As the finance liaison
on new business development teams,
I would often explain numbers
to marketing, manufacturing,
and other non-accounting folks.
The key to this
is to speak the same language.
I would talk about investments
to manufacturing folks
in terms of the machinery they knew.
“This investment is the equivalent
of buying a new XYZ machine.”
I would use something
they see and touch every day.
As
Carmine Gallo
shares in his latest newsletter
“Make numbers meaningful.
Big numbers sound impressive,
but are often forgotten.
Make your numbers meaningful
by placing them in a context
people can understand.
When Steve Jobs introduced the first iPod,
he didn’t focus on the fact
that it had 5GB of storage.
That statistic meant nothing
to most people.
Instead he said,
“that’s the equivalent of 1,000 songs
in your pocket.”
If I told you that
the Apple iPad Mini was 7.2mm thin,
would you be excited about it?
Probably not.
What if I told you that
it was as thin as a pencil?
The product suddenly
becomes more interesting,
doesn’t it?
Apple spokespeople have mastered
this communications technique
—they make numbers come alive
by putting those statistics into context.
Most presentations include statistics or numbers.
If the number is important enough
to communicate,
I can only assume you want your audience
to remember it.
If you put it into context,
they won’t forget it.”
A number becomes more powerful
when it is meaningful
to the listener.