Creating effective reports
Download as PPTX, PDF0 likes980 views
Creating effective reports involves focusing on the audience, addressing their needs, and providing clear insights from data to solve business questions. It emphasizes the importance of avoiding unnecessary complexity and speaking in terms relevant to the audience while proposing actionable solutions. Ultimately, the goal is to deliver valuable information that drives business decisions.
Creating effective reports
- 1. CREATING EFFECTIVE REPORTS USING DATA, FOCUS AND CLARITY TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR YOUR BUSINESS
- 2. WHY REPORTS? Bad reasons: • To look busy/it’s my job • Because it’s what you do with data • Because you can The good reason: • To answer a business question
- 3. STEP 1: YOUR AUDIENCE What do they need? What do they know? What do they need to know?
- 5. NO, THESE HIPPOS • Think they have the best answer (sometimes, that’s true) • Can stifle insight (no one wants to give bad news) • Often pay for your services • In the absence of smart data, their opinion becomes reality
- 6. STEP 2: FIND YOUR MESSAGE Start by asking the right question: Are we reaching enough users? Are we reaching the right kinds of users? Are users behaving in the way we want? Buying things Talking with us
- 7. TELL THE AUDIENCE SPECIFICS Why to care • What the business problem is • What the data CAN tell you What the issues are • What the data DO tell you • What it means in the context of the problem Possible solutions to fix the issues
- 8. TO GET ATTENTION Keep focus on issues of interest to the audience • Doing X is useful because • If X happens, Y typically follows • One way to meet the goal of X is to…
- 9. TO KEEP ATTENTION Don’t overwrite • Avoid repetition • Avoid modifiers • Use subject-verb-object sentences • Use the simplest words • Eliminate the obvious
- 10. TO BE INVALUABLE Show benefits • Short-term if possible • Long-term clearly Speak their language • Terminology • Specific business goals Be Proactive