We’re in the midst of a data revolution. Everywhere you look, there’s data being collected, analyzed, and used to make decisions. The amount of data out there is staggering, and it’s only going to continue to grow.
As data becomes more and more commonplace, those who can tell stories with data will have a huge advantage. Data storytelling is an essential skill for anyone in the business world, whether you’re a data analyst, a marketing manager, or a sales director.
If you want to learn how to tell compelling stories with data, you’ve come to the right place. In this article, we’ll give some tips to tell better stories with data.
Start with a BANG
Have you ever been to a movie that started with a big explosion? Your heart racing, palms becoming a little sweaty and your head can’t look away. I can say with high certainty that you had to stay to see more of that movie. It is no different in telling a compelling story with data. You want your audience invested and interested in everything you have to say. So instead of starting with an explosion start with a fact or figure that will be compelling to the audience to stay interested in the topic at hand. This tactic is very successful at grabbing and retaining the audience’s attention.
But I don’t have a BANG
I hear it now as you are reading this. I don’t have a BANG. My response is that everyone can have a BANG you just need to reframe it to become the bang. For example, I had to write a paper on Local Linear Embedding (LLE) it is hard to find a bang there but if you reframe it you can find a BANG in anything. I started my BANG with how do you classify things correctly on a curved n-dimensional manifold? You can’t leverage traditional methods because you will classify things that are not part of the right class. LLE solves this problem and I will tell you more. As a result of that simple reframe, you can start your stories with a BANG. If it can be done for a topic like LLE it can be done for anything.
Still struggling to start with the BANG find a Hero
Everyone loves a hero story the struggle between good and evil with good usually ending on top after a struggle with others or internally. Let the data tell the story of the hero. For example, you hear this all the time in political ads they embody the hero narrative. Before I became a politician the area was losing jobs but then I was able to get the factory working again bringing jobs to the area and economic prosperity for all. See that is the hero narrative. It works surprisingly well with data because you have a before and after and the data points become the hero. For example, before I changed the process the plant was running ineffective we were only getting 40% of orders out correctly but now we are up to 80% because of my ability to change the process. This is example is a blend of BANG and hero. It sort of starts with a BANG a fact that is surprising then your process is the hero that fixed the issue and saved the day.
Stories with data can be interesting and can capture the audience’s attention and captivate them. These are just a few of the tools you can leverage to tell compelling stories around data. Savvy4 can help your firm communicate the need for data and technical projects and in your firm to various stakeholders both the technical and the not-so-technical. Sign up to learn more about our offering for your firm.