The guide to stakeholder engagement

No one wants to be subjected to a boring presentation or meeting, full of endless slides with endless text. There’s a solution, though – with a few simple tweaks and online tools, you can easily increase stakeholder engagement in the workplace. 

Infogram provides the necessary products (and helpful articles, videos, and tutorials) to breathe life into any dashboard, report, or slide presentation. Using interactive charts, maps, and infographics has been proven to increase audience engagement.

In this article, you’ll learn how to add data visualization to slides, reports, and dashboards to help increase stakeholder engagement. These tools enable you to hold your audience’s attention for longer, increase learning retention, and help prevent your peers and supervisors from sitting through another boring presentation or meeting again. 

Using slides to increase stakeholder engagement  

Typically, people think of slides as static, 2D, text-heavy snooze-fests. It’s time to take your presentation into the 21st century. Prezi takes slide animation and visuals to new and exciting levels, and Infogram allows users to create interactive maps and charts in seconds to embed into presentations. To elevate a presentation, there are multiple dynamic tools that are easy to use and implement across multiple platforms.

Regardless of your audience, it is possible to use data and present it in ways that will make an impact. A study by the Wharton School of Business found that 67% of those surveyed were persuaded by verbal presentations that had accompanying visuals. These visuals need to be dynamic and engaging. Even something as simple as an enhanced chart or map will increase interactivity with an audience.

Spending a small amount of time enhancing your presentation images with filters or animated sticker gifs can also increase stakeholder engagement. Photo enhancements, animations, and filters not only make images look better, but also offer consistency, boost brand awareness, and increase viewer engagement. According to Kissmetrics, content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without.

And yes, presentations involve public speaking, and that can be terrifying. An enhanced presentation will give speakers more confidence when they know their content will help keep their audience of stakeholders engaged. For more specific tips and tricks, Inc collected the top 20 public speaking tips from the best TED talks. And if you want a little fun, check out this visualization of public speaking fears and facts.

Boost engagement with data visualization in reports and dashboards

Whether creating dashboards or reports, Infogram allows you to quickly communicate complex ideas in a visually appealing way. Viewers typically spend 90% more time on pages with interactive charts or infographics, and they’re easy to implement. 

When faced with a large amount of data, it can feel overwhelming when choosing how to present the content in a visually appealing way. This content still needs to make sense to viewers and supports the information. Adding too many animations or data points can make your project appear jumbled and confusing, while too few charts or maps can make it feel empty. 

Top tips to create an engaging report or dashboard with data visualization

1. Use your data to tell a story

Often, data is viewed as “boring” when it should be viewed as one of the best ways to share a story. When data is streamlined into one or two charts, color is used appropriately, and icons and images support the numbers, the story becomes easier to tell. 

For example, when UNICEF compiled a report on the hygiene, water, and sanitation in healthcare facilities worldwide, they had pages and pages of data. Would you rather read the entire 132-page report, or look at the story told through data visualization? Using data to tell a compelling story boosts audience engagement and gets more people to support the cause.

2. Use interactive elements to boost engagement and inform your audience

When presented with a lot of data, it can be best to bucket it into charts, maps, and/or infographics to make the content easier to understand for the audience. 

Gaming Scan wanted to share the latest data on video game statistics and trends. Instead of sharing revenue, trend, and geographical data in a traditional 2D and text-heavy manner, they used interactive maps, charts, and infographics. The result is more approachable and engaging to stakeholders.

Conclusion

Stakeholder engagement is key to driving profit, brand awareness, and positive interactions. When your team is engaged, they’re your company’s best asset to drive success. Creating visually impressive and data-rich presentations, reports, and dashboards help boost stakeholder engagement. 

Use Infogram to get started today and add interactive charts, beautiful images, and animated maps to your next presentation or report. Look forward to more engaged stakeholders (and less yawning!) in your next big meeting or presentation. 

Interested in discovering how Infogram can enhance your team’s work? Join a brief Zoom session with our Infogram representative to explore key features, get answers to your questions, and understand how we can assist. It’s quick, informative, and just like a coffee break chat. Schedule your call now!