Participant Workbook

Start the Report with a Problem

This workbook helps you build stronger data slides by turning numbers into a clear story. You will practise framing the problem, choosing the right insight, and preparing a slide that gives the audience a reason to care.

Core Flow

Use this sequence whenever you prepare a data-related report.

Problem Insight Action

Today’s focus: Problem. Your first job is to help the audience know what deserves attention.

Module 1

Why Start with Problem?

Data does not speak clearly on its own. A problem gives the audience a lens. It tells them what to notice, why it matters, and what kind of thinking is needed.

Readup

Problem gives data a purpose

Many reports begin with a chart, table, or dashboard. The audience can see the numbers, but they still need to guess what matters.

A problem statement helps the audience understand the reason behind the data. It turns the report from a data dump into a focused story.

Do not start with what data you have. Start with what attention the audience needs.

A problem does not always mean something is wrong. It can also be a gap, risk, opportunity, uncertainty, decision need, or learning need.

Problem Types

Gap: Performance is below target.
Risk: A pattern may create future issues.
Opportunity: A positive pattern deserves focus.
Uncertainty: The data raises a question.
Decision need: A choice must be made.
Learning need: People need to interpret the data better.

Activity 1: Data Without Direction

10 minutes

Instruction: Review the data below. Do not solve it yet. First, write what you think the presenter wants the audience to notice.

Monthly Sales Report

Sales by region, January to June

North

78%

South

63%

East

91%

West

48%

No problem statement. No conclusion. No recommendation.

What do you think the presenter wants us to notice?

What question does this data raise?

What deserves attention?

Activity 2: Same Data, Different Problem

15 minutes

Instruction: Read the three problem frames. Choose which frame gives the clearest direction for a management presentation.

Frame A: Performance Risk Overall sales look stable, but the West region is falling behind the other regions.

Frame B: Growth Opportunity East region is outperforming other regions, but we have not identified what is driving the growth.

Frame C: Resource Decision The current pattern raises a resource question: should next month’s support focus on fixing West or scaling East?

Your choice and reason

Module 1 Takeaway

Problem is the audience’s entry point. It does not need to be dramatic. It needs to make the data relevant.

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Module 2

How to Write a Problem Statement Hook

A problem hook connects the presentation objective, audience concern, and data situation. It helps the audience understand why the topic matters now.

Readup

The hook is not a decoration

A good hook is not a dramatic slogan. It is a clear problem statement that guides the audience into the report.

The hook should answer three questions:

What is happening?
Why does it matter to this audience?
What tension, risk, gap, opportunity, or decision does the data create?

Formula

Basic formula:

For [audience], the issue is not just [data situation], but [deeper concern].

Use this when the audience needs to see why the data matters to them.

Activity 1: Clarify the Objective

12 minutes

Instruction: Select the objective that best matches the presentation. Then write what the presentation should achieve.

Objective	Purpose	Sample Problem Direction
Inform	Help the audience understand what happened.	What changed, improved, declined, or stayed the same?
Persuade	Convince the audience that something deserves attention.	Why should this issue matter now?
Influence	Shift how the audience thinks or prioritises.	What should they see differently after this report?
Decide	Help the audience choose between options.	What choice needs to be made?
Warn	Highlight early risk before it becomes serious.	What pattern may become a problem later?
Train	Help the audience learn how to read the data.	What interpretation skill do they need?
Align	Get different stakeholders to see the same issue.	What common understanding is needed?

My presentation objective

What should this presentation achieve?

Activity 2: Audience and Pain Point

18 minutes

Instruction: Choose the audience. Then describe what they care about in relation to the objective.

Audience

Data situation

Audience pain point

Deeper concern

Activity 3: Write the Hook

15 minutes

Instruction: Use the formula to write three versions. Choose the strongest one.

Version 1

Version 2

Version 3

Final problem hook

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Module 3

Examples of Problem Statements

The same data can create different problem statements. The objective and audience decide the angle.

Scenario

Base Data Situation

Sales increased by 12% this month, but 80% of the growth came from one product category.

Same Audience, Different Objective

Audience: Sales Director

Objective	Problem Statement
Inform	Sales grew this month, but the growth is concentrated in one product category.
Persuade	The sales increase deserves attention because it may be less stable than it appears.
Decide	The sales team needs to decide whether to scale the winning product or reduce dependency risk.
Warn	If growth continues to rely on one product category, next month’s target may become harder to protect.
Influence	The current pattern suggests that sales focus should shift from total growth to quality of growth.

Same Objective, Different Audience

Objective: Persuade

Audience	Problem Statement
CEO	The growth looks positive, but it may not be sustainable if it depends heavily on one category.
Sales Director	The growth is encouraging, but the team needs to manage category dependency before the next target cycle.
Marketing Team	The sales pattern suggests that campaign support may need to focus on the category driving actual growth.
Finance Team	The revenue increase needs to be reviewed for dependency risk and margin quality.
Frontline Team	The team needs to understand which product behaviour is driving growth so that selling efforts can be sharper.

Activity 1: Spot the Lens

20 minutes

Instruction: Read each statement. Identify the likely objective and audience.

Problem Statement	Likely Objective	Likely Audience
The service score improved, but repeated complaints about response time suggest that customer frustration has not fully reduced.
The team needs to decide whether next month’s improvement effort should focus on speed or resolution quality.
This trend is useful for learning how a positive average can hide a weak segment.
Although total performance is improving, the gap between high and low performers is widening.

Activity 2: Rewrite for a New Audience

20 minutes

Instruction: Use the same data situation. Rewrite the problem hook for two different audiences.

Audience 1

Audience 2

Problem hook for Audience 1

Problem hook for Audience 2

Module 3 Takeaway

Strong problem framing is audience-specific. The same number can support different stories depending on what the audience needs to understand, decide, or act on.