentation is therefore: – Informative – Self-explanatory – Pleasant in appearance – Easy to understanding, interpret and use Always try to communicate with your audience in the most simple, direct and efficient manner possible Do not overload your presentation with tables and graphs