Use of Statistics
Looking for the Right Number
Use of statistics
Objective: After completing this activity, the student will be able to identify appropriate statistical information for use a speech.
Materials: Old magazines, preferably of a variety of different types (Entertainment, News, Beauty, Auto, etc.) Also, a types and functions/ guidelines for statistics handout.
Steps:
1. Divide the students into small groups.
2. Distribute stacks of magazine of different types to each group.
3. Have students look through the magazines and search for the use of statistical information in the articles. Mark the pages in the magazines. Try to have each group look through the various types of magazines, not just one specific type.
4. Next, have the students discuss in their group the differences in the types of statistics that they find.
5. As a class, discuss the differences found by each the groups. Next, discuss as a class which statistics were most powerful, most meaningful, or most memorable, and what the students believe made the statistics work.
6. Distribute handout and discuss as a class the guidelines for using statistics in a speech (keep them simple, round, contexts, repeating, ethics, etc.)
Results: Students will have experience recognizing effective and meaningful statistics. This experience can be transferred over to personal use when researching for effective statistics for a speech.
Use of Statistics
You Said What?
Objective:
After learning about the use of statistics in public speaking students will be able to apply their knowledge in class orally by identifying a problem in a given statistic and then reciting an example to make it more “audience friendly”.
Materials:
Prepared statistics that are bad examples to include in speeches
Steps:
1. In a short lecture explain how the use of statistics can make a speaker seem creditable. Also explain that whenever you use statistics, ask yourself: How accurate are the figures? Who collected the data? How current are the figures?
2 Also explain that statistics can difficult for the audience to interpret and that successful presentations use numbers ethically, in an unbiased way, and in a clear and easy-to-understand manner. Explain that statistics are not always black and white, sometimes they can be biased. For example a study examining whether or not over-consumption of junk food leads to obesity is not reliable if a manufacturer of sugary snacks and treats conducted the study. Statistics from the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, or the American Medical Association would be much more reliable choices for this type of presentation.
Students also want to make sure that their use of statistics are easy to understand. For example instead of saying that the company earned a $1,001,789 profit from the sale of Product X, you could say that last year’s profit for Product X was over $1,000,000. Simplifying your data in this manner makes it easier for your audience to comprehend your message without sacrificing overall accuracy.
3. Explain to the students some more audience friendly ways to use statistics in their speeches. For example the use they could create a story, metaphor, or visual aid to show how powerful and important that number is.
4. After the lecture, hand the students each a note card with a “un-audience-friendly” statistic on it. Ask them to transform the statistic so that it will be more “audience friendly”.
5. After the students are finished have them share what they have come up with in front of the class.
Results:
Students will to transform statistics ethically to make them more “audience-friendly” for their speeches.