A statistic is a piece of information presented in numerical form. Statistics can help you quantify points you’re making in your speech and help your audience understand how often certain types of situations occur. Whereas supporting materials such as examples or anecdotes help the audience understand a single instance, statistics can help you show the big picture regarding multiple instances or instances over time of the situation you are discussing.

For example, in a speech on the rising costs of a college education, you might present an example of a single student who struggled to pay more than $1,200 for books and supplies in 2015. Then you could use statistics to argue that this cost is typical: “The College Board reports that the average cost of books and other course materials at four-year public colleges in 2014–15 was $1,225.”14

Although useful, statistics also have disadvantages. Specifically, as your use of statistics increases, so does the chance that your audience members will perceive your topic as overly complicated.15 A long string of statistics may also bore or confuse your listeners if they’re struggling to figure out what “all those numbers” mean. To present statistics in a way that helps your audience understand the information and remain interested in your speech, apply the following guidelines:

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