You're listening to Business English Pod, the Business English podcast for professionals on the move.
Hello, and welcome back to Business English Pod.
My name's Edwin, and I'll be your host for today's lesson on presenting numbers.
In the course of your work, you've probably had to sit through a dull presentation in which the speaker reads out numbers from a chart or PowerPoint slides.
And maybe you thought that your time would have been better spent just reading a report with all the data.
Sure, numbers are important.
However, you don't need to give a presentation just to report the numbers, but you may need to give a presentation to explain which numbers are most important and what the numbers mean.
In today's lesson, we'll look at some great techniques for presenting and interpreting numbers.
We'll learn how to show causation and correlation, how to group data and how to highlight important numbers.
We'll also look at drawing conclusions from data and making predictions.
In the dialogue, we'll rejoin Tony, who works for a large grocery chain.
Tony is giving a presentation about recent promotional activities targeting the young singles market.
We'll also hear two company executives, Ellen and William.
As you listen to the dialogue, try to answer the following questions.
One, what does Tony say was the reason for increased footfall on Sundays?
Two, which key number does Tony want to highlight?
Three, what does Tony feel confident will happen in the future?
Okay, now I'd like you to look at footfall on different days of the week, because there's some really good news there as well.
Let's have a look at daily traffic before, during and after the promotion.
One thing I'd like to draw your attention to is the Sunday figures.
We can see here how it shot up during the promotion.
That's directly related to the Sunday sip and shop events we ran.
And we maintained most of that gain on Sundays even after the promotion finished.
So they came for the event, then they came back, presumably because they liked the store.
Is that what you're getting at?
That's right.
And we know that by looking at sales of products that appeal to young singles.
So let me skip ahead a bit to here.
Okay, so sales on key products before and after the promotion.
This means personal hygiene, organics, and deli.
If we add up the sales growth for these categories, we're looking at an additional $36,000 per week.
You mean just from those products?
Yeah, but let's look beyond that at the bigger picture.
I mean, let's see how this impacted overall sales.
Here you'll see it broken down by store, then product category.
But the really important number is this one, an 8% gain in total sales.
So, jumping back for a sec here, what was the overall increase in footfall?
It was 6%.
And I'm glad you asked, because the difference between these figures is precisely what I want to zoom in on.
Let's compare increase in footfall and increase in sales by store and overall.
What you'll see here is that the sales gains exceeded the footfall gains by roughly 2%.
And there we are.
Clear evidence that we're chasing the right market.
Yeah, they're great customers to have, that's for sure.
But will this hold into the future?
Well, overall traffic has stayed at 80 of the mid-promotion figures and weekly sales remain 78 higher than the pre-promotion period.
So, I'm pretty confident that we can retain these shoppers.
I really think our young singles are here to stay, and we've already started developing some new own brand products targeting this demographic.
But maybe we can just pause for a moment here and see if there are any other questions.
Now let's go through the dialogue again and look at the language and techniques.
Toni used to present her numbers.
OK, now I'd like you to look at footfall on different days of the week, because there's some really good news there as well.
Let's have a look at daily traffic before, during and after the promotion.
In this part of the presentation, Tony wants to talk about footfall on different days of the week.
Footfall is the number of people who visit the store on a given day.
Toni says there's good news to report, as she presents a slideshow showing the numbers before, during and after the promotion.
Now listen as she explains a key idea behind the numbers.
One thing I'd like to draw your attention to is the Sunday figures.
We can see here how it shot up during the promotion.
That's directly related to the Sunday sip and shop events we ran.
Tony wants to draw people's attention to the Sunday figures.
Rather than just explaining everything on her graph, she's pointing out what she believes is important.
The Sunday numbers shot up, or increased rapidly, during the promotion.
But Toni's not content to just report the numbers.
She wants to explain the reasons behind the numbers.
In this case, she wants to talk about the cause of the change, which was the Sip and Shop promotional events.
They ran on Sundays.
People can read numbers for themselves, but a good presenter will look behind the numbers and explain causation and correlation.
That is, how do the numbers relate to other numbers or activities?
Let's practice some more ways of explaining causation and correlation.
The decline in costs we're seeing corresponds to the recent drop in oil prices.
A 56% increase in handset sales has contributed to a 14% jump in overall revenue.
The 5,000 new subscriptions are a direct result of the ad campaign.
The data suggests that lumber costs are closely tied to housing starts.
Now listen as Tony mentions what happened after the Sunday promotions.
And we maintained most of that gain on Sundays even after the promotion finished.
So they came for the event, then they came back, presumably because they liked the store.
Is that what you're getting at?
That's right.
And we know that by looking at sales of products that appeal to young singles.
When Toni says they maintain most of that gain, she means that Sundays continue to be busier with young singles.
William seems to understand what Toni is suggesting, or getting at, but he asks for confirmation.
William doesn't seem willing to just accept that the numbers correlate.
So Toni explains by looking at products that young single people buy.
Let's listen.
So let me skip ahead a bit to here.
Okay, so sales on key products before and after the promotion.
This means personal hygiene, organics, and deli.
If we add up the sales growth for these categories, we're looking at an additional $36,000 per week.
Tony wants to skip ahead or move forward to a part of the presentation that will answer William's question.
She shows sales of key products that appeal to or are popular with the target group.
Tony doesn't want to present them individually because that would give unnecessary detail.
Instead she wants to add up the categories and show a big jump in weekly sales for the products as a group.
What are some other ways we can group data?
Let's run through some more examples.
Combining fixed and variable costs, we can see that the plant cost 34 million to operate last year.
Looking at online and in-store sales together, we brought in just under $600,000 last month.
Spending on benefits coupled with pensions and medical costs has risen sharply.
If we add together users of all three sites, we've got about 12,000 subscribers.
Now let's get back to the presentation.
You mean just from those products?
Yeah, but let's look beyond that at the bigger picture.
I mean let's see how this impacted overall sales.
Here you'll see it broken down by store, then product category, but the really important number is this one an eight percent gain in total sales.
Tony showed sales of a group of products to prove the success of just one part of the promotion.
But now she wants to look at the bigger picture.
In this case, that means how the promotions impacted or affected overall sales.
Toni presents a slide that shows sales broken down or separated in a couple of ways, but she wants to highlight the 8 gain in total sales.
Her audience is looking at a slide that shows many numbers but Tony draws direct attention to that one key number, saying the really important number is this one.
Let's try some more ways to highlight a key figure among many numbers.
There's a lot of good data here, but let's look at this figure right here, 94% brand recognition.
Let me just highlight what I think is most impressive.
43% growth in online revenue.
All these numbers are important, but the key thing is this here, debt to equity ratio.
The chart shows you results for all products, but I just want to point out that one big thing 500000 from music devices alone.
Now, let's get back to the dialogue as William interrupts with a question.
So, jumping back for a sec here, what was the overall increase in footfall?
It was 6%.
And I'm glad you asked, because the difference between these figures is precisely what I want to zoom in on.
William has asked about overall increase in footfall, which was 6%.
Remember, the overall increase in sales was 8%.
And it's this difference that Tony wants to zoom in on or explain in greater detail.
Again, Tony wants to explain what the numbers mean.
Let's compare increase in footfall and increase in sales by store and overall.
What you'll see here is that the sales gains exceeded the footfall gains by roughly 2%.
And there we are.
Clear evidence that we're chasing the right market.
Tony compares the two numbers they've been talking about, increases in footfall and sales.
And what's important is that sales exceeded footfall gains by 2%.
That means it was higher, 6% more people, but 8% more sales.
Toni emphasizes the importance of this fact by saying, there we are.
And she explains that this is evidence or proof that they're targeting the right market.
Toni's entire purpose is to show that their promotional activities were effective, but she needs to prove that idea with the numbers and link her conclusions to the data.
If you're going to make a claim, you need to back it up with numbers.
Let's run through some more ways of linking conclusions to data.
These numbers clearly demonstrate that we need to find a way to cut costs.
It should be clear from these figures that we are carrying too much debt.
What all this means is that we really need to diversify.
Now, Ellen has an important question for Tony.
Yeah, they're great customers to have, that's for sure.
But will this hold into the future?
Well, overall traffic has stayed at 80 of the mid-promotion figures and weekly sales remain 78 higher than the pre-promotion period.
So, I'm pretty confident that we can retain these shoppers.
Tony has shown some impressive gains, but Alan wants to know if those gains will hold or continue into the future.
At this point, Toni needs to use the numbers to make a prediction.
First, she mentions increases in overall traffic and weekly sales.
Then she introduces her prediction by saying, so I'm pretty confident that.
The important thing is to use the numbers to back up her prediction.
Only with that evidence can she say she's confident.
Let's practice some more ways of making predictions.
Notice the different language used to show confidence in the prediction and how the prediction is based on past information.
I think we can expect this positive trend to continue.
The numbers point to a full economic recovery in the first half of next year.
We should see a great fourth quarter if sales keep increasing at this rate.
Looking ahead, it seems safe to say that we'll complete construction by July.
Now, let's hear Toni finish this part of the presentation.
I really think our young singles are here to stay.
And we've already started developing some new own brand products targeting this demographic.
But maybe we can just pause for a moment here and see if there are any other questions.
Tony repeats her positive prediction about retaining the young singles, before mentioning some new business activities stemming from their success.
But just as all good presenters do, she wants to pause to make sure everything is clear.
Tony has done a great job of interpreting the numbers she's presenting and connecting them to conclusions and predictions.
But it's always good to check in with your audience.
Now let's practice some of the language we learned in today's lesson.
Imagine you are giving a presentation about sales figures.
I'll give you a cue telling you what you need to do.
Then you'll hear a prompt.
Use the words in the prompt to make an effective statement during your presentation.
We'll guide you through each step in the practice and provide an example answer for each response.
Ready?
Let's give it a go.
Start off by relating a decrease in sales over the summer to general economic problems.
Reason Decline Summer Economy.
Poor Answer.
One reason for the decline over summer was the poor economy.
Next, group the data from different products to show how much sales decreased.
Drop.
Answer.
If we combine the totals from different products, we see a 7% drop.
Now highlight the fact that one type of product, educational software, actually increased.
Important.
Look at.
Educational software.
12% gain.
Answer.
But it's important here to look at educational software, which actually gained 12%.
Next, conclude from the data that educational products are a growth industry.
These numbers suggest education, growth industry.
What these numbers suggest is that education is a growth industry.
Finally, predict that educational products will continue to sell well.
Think Expect Educational, Continue Grow.
I think that we can expect sales of educational products to continue growing.
Now, let's practice some of the vocabulary and collocations we've covered in this lesson.
In a moment, you'll hear a series of sentences with a word replaced with a beep.
Repeat each sentence, including the missing word.
For example, if you hear We have a variety of products that... to sports lovers.
You can say... We have a variety of products that appeal to sports lovers.
After each response, we'll provide the correct answer.
Let's begin.
I really think that the trend towards larger phones is here to...
Answer.
I really think that the trend towards larger phones is here to stay.
Answer.
We sell all the leading hardware brands in addition to our own brand products.
I would like to draw everyone's to the graph here on this slide.
I would like to draw everyone's attention to the graph here on this slide.
I'm sure all of this data is useful, but let's look at the bigger.
I'm sure all this data is useful, but let's look at the bigger picture.
We've reached the end of this lesson, the second in our series on presenting numbers.
We've learned how to talk about cause and correlation, how to group data and how to highlight a key figure among many.
We've also covered linking conclusions to data and making predictions.
Thanks for listening, and see you again soon.
