Your Data Isn’t Landing (and What To Do About It)

This is a common challenge, particularly for professionals in technical fields, but it shows up across organizations. When you present a recommendation on a decision, you’re expected to support it with data. Data is what leaders ask for. So why isn’t it landing?

The problem isn’t the data. It’s that the data isn’t doing the work it needs to do.

In high-stakes moments, data alone doesn’t drive decisions. When your data doesn’t land with your audience, you’re likely to experience decision paralysis from them, repeated follow-up meetings, wasted time, and ultimately, lost credibility. Your recommendation may eventually be denied and you won’t get the headcount, funding, support, or momentum you were seeking.

Data on its own lacks meaning because it lacks context. If I say global investment in AI reached $189 billion in 2024, it’s meaningless without additional texture. Are we up or down? Is that significant in 2024? What’s the implication? What should you feel about the data?

You can give the number grounding by adding that it’s roughly equivalent to every person in the U.S. spending $600 on AI. You can then suggest the implication: what was once experimental has rapidly become essential infrastructure. Without context, the number itself is meaningless. With it, it becomes powerful.

When it comes to presenting data, every data point needs a clear So What.

Recently, a product manager came to Kara looking for coaching on her storytelling skills and presentation delivery. When Kara asked what was behind the need, the client shared that she often has high-stakes moments with leadership where she needs to secure critical resources, like headcount. These conversations have serious implications for her team and her product’s success.

She knows her data inside and out. The decision she wants to recommend to her executives feels clear to her. She’s prepared… but when she walks into the meeting, her data doesn’t land, and her arguments fall flat.

She knows this because leadership asks questions like: What does this number mean? How do you know? They aren’t seeing the context, the “so what,” or how her data fits into the bigger picture of the business.

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Your Data Isn’t Landing (and What To Do About It)

Three reasons data fails

1. Data lacks context.

2. Data is hard to process.

3. Data doesn’t engage your audience emotionally.

To sum up