Sometimes you might hear it said that the data speaks for itself. But in actual fact, data can be complex, confusing or ignored completely. If data is presented without context or a narrative, it can easily be misunderstood or misinterpreted, which could lead to poor decision-making in the future. That’s where data storytelling comes in. Data storytelling is about combining your data with a narrative, insight and visuals to help strengthen its impact and encourage action.
What Is Data Storytelling?
Data storytelling is the art of explaining data insights. This could mean using stories and visuals to make the raw data more accessible and easy to act on, helping people really understand its meaning and take action on what it is that the data reveals. There’s always an insight to be shared at the heart of a data story. But how do you create one?
The Storytelling Arc
There are four parts to the data storytelling arc, and a solid data story will always follow a clear narrative structure.
- Setting and Hook: Here, you’ll set the stage and introduce something unexpected, for example, a sudden spike in web traffic or sales.
- Rising Points: Here, you’ll build the case with supporting data to help strengthen understanding.
- Aha Moment: At this stage, you’ll reveal the key insight and explain why it’s so important.
- Solution and Next Steps: Now, it’s time to recommend what to do with the insight.
This structure will help to guide your audience through curiosity and urge them to take action based on what they’ve learned. Preparing a data story can feel daunting, so an expert data analysis company, such as //shepper.com/, could provide solutions.
Design to Support the Story
You’ll need to create visuals that should clarify the meaning of your data. You could use a range of different visuals, such as explanatory headlines, simple and straightforward charts, colour and highlights to draw attention, and annotations to explain the data patterns.
Keep Practising
Data storytelling may seem complex at first. But with plenty of practice and feedback, you’ll help boost knowledge and drive change.