DATA STORYTELLING

      "Data storytelling is the concept of building a compelling narrative based on complex data and analytics that help tell your story and influence and inform a particular audience."  

Data storytelling is very similar to human storytelling but provides the added benefits of deeper insights and supporting evidence through graphs and charts. Through data storytelling, complicated information is simplified so that your audience can engage with your content and make critical decisions quicker and more confidently.
Constructing a data story that moves a person to take action can be a very powerful tool. Effective data storytelling can have a positive impact on people and your organization.

Some benefits of successful data storytelling include:
 

• Adding value to your data and insights.

• Interpreting complex information and highlighting essential key points for the audience.

• Providing a human touch to your data.

• Offering value to your audience and industry.

• Building credibility as an industry and topic thought leader.
   

Good data storytelling means analyzing all the raw data you’ve gathered to confirm a hypothesis and, hopefully, the determined change you’d like see come from introducing your data story.

After reviewing all the data, begin your story. Sometimes it can be tempting to cherry-pick data sets that only support your theory, but look at the whole picture. Look at what the data is telling you and communicate a clear data story to your team with the right tools. It can be overwhelming when you have a lot of data sets available, but it helps to structure how you’d like to tell your story.
 

• Think about your theory. What do you want to prove or disprove? What do you think the data will tell you?

• Collect data. Collate the data you’ll need to develop your story.

• Define the purpose of your story. Using the data you gathered, you should be able to write what the goal of your story is in a single sentence.

• Think about what you want to say. Outline everything from the intro to the conclusion.

• Ask questions. Were you right or wrong in your hypothesis? How do these answers shape the narrative of your data story?

• Create a goal for your audience. What actions would you like them to take after reading your story?
   

You want to make sure that you’re not only looking at data that supports your theory, but also the data that doesn’t. You don’t have to add every single piece of data available. Use data sets that help guide your narrative unbiased. Your data story should always point to how it can help support an action or change that will help your business.