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Polls are rarely crystal balls — yet most organizations treat them like one. That misread can lead to bad strategy, missed opportunities, and avoidable reputational risk. This talk reframes public-opinion data as a disciplined tool rather than a decisive verdict. Harry Enten, CNN’s data analyst and former FiveThirtyEight writer, teaches audiences how to move from headline reactions to calibrated interpretation. Drawing on years of election coverage, polling audits, and on-air explainers, he walks through the practical checks every consumer of polling must apply: sample quality, question wording, timing, and historical context. Through real-world examples from national elections and state-level polls, he shows how small technical differences produce very different stories — and how to spot which stories matter. PERFECT FOR TEAMS & LEADERS WHO ARE: • Making strategic decisions that rely on public feedback — marketing, communications, policy, or advocacy teams that need to weigh noisy signals. • Facing media scrutiny or stakeholder questions about “what the polls say” and who needs concise, defensible answers. • Responsible for forecasting customer behavior or sentiment across regions and demographic groups and want to reduce costly false positives. • Building trust with external audiences by explaining uncertainty and evidence in plain language. YOUR AUDIENCE WILL WALK AWAY WITH: • A practical checklist for evaluating any poll or survey so you can decide whether to act, monitor, or ignore the headline. • Language and visuals to explain uncertainty and margins of error to executives, boards, or customers without sounding defensive. • Techniques for comparing polls over time and isolating real trends from short-term noise. • Case-study lessons showing how misreading polls affected major news cycles and how similar mistakes can be avoided in business contexts. After this talk, your team will treat polling not as prophecy but as an operational input you can understand, explain, and act on.

The instinct in fast-moving environments is to react to the loudest signal — the latest chart, tweet, or pundit claim. That reactivity creates blind spots. This keynote teaches organizations how to convert rolling data into forward-looking, defensible decisions. Enten combines his election-forecasting experience with a journalist’s emphasis on transparency to offer a practical approach to trend analysis. He covers signal versus noise, the importance of baseline context, and when simple models beat complex ones. Using examples from elections, media consumption, and cultural trends, he demonstrates how to build scenarios, stress-test assumptions, and communicate probabilistic outcomes to nontechnical stakeholders. PERFECT FOR TEAMS & LEADERS WHO ARE: • Planning around uncertain futures — product leaders, policy teams, and strategists who need better early warnings and scenario planning. • Tasked with prioritizing limited resources in the face of ambiguous data and competing narratives. • Responsible for investor or board briefings where probabilistic forecasts must be translated into clear decisions. • Seeking to link disparate data sources (surveys, social metrics, sales signals) into one coherent view of momentum. YOUR AUDIENCE WILL WALK AWAY WITH: • A repeatable approach to building simple, transparent forecasts that anchor planning conversations. • Tools for creating scenarios that illuminate downside risk and upside opportunity without false certainty. • Communication templates for presenting probabilistic forecasts to senior leaders and external stakeholders. • Practical examples of when to trust models, when to trust judgment, and how to combine both for better outcomes. This talk leaves teams equipped to stop chasing headlines and start shaping plans that survive uncertainty.

Numbers can clarify — or they can confuse and alienate. The problem is rarely the data itself; it’s how it’s framed. This session trains communicators to present statistical evidence with clarity, honesty, and persuasive force. Harry Enten brings his broadcast-tested instincts to the art of data storytelling. He demonstrates how to choose the right visuals, strip away misleading comparisons, and explain uncertainty without undermining credibility. Drawing on examples from his CNN segments and podcast work, Enten shows how journalists and leaders translate technical findings into narratives that audiences actually understand and remember. PERFECT FOR TEAMS & LEADERS WHO ARE: • Responsible for public-facing reports, briefings, or press interactions where clarity about data diminishes risk and builds trust. • Building dashboards or presentations that must be actionable for nontechnical executives and everyday users. • Communicating policy impacts, product changes, or research findings to skeptical or diverse audiences. • Tasked with combating misinformation and needing tools to make truthful explanations stick in a noisy media landscape. YOUR AUDIENCE WILL WALK AWAY WITH: • Concrete rules for choosing chart types and headline language that reduce misinterpretation. • A set of plain-English phrases to convey uncertainty and confidence without causing panic or apathy. • Best-practice examples from broadcast and podcasting that translate to town halls, investor decks, and press statements. • Ready-to-use checklists to vet any public-facing statistic for clarity, context, and credibility. Executives and communicators will leave able to make numbers persuasive, not perplexing — turning evidence into influence while preserving trust.