Blog Journal entry 5

Meesha Carey- Module 5

The Quick and Dirty on Data Visualization.  By Nancy Duarte. (2014). Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2014/04/the-quick-and-dirty-on-data-visualization/

Why was this article, blog, post, or multimedia chosen?

This article was chosen because it discusses the topic of data presentation which is what is discussed in module 5.

What makes it interesting, appropriate, or reputable?

The article is reputable because it was posted in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) which is a general management magazine published by Harvard Business Publishing. Harvard Business Publishing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Harvard University. (Harvard Business Review, 2015) The author, Nancy Duarte, also authored the all new edition of HBR Guide to Persuasive Presentations. She also authored two award winning books on the art of presenting, Slide: ology and Resonate. Her and her team teaches public and corporate workshops on presenting. They have also created over a quarter of a million presentations for their clients.

Is it an opinion? Case study? Research study? Product review?

The article is an expert opinion, written by an author who’s done many presentations and teachings on the topic presented.

What was the need, problem, issue or trend addressed in the article, blog, post, or multimedia?

The issue addressed in the article is poor data presentation and data visualization issues.  Data needs to be presented in a way that allows an audience to process the information quickly. Because the slides in a presentation will only be up for a few seconds, the presenter needs to show the conclusions that have been drawn and not all the details that have led up to the conclusions. The fact is that the audience will not have time to try to figure out complex information during the presentation and cannot all leave their seats to walk up to the slides to get a closer look.

What was the solution for which technology had an answer?

When displaying data, certain things should be taken into consideration, such as: Is the data being presented or circulated? Is the right kind of chart or table being used? What message is being conveyed? Do the visuals accurately reflect the numbers? And are the data memorable? According to the author, answering these questions as you are planning out your data, will help you visualize it in a way that helps the audience understand and engage with each point in the presentation.  Once the audience is engaged in the presentation, they will be more likely to adapt to the message.

What implications might this have in healthcare delivery?

The information in this article will help health care providers with organizing their data and choosing the best way to present it to make best impact on their audience. Whether the data is financial projections being presented by a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) or a consultant presenting data to end users, the way in which the information is presented will determine how well the information is received and understood. This can also be applied to nurses presenting teaching materials to their patients. How the patients visualize and understand the material will affect their compliance with the plan of care and their disease management.  

What did you learn from it that might have application for your practice?

I learned various things to consider then planning out my data for a presentation. I learned that the audience will not have time to process the sometimes complex information that is in the data being presented. Therefore, it’s important to get to the point and highlight the conclusion that I am trying to convey instead of how I got to the conclusion. I learned how to effectively use graphs, charts and grid lines to present data, as well as how the use of color can highlight important aspects of the data, drawing your audience to focus on the results.