Shuttles and Cups: On the Power of Slides for Winning and Losing

When I took a data visualization workshop with Edward Tufte circa 2007, he talked about the PowerPoint slide responsible for the explosion of the space shuttle Columbia.

That was a case of a slide obscuring critical information, which resulted in tragedy.

Last week, I saw the opposite phenomenon: a slide that illuminated a tragedy and resulted in a win. I wanted to share it with you here.

Last week, I had an exhibitor table at the Society for Prevention Research (SPR) annual meeting. I was also invited to judge the SPR Cup, an annual competition for graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. This year, four teams analyzed data from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey and presented their findings.

I watched an hour’s worth of PowerPoint slides on the sobering risks faced by transgendered individuals, the teams’ sophisticated statistical analyses to learn more about these challenges, and what those analyses suggested about potential solutions.

After the competition concluded, I spoke with two attendees (one working in advocacy, the other working in communication) about the presentations. Both people, independently and spontaneously, praised one specific slide.

Here is the slide that, arguably, won the SPR Cup for Penn State’s team* of Pat O’Neill, Casey Cunningham, and Whitney Becker:

Is this slide fancy? No.

Does it describe sophisticated statistical analyses? Also no.

So why was this slide a winner?

1. The numbers are easy to understand.

Even if many adults don’t understand percentages, the scientists in this audience surely did. No advanced statistical training or intense eyebrow-wrinkling required.

2. The findings are meaningful.

The slide doesn’t describe inconsequential outcomes or trivial quantities. These numbers are big, and they relate to life-and-death issues.

3. The presenter gave the slide weight in his accompanying remarks.

Pat, the presenting author, didn’t just flash the slide and move on. After he reviewed the numbers, he literally said, “I want to pause here.” And then he underscored the magnitude of these numbers. Fifteen hundred people who took this survey needed substances to cope, and more than two thousand respondents had attempted to end their own lives. It was an inherently powerful, human moment.

Congratulations, Penn State! And kudos to the SPR Cup organizers, and all four SPR Cup teams, for kicking off Pride Month with great science on this important topic.

*Team advisor: Dr. Ashley Linden-Carmichael

Trophy illustration by artbybigvee