DATA STORYTELLING

WHY DATA STORYTELLING IS SO IMPORTANT

In general, stories always help people to hear, learn and enjoy new things which are around

them somewhere, but they get to know about them more simply and interestingly. The same

logic is applicable in the technical and business field as well. Nowadays, new data is generating very

fast in every field. New concepts and technologies are growing every other day which is

bringing lots of data with them.

The concept of storytelling helps understand the data simply with the help of

visualization. Data storytelling is important because:

· It combines the available data and visualization to make a storyline for a specific audience. This helps to transfer the data more simply and clearly to the listeners. Once they understood the story completely it becomes easy to determine exactly where more effort or work is needed. Due to this analysis, proper recourse management is possible to meet the goals faster.

· The actual content of the available dataset can be easily explained with the help of the storyline. This gives some background information, meaning, and clarity to the data. This simple way of explanation can be easily understood and remembered by everyone.

· It also helps the audience to focus on the things which are important for their field and not miss things.

If the audience is engaged and focused, it becomes easy to educate them further with the help of graphs, tables, dashboards, etc. Once they know exactly what the data is telling them they can confidently make better business decisions without any confusion.

ELEMENTS OF STORYTELLING WITH DATA

Knowing the Audience can help in multiple things in storytelling with the data because

different types of presentations are needed for different audiences. Once it is clear who are

the audiences it becomes easy to determine the representation method like the use of language,

colors, and overall presentation of the available data. Based on the audience one can think of

their likes and dislikes, their way of thinking, etc. and this can also help to keep the story in front

of them in a way they can understand and like.

For example, while preparing a story for children, using multiple colors and images can help

them to understand the concept more quickly also it would be attractive and interesting for

them. On the other hand, while preparing a story for businesspersons or engineers use of more

technical things, graphs and calculations would be effective.

Watch over the content that is being added to the presentation. The slides or the overall content of

the story should be simple and easily understandable. The content should give a proper

message to the listener without confusing them. The graphs that we include in the presentation

should deliver accurate data to the audience with minimum mental investment. Then it can be considered a good story.

Even though the graphs, charts, tables, images, etc. in the story speak, the text lines are also

important. For example, the titles should be clear and contain appropriate words in it. The use of the

color should be chosen wisely so that it can increase the understanding of the audience than

confusion. Shades of the same color can be used more than using multiple colors. Sometimes, colors

and images speak more than words so, one should be very careful while using them. They

should not create any misunderstandings among the audiences.

Delivery of the data is as equally important as collecting it and writing it in the slides. For

delivering a proper message, the speaker should study that very well. The presenter should be aware

of what type of questions, they can get from the audience and what should be the answer which is

relevant and satisfactory. The speaker should think about what is important for the listener,

what are they expecting, how the data is helpful for them to increase their productivity etc. The

speaker should be confident about the story he/she is telling and should be capable of

differentiating between the actual data and the clutter. The clutter should be removed.

Mapping all the required information together and then sharing it can lead to a good delivery of

the data.

The proper end of the data storytelling session is also important. One should have the same focus

and confidence till the end of the session which would make the listeners feel confident too for

the information they have gained. In the end, stepping back and giving a quick review or

snapshot of what they have learned can make them feel good.