How to Talk About Data
Book

How to Talk About Data

Build Your Data Fluency

Martin Eppler and Fabienne Bünzli
FT Publishing, 2022
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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Analytical
  • Scientific
  • Applicable

Recommendation

If you want to do well in business, in medicine and in life, you need to be able to analyze data. Every day, data become increasingly important in dealing with the world, and using data incorrectly generates negative consequences. Academics Martin J. Eppler and Fabienne Bünzli demonstrate that people can learn “data fluency” – even those with moderate computer skills can learn to competently analyze and communicate about data. Data fluency will improve your decision-making, in business and in daily life.

Summary

People often fear data and statistics.

Vast quantities of data are everywhere. In today’s workforce, whether you’re an executive, in human resources, a project manager, or in sales and marketing, you must make “evidence-based decisions” that you derive from data and the most up-to-date analytical techniques. 

For example, analytics anxiety might manifest as fear and discomfort over data acquisition, analysis and communication to colleagues. Analytics anxiety affects the quality of a person’s decision-making. It also affects that person’s ability to collaborate. Individuals with analytics anxiety are more likely to avoid complicated data, and to be misled by biased data or evidence that lacks precision and rigor.

A variety of factors – including lack of statistical understanding, fear of data quality, uncertainty that data provide an adequate justification for decisions, and “data fatigue” (reviewing too much data over a given period) – can cause analytics anxiety. You can deal with analytics anxiety in different ways, depending on whether you make decisions or present data.

People making decisions may need to improve their knowledge of data...

About the Authors

Chair of communications management at the School of Management Martin J. Eppler is vice rector of the University of St. Gallen, where Fabienne Bünzli is a lecturer.

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