Whose Shoes Are We Talking To?
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Transcript of Whose Shoes Are We Talking To?
Whose Shoes Are We Talking To?
Alice UnderwoodVice President, Converium Reinsurance
Member, CAS External Communications Committee
Are We Talking to THEIR Shoes?
CAS actuaries have a great message to give!
But sometimes we have trouble communicating it…
The Shoes of Maxwell Smart
The CAS What is the ECC?
You Key: focus on the audience Some communications pitfalls Some communications strategies
Mission of the ECC
Coordinate the CAS communication strategy Subcommittee on Career Encouragement & Academic Relations
Audience: students, teachers, professors Subcommittee on External Relations
Audience: employers, clients, related organizations
Develop and disseminate information to increase awareness & understanding of casualty actuaries and their work
CAS Communications Plan
http://www.casact.org/members/ecc/commplan.htm Some of the objectives: for AAA or CAS leadership Some of the objectives: for ECC
Promote Dynamic Financial Analysis Encourage students to consider a career as a casualty actuary Foster awareness that casualty actuaries and their methods can
help corporate America and governmental entities better assess, measure, and manage risk
Increase awareness of contributions made by CAS actuaries to the P/C insurance industry
ECC: Related Committees and Programs
Media Relations Committee Media Spokespersons Academic Correspondent & University Liaison Programs CAS Trust Scholarship Subcommittee Joint CAS/SOA Committee on Academic Relations Joint CAS/SOA Committee on Career Encouragement Joint CAS/SOA Committee on Minority Recruitment
ECC: Recent Accomplishments
Formed the Media Relations Committee Promoted the AC/UL Program Inaugurated the CAS Trust Scholarship
program Developed an article on the CAS for the
Encyclopedia of Actuarial Science Collected case studies on actuaries in
non-traditional roles
Back to THEIR Shoes!
When might we need to communicate to a non-actuarial audience? Talking about the actuarial profession Explaining a particular methodology Discussing the results of calculations Making recommendations
What else…?
What Do We Do Wrong?
Results of a small, highly unscientific poll: “Get lost in the minutiae” “No translation into layman’s terms” “Too much jargon” “At least try to explain” “Trapped by the science”
Key: Focus on the Audience
What’s in it for them? What do you want them to “take
away”? How can you communicate your
points most effectively?
Talking about the Profession
How do you describe what you do? What analogies can you draw for your
listeners? What message do you want to send?
To your friends & family To a college student choosing a career To another financial professional To a “nontraditional” employer
Technically-Oriented Material
BRIEF summary Overview of methods & results
Only a few main points Tailor language & exhibits to the audience
Conclusions & recommendations
(Bullet points, bullet points!)
Some Communications Pitfalls
Many of us have fallen into one or more of these, at one time or another…
They Don’t Want to See Your Formula!
Do they really want to see
ESF(x, Z) = xi • P[xi | Z < Fz-1()]
Or do they want to know
“The expected profit of the account, in years when the line of business is tanking”
Beware Pages Full of Numbers!
2002 Year on YearLine of Business Premium Growth
1 18,372,665 25.3%2 848,198 19.5%3 19,036,018 0.2%4 6,300,520 2.7%5 938,135 28.6%6 139,062 27.6%7 1,625,482 23.4%8 616,190 4.7%9 1,750,743 26.4%10 930,859 27.3%
Total 50,557,871 12.8%
Beware Pages Full of Numbers!
2002 Year on YearLine of Business Premium (000s) Growth
1 18,373 25%2 848 19%3 19,036 0%4 6,301 3%5 938 29%6 139 28%7 1,625 23%8 616 5%9 1,751 26%10 931 27%
Total 50,558 13%
A Picture MIGHT Be Worth 1000 Words
Parameter Space Plot
-0.4
-0.2
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
-1.5 -1 -0.5 0 0.5 1 1.5
Rho
Th
eta
A Picture MIGHT Be Worth 1000 Words
Premium Growth by LOB
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Line Of Business
Don’t Include Sidetrack Issues
This year’s projected loss ratios (when what you want them to hear is the new
expense allocation method) Property catastrophe losses
(when what you want them to hear is the ex-cat results)
The three methods that didn’t work (when what you want them to hear is the results of
the method that worked)
Some Communications Strategies
Ideas for more effective communication…
Have Only a Few Key Points
Don’t try to handle more than three or four key points in a single communication More than that and what’s the focus? A blur!
Emphasize your key points strongly: make them stand out
Make It Concrete
Use (a few) examples as appropriate Provide an illustration Give an analogy Offer something to “hang on to”
Help Them Stay Awake and Engaged!
Ask a leading question Give them a problem to think about Have a sense of humor!
Conclude with a Conclusion – or Maybe a Question
Not just a bunch of data Not just a bunch of calculations Conclude with a question:
Need your input What do you prefer
Conclude with a conclusion: Make a recommendation Provisional conclusion may be OK
Remember: Not YOUR Shoes!
What’s in it for them? What do you want them to “take
away”? How can you communicate your
points most effectively?