How to Handle Numbers and Statistics

President Barack Obama released his $3.7 trillion 2012 federal budget this week. In Illinois, Governor Pat Quinn released his $52.7 billion spending plan. It was a week of mind-numbing numbers. How can anyone possibly wrap their minds around such amounts of cash?

Time to pause and remember how to handle numbers when it comes to press releases, news conferences and when speaking to reporters. In most cases, spewing numbers like the ones above simply cause most eyes to glaze over. Instead, present numbers or figures in ways to help you make your case.

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1. Rounding to the nearest whole number is generally a good idea. It's easier to say $250,000 than $248,516. It's also easier to grasp. Round up or down, depending on your point of view. For instance, the President would not want to be heard talking about a $4 trillion budget, but he might have referred to it as a roughly three and a half trillion dollar blueprint. 

2. Using comparisons helps make numbers more understandable. If a certain budget item calls for spending roughly $2.50 per day per taxpayer, you might say that, "it's less than a grande cup of coffee at Starbucks." If you want to dramatize the number of deaths linked to a certain disease, you could argue something like, "that's the equivalent of two jumbo jets colliding at O'Hare each month." 

3. Use percentages when possible, but be careful. It's better to say spending increased just three percent than it is to say spending jumped by $3 million. However, you'd want to use dollars when saying spending rose from $250 to $500 instead of saying spending doubled or saw a 100% increase.

Effective media relations means knowing how to effectively handle statistics and numbers so that your message is stated in the most positive and persuasive manner possible.