Deliverable 2-Effective Data Visualization

To understand what motivates people, we need to recognize a few behavioral traits. Reviewing the findings of two renowned behavioral scientists, Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg, we start to understand what factors motivate people. Maslow developed the theory of human motivation, which is illustrated in his hierarchy of needs. This hierarchy is represented as a pyramid with the base representing basic needs and progresses to a higher level of need with each subsequent level.

The terms within the hierarchy describe the path that human motivation generally travels. As each level is satisfied, humans strive to step up to the next level, until self-actualization is reached. Herzberg adopted and applied Maslow's hierarchy of needs to his “Motivator-Hygiene Theory,” where the “Hygiene” portion stayed the same while the “Motivator” portion is used to identify what motivates or satisfies employees.

Motivators or Satisfiers:

· Recognition

· Achievement

· Advancement

· Growth

· Responsibility

· Job Challenge

As we begin developing our presentation or project, we will need to examine and understand our participant’s motivational needs. One way of doing this is by observing Herzberg’s motivating factors from our audience's viewpoint. Not all of Herzberg’s motivational factors will be used to identify our audience’s needs for participation, but a few are factors we need to consider.

Our participant's need for achievement is a factor that we can use to our advantage. If there is something in our presentation that causes this need to emerge, our work in persuading them to see our point of view becomes much easier.

If points of our presentation meet the audience’s need for further advancement, we have reached another milestone in gaining their attention. This is especially true if our presentation or project content is factual and the objective is realistic and will allow the company to prosper and can obtain or maintain competitive advantage.

If the approval of our presentation promotes additional responsibility and job growth for our participants, two additional motivational needs will be met.

All too often presentations are created with very little consideration given to how the audience will react. It seems that many presentations are fashioned from the creator’s point of view, and little thought is given on how the presentation will be received. Focus on your audience’s needs the entire time you're creating your presentation. If you do not achieve buy-in from your audience, all your development time will be wasted.

An audience is made up of numerous people with differing backgrounds. Audience members have a variety of cultural experiences and perceptions on just about everything imaginable to include products and services.

Your audience will also be made up of many different opinions on just about any issue that you can imagine. Be aware that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but your task at hand is to influence and possibly sway them to your way of thinking. You may not be able to meet the needs of your entire audience, but you can address their generalized needs. Your main challenge will be developing an audience communication plan. To create this plan, your first step is to establish intent for your presentation or project. To do this you need to address four basic questions:

1. What is the overall goal?

2. What is the purpose of your presentation or project?

3. Why are you providing this information?

4. Once presented, what should the audience do with the content provided?

The answer to these questions will allow you to build a framework for your presentation that will meet most of your audience’s needs.

Now that you have a better grasp of the intent you will build into your presentation, you will need to understand the makeup and skill set of your target audience. This will allow you to focus on general communication techniques. If your presentation is made up of various visualizations, you will need to consider what type of electronic devices such as projected views, computers, laptops, or smartphones that your audience will use to receive your information. If you plan to provide multiple visualizations per page or intricate spreadsheets, the use of small screens typically found on smartphones will be out of the question.

In conclusion, to provide an adequate presentation that maximizes acceptance, you need to be aware of all the motivating factors for audience participation.