Analysis vs. Communication: Something to Think about When Preparing Content for a Technical Presentation

If you’ve ever found yourself knee-deep in technical details during a presentation—only to notice your audience’s eyes glazing over—you’re not alone.

One of the most common challenges for professionals in engineering, IT, finance, or the sciences is knowing how deep into the weeds to go. It’s easy and tempting to march into the weeds, then struggle to keep your audience’s attention.

When you go too deep too soon, you risk:

• Confusing your audience

• Boring your audience

• Losing your audience completely

So, how can you avoid this pitfall?

There’s one powerful distinction I’ve found especially useful:

The difference between analysis and communication.

Let’s Define Our Terms

Analysis: is the process of breaking down a complex topic into its smaller parts in order to better understand it.

According to Merriam-Webster, it’s a thorough examination of anything complex in order to understand its nature or determine its essential features.

If you’re a researcher, engineer, or scientist, you’re likely very comfortable in analysis mode. It’s how you solve problems. It’s deep, detailed, and by design, exhaustive. A good analysis leaves no stone unturned.

The goal of analysis is to understand. Its focus is narrow, the methodology is rigorous, and it’s an inward-facing process—the analyzer working to understand the problem.

Communication, on the other hand, is what you share with your audience about the analysis you have performed.

You don’t have or want to tell them everything!

You want to share the pearls of wisdom you have discovered, especially the pearls that are relevant to them, the pearls that will help them understand the problem you are trying to solve and why your solution is the right one.

A great way to do this is with story.

Why the Distinction Matters

When you present your findings, you’re not just offering information. You’re helping someone else understand and possibly act on what you’ve discovered.

To do this successfully, you have to make a mental shift.

To communicate so your audience will engage, you must:

• Start by identifying what your audience cares about

• Leave out what is interesting to you but not relevant (or easily understood) to them

• Provide just enough detail to support your key points—not everything you know

Different parts of your message will be important for different audiences. What resonates with a technical peer won’t land the same way with an executive stakeholder.

And the truth is: No one needs every detail of your analysis.

What they do want is:

• The broader context

• The implications of your findings

• The real-world application of your solution

Here's What to Keep in Mind:

✅ Effective communication is about clarity, not exhaustive detail

✅ Relevance and understanding is more important than thoroughness

✅ It’s okay to leave things out—you’re not dumbing it down; you’re focusing in

Remember: This is not about showing how much you know. It’s about convincing your audience to support your work. You build credibility by knowing what to leave out.

The Outcome

When you make the shift from analysis to communication, something powerful happens:

• You keep your audience engaged

• You create room for real understanding

• You generate better questions—and better decisions

So the next time you’re preparing a technical presentation, pause and ask yourself:

Am I analyzing? Or am I communicating?

That simple question can help you make better decisions about what to include in your presentation and will enable you to deliver a message that motivates your audience to support you.