Practice verbal data presentation vocabulary: describing charts aloud, narrating trends, identifying outliers, discussing statistical significance, and guiding audience attention.
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1 / 18
How would you verbally introduce a chart to your audience at the start of a data presentation?
Start by orienting the audience: what the chart shows, what time period, and what you'll highlight. Don't just display a chart and go silent — guide their eyes. 'As you can see in this chart' or 'This chart shows...' establishes what they're looking at.
2 / 18
There is an unusual spike in the data in week 3. How would you professionally describe this?
'The spike here indicates...' is the standard phrasing. Always connect visual anomalies to a cause when you know it. Saying 'worth noting' signals you're flagging something important without alarming the audience.
3 / 18
You want to compare this year's performance to last year. Which phrase correctly introduces that comparison?
'Year-over-year' (YoY) is the standard phrase for comparing the same period in consecutive years. Always quantify the change: 'Year-over-year, we see a 23% improvement.' This is more informative than 'things improved.'
4 / 18
One data point is far outside the normal range. How do you describe it and what do you do with it analytically?
An outlier is a data point that falls far from the rest of the distribution. You'd say: 'This appears to be an outlier — let's flag it for investigation. I've run the analysis both including and excluding it so we can see the impact on the overall trend.'
5 / 18
How would you explain to a business stakeholder that a result is 'statistically significant'?
When presenting statistical significance to non-technical audiences, translate the concept: 'Statistically significant means we're 95% confident this difference is real, not just noise. We ran an A/B test with 10,000 users per group, which gives us enough data to trust this result.'
6 / 18
Sarah: "Okay team, I've pulled the latest metrics from our new analytics dashboard. As you can see, user engagement has been steadily increasing over the past quarter. However, there's a noticeable dip in conversion rates during the promotional campaign last week. Let's dive deeper into why this might be happening."
The question assesses how to verbally present data in a code review setting. The best answer acknowledges the summary provided is adequate—it accurately describes the observed trends (increasing engagement, dip in conversions) and flags an area needing investigation. It's crucial to frame findings in a way that prompts further discussion and doesn't simply state the obvious. Option A is too dismissive; B focuses on what *could* be added, rather than evaluating the existing presentation; and D overstates Sarah's communication abilities.
7 / 18
Reviewer: 'The API response shows a high error rate for requests to the /users endpoint. Specifically, 45% of calls are returning 500 errors. Can you investigate and provide details on what might be causing this?'
Which of the following responses would be most appropriate in your reply to this review?
The key here is to acknowledge the issue clearly and outline your immediate next steps. Option 3 correctly states the observed percentage while referencing the response rate, demonstrating a factual understanding and initiating an investigation. Options A and B are too vague or reactive; option B implies immediate action without planning, and option C minimizes the severity of the problem which is inappropriate for a code review. It's important to show you're taking the feedback seriously and beginning the diagnostic process.
8 / 18
Sarah: "Okay team, I've pulled the latest metrics from our new analytics dashboard. As you can see, user engagement has been steadily increasing over the past quarter. However, there's a noticeable dip in conversion rates during the promotional campaign last week. Let's dive deeper into why this might be happening."
The question assesses how to verbally present data in a code review setting. The best answer acknowledges the summary provided is adequate—it accurately describes the observed trends (increasing engagement, dip in conversions) and flags an area needing investigation. It's crucial to frame findings in a way that prompts further discussion and doesn't simply state the obvious. Option A is too dismissive; B focuses on what *could* be added, rather than evaluating the existing presentation; and D overstates Sarah's communication abilities.
9 / 18
Reviewer: 'The API response shows a high error rate for requests to the /users endpoint. Specifically, 45% of calls are returning 500 errors. Can you investigate and provide details on what might be causing this?'
Which of the following responses would be most appropriate in your reply to this review?
The key here is to acknowledge the issue clearly and outline your immediate next steps. Option 3 correctly states the observed percentage while referencing the response rate, demonstrating a factual understanding and initiating an investigation. Options A and B are too vague or reactive; option B implies immediate action without planning, and option C minimizes the severity of the problem which is inappropriate for a code review. It's important to show you're taking the feedback seriously and beginning the diagnostic process.
10 / 18
Sarah: "Okay team, I've pulled the latest metrics from our new analytics dashboard. As you can see, user engagement has been steadily increasing over the past quarter. However, there's a noticeable dip in conversion rates during the promotional campaign last week. Let's dive deeper into why this might be happening."
The question assesses how to verbally present data in a code review setting. The best answer acknowledges the summary provided is adequate—it accurately describes the observed trends (increasing engagement, dip in conversions) and flags an area needing investigation. It's crucial to frame findings in a way that prompts further discussion and doesn't simply state the obvious. Option A is too dismissive; B focuses on what *could* be added, rather than evaluating the existing presentation; and D overstates Sarah's communication abilities.
11 / 18
Reviewer: 'The API response shows a high error rate for requests to the /users endpoint. Specifically, 45% of calls are returning 500 errors. Can you investigate and provide details on what might be causing this?'
Which of the following responses would be most appropriate in your reply to this review?
The key here is to acknowledge the issue clearly and outline your immediate next steps. Option 3 correctly states the observed percentage while referencing the response rate, demonstrating a factual understanding and initiating an investigation. Options A and B are too vague or reactive; option B implies immediate action without planning, and option C minimizes the severity of the problem which is inappropriate for a code review. It's important to show you're taking the feedback seriously and beginning the diagnostic process.
12 / 18
Sarah: "Okay team, I've pulled the latest metrics from our new analytics dashboard. As you can see, user engagement has been steadily increasing over the past quarter. However, there's a noticeable dip in conversion rates during the promotional campaign last week. Let's dive deeper into why this might be happening."
The question assesses how to verbally present data in a code review setting. The best answer acknowledges the summary provided is adequate—it accurately describes the observed trends (increasing engagement, dip in conversions) and flags an area needing investigation. It's crucial to frame findings in a way that prompts further discussion and doesn't simply state the obvious. Option A is too dismissive; B focuses on what *could* be added, rather than evaluating the existing presentation; and D overstates Sarah's communication abilities.
13 / 18
Reviewer: 'The API response shows a high error rate for requests to the /users endpoint. Specifically, 45% of calls are returning 500 errors. Can you investigate and provide details on what might be causing this?'
Which of the following responses would be most appropriate in your reply to this review?
The key here is to acknowledge the issue clearly and outline your immediate next steps. Option 3 correctly states the observed percentage while referencing the response rate, demonstrating a factual understanding and initiating an investigation. Options A and B are too vague or reactive; option B implies immediate action without planning, and option C minimizes the severity of the problem which is inappropriate for a code review. It's important to show you're taking the feedback seriously and beginning the diagnostic process.
14 / 18
Alex is presenting a new dashboard for tracking website traffic. He says, "We've seen a significant increase in daily active users over the last month, particularly on mobile devices. However, our bounce rate has also risen slightly.". Which of the following best describes Alex's approach to communicating these findings?
Alex is presenting a balanced overview by acknowledging both the positive (increase in active users) and negative (rise in bounce rate) trends. This demonstrates awareness of key metrics and allows for further investigation. The other options suggest a lack of communication clarity or an incomplete analysis.
15 / 18
"The API returned a 500 Internal Server Error with a code indicating database connectivity issues. We're seeing this consistently across all user requests.". Which of the following is the MOST appropriate way to communicate this problem to the development team?
The best response clearly states the problem, provides context (500 error, database), and requests action from the development team. Options A and B are too demanding or vague. Option D minimizes the severity of the issue, which is unhelpful in a professional setting.
16 / 18
During a stand-up meeting, David says, "Our new feature adoption rate has been lower than expected. We're seeing a high drop-off during the onboarding flow.". What's the most effective way to follow up on this information?
David's statement requires further investigation. Asking for specific data allows the team to understand the scope of the problem and identify potential solutions. Scheduling a deep dive session is appropriate for complex issues. Options A and C are unhelpful; option B is the correct way forward.
17 / 18
"The data shows that conversion rates increased by 15% in Q3 compared to Q2. However, this increase is statistically significant at the 0.05 level.". What does 'statistically significant' mean in this context?
'Statistically significant' indicates that the observed change (15% increase) is unlikely to have occurred by random chance. The p-value of 0.05 represents a threshold; if the p-value were lower than 0.05, the result would be considered highly statistically significant.
18 / 18
"Our server response times have increased dramatically over the past week. The monitoring dashboard shows a sustained spike in latency.". What's the *first* thing you should do to address this issue?
The initial step is to investigate potential causes of the problem. This question tests understanding that troubleshooting starts with identifying possible external factors (network) before making changes within the application itself. The other options are potentially premature or could mask the true root cause.
What does the "Presenting Data Verbally" exercise practise?
Practice verbal data presentation vocabulary: describing charts aloud, narrating trends, identifying outliers, discussing statistical significance, and guiding audience attention.
How many questions are in this exercise?
This exercise has 18 questions, each multiple-choice with a full explanation shown after you answer.
What English level is this exercise for?
This exercise is tagged Intermediate. If the vocabulary feels difficult, browse the Data Visualization category page for an easier module to start with.
Is this exercise free to use?
Yes. Every exercise on CoderSlingo, including this one, is free with no account, sign-up, or paywall.
Do I get feedback if I answer incorrectly?
Yes — whichever option you choose, right or wrong, you'll immediately see an explanation clarifying the correct term and why the other options don't fit.
Can I retry this exercise?
Yes — once you finish all the questions, a "Try again" button on the results screen resets the exercise so you can practise as many times as you like.
Do I need an account to track my progress?
No account is required. Your progress bar and score for this session are tracked in the browser as you go, but nothing is saved once you leave the page.
Is "Presenting Data Verbally" part of a larger series?
Yes — it's one exercise in the Data Visualization category on CoderSlingo. See the category page for the full list of related exercises on similar terminology.
Can I link directly to this exercise?
Yes — this exercise has its own permanent URL, so you can bookmark it or share the link directly with a colleague or study partner.
Where can I find more exercises like this one?
See the Data Visualization category page for related exercises, or browse the main Exercises hub for other IT English topics.