Role of statistical skills in communication

Role of Statistical Skills in Communication@

M S Sridhar*

However great may be one’s work, it does not matter to others until it is communicated. In other
words it is not just sufficient to do a great job; one has to ‘sell’ it to others. As everyone is busy
with his/ her own work, only well presented works attract others and make them to keep aside
their own work and give attention to others works. Most people as a routine browse enormous
quantity of written communications, but have time and interest to read only a limited number of
them. For a potential reader to be attracted and retained it is not enough to be simple, clear,
unambiguous in the language used, it must also have suitable, attractive and catchy punch
statements. Successful writers and speakers use catchy and power-packed statistical statements
embedded in their talks and writings. Such punch with suitable articulation is even more required
in oral presentations. The following extracts from live examples illustrate the point more vividly.

 America employs 70% of the world’s Nobel prize winners

 In 1900, 80% of the world’s Christians lived in Europe and the United States; today 60% live
in developed world

 One billion people in the developed countries contribute over half of carbon dioxide emission
where as the other half is by five billion people in the rest of the world

 In 1970, America granted over half of the worlds Ph Ds in science and engineering, but by
2010, the share will be just 15%

 Nokia 6680 mobile require 13 clicks to change ring tone

 Average owner of mobile hand set spends 471 minutes per month and sends 39 text messages
per month

 By the time a child becomes 18 years , it would have heard ‘NO’ about 1.5 lakh times (85 -
95%) and most of the rest are ‘neutral’ with a few hundred times ‘YES’

Interestingly, all the above quotes provide statistical information in brief and in textual form (not
in the form of a table or chart). Yet they are not too simple statistics, but a set of carefully
thought out articulation through statistical summaries. Taken in their context, they have highly
impressive, persuasive and dramatizing effect on readers and listeners. They have rich statistics
without jargons or complex formula and hence appeal easily to non-specialists and laymen. We
may recall Einstein’s statement that if a new theory was not based on a physical image simple
enough for a child to understand, it was probably worthless.

Among the 3Rs (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic), it is the third R that is most feared and least
emphasized in literacy programmes and formal education. By and large, the need for knowledge
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Role of statistical skills in communication

of basic statistics assumed much less importance than desired in our educational programmes.
Even in higher education and on the job trainings, the communication skills imparted concentrate
on reading, notes taking, writing, speaking, and listening skills, but not on statistical skills.
Examining six top ranked presentations on ‘communication skills’ and on ‘technical writing’
revealed that only passing mention like ‘check numerical figures’, ‘cite sources of statistical
data’ and ‘ no sentence should begin with numerals’ are made in these presentations.

The knowledge of basic statistics is required not only to communicate effectively, but even to
understand others communication. When a result of research is communicated to common man,
despite avoiding jargons, some elementary ones have to be retained. During school days, many
develop aversion to arithmetic and related subjects like mathematics and statistics. Some
consider them as tough subjects and avoid them and choose social, behavioral and humanities
subjects for further studies, if options are available at later stage. We might wrongly think that
the scope for this third R ends by the time we reach higher learning. On the contrary, the need for
mathematical and statistical skills become critical in the higher learning of even medical,
agricultural, social and behavioural sciences once they start working on practical projects and
research. Researcher cannot ignore science of statistics. It is an essential tool for designing
research, processing & analysing data and drawing inferences. Statistics is an all-pervasive tool-
subject and it is hardly possible to escape from knowing basic statistics in any career. For that
matter it is required in our day-to-day life.

It is necessary to know what statistics can and cannot do to appreciate more fully the role of
statistics as a tool. It offers a logical and systematic procedure for processing data expressed in
numerical values. Goal of statistical analysis is to draw conclusions and understand more about
sources of data. Three major roles of statistics are data reduction, drawing inference and
identification of relationships. Some ways statistics can help includes finding central point
around which the data revolves, how broadly the data is spread, showing relationship between
variables and provide certain techniques to test the degree to which the data conform or depart
from chance or anticipated standard.
In nutshell, what statistics does are as follows.

1. It enables presenting facts in a precise definite form that helps proper comprehension of what
is stated. Exact facts are more convincing than vague statements.

2. It helps condensing the mass of data into a few numerical measures, i.e., summarises data
and presents meaningful overall information about a mass of data.
3. It helps in finding relationship between different factors in testing the validity of assumed
relationship.
4. It helps in predicting the changes in one factor due to the changes in another factor.
5. It helps in formulation of plans and policies which require the knowledge of further trends;
Statistics plays vital role in decision making

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Role of statistical skills in communication

An understanding of basic statistical skills including types of statistical data, variables, different
types of presentation of data, probability distributions including normal distribution, types of
errors and calculation of possible error, precision and reliability of predictions, finding
correlation and its direction and magnitude, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersal
or variation, differences between populations' samples, parameters, and statistics are necessary.
Statistics is also called a double-edged tool, as it can be abused and misused. It can be abused
with poor data coupled with sophisticated statistical techniques to obtain unreliable results and it
can be misused when honest, hard facts are combined with poor/ inappropriate statistical
techniques to create false impressions and conclusions. It is often said that any data coerced with
statistical techniques will surrender.

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@
SRELS Journal of Information Management, April 2011, v. 48 (2)
*
Former Head, Library and Documentation, ISRO Satellite Centre, Bangalore 560017.

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