Other posts in this series:
Data Storytelling – Introduction
1. The SETUP
2. The STORY
3. The SUGGESTION
Within ‘The Story’ section of your analysis – your goal is to support your thesis through compelling visuals, charts and data points. As you build those visuals, write a compelling narrative that describes the insight you’re deriving from the data set in clear, concise language. If you follow these simple tricks, you’ll be a data storytelling master in no time.
Real World Data Storytelling Example, continued.
It’s April 8, 2020 and the pandemic has continued. In the United States, each state is taking different measure to enact social distancing and monitoring their respective outbreak curves. We’re seeing the results of that effort now in real time and it’s been an interesting application of my data storytelling framework in action.
When the terms Social Distancing and Flatten the Curve were first introduced weeks ago by local, state and national governments, the public was uneducated about what they meant and how it would benefit the general public. Confusion was plentiful and doubt was pervasive. I’ve seen a number of companies build data visualizations based on daily updates, interactive maps and graphs, and others have created recorded videos to help explain the benefit of social distancing and how it will flatten the curve.
The objective of social distancing is to spread out the rate of infection over time so that at any point in time, healthcare systems will not be overwhelmed and able to manage the treatment of patients.
The Washington Post has one of the most creative data visualizations I’ve seen to date on the topic. They show 4 different versions of an outbreak curve and how to achieve the most ideal flattened curve. Their data visualization is a series of animated graphics that along with their narrative is exceptionally compelling. You can see the full article here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/world/corona-simulator/.
In less than 2 months total time, the general public has gone from a state of being completely unaware of ‘the curve,’ how to ‘flatten’ it and why it’s beneficial – and data stories have been at the core of it.
Application in your business.
Your job as an analyst, strategist or marketer is to use the visualization tools at your disposal to help your story come to life. We live in a world today in which if you don’t see it, it’s hard to believe it. There are cameras and recording devices in everyone’s pockets and devices through smart home, security, and public services in which virtually everything is recorded for playback. Gone are the days of individuals making a statement and their audience accepting it at face value without visual proof of what is being stated.
In the Washington Post article, they’ve used multiple types of graphs, animations and effective use of color to help tell their story. You may not have custom programmers or data scientists available to you to build these. I’ve found throughout my career that effective use of the following data visuals to be sufficient to getting the job done.
1. Column Chart
- Compare up to 3 different segments/groups
- Start Y-Axis on ‘0’ to avoid misleading comparisons
- Sort data in increasing/decreasing values
2. Bar Chart
- Compare many different groups
- Sort data in increasing/decreasing values
3. Pie / Donut Chart
- Compare populations to the Whole
- Include a total number in the center to assist the visualization of the sum of all parts
4. Line Chart
- Trend segments over time
- Highlight Outliers and build narrative around them
- Be wary of automatic Axis and ensure that your scale is appropriately showing the relative differences without skewing insight
5. Funnel with Step Conversion
- Total numbers go in each of the the steps
- Step conversion in boxes to the right
- Total Conversion on the left
- Simple and effective visual of lead, sales, or other marketing funnels
6. Simple Table
- Include all pertinent data
- HIGHLIGHT the cells of importance
- Never use a table without pulling attention to the talking points of your narrative
Final Thoughts about THE STORY.
Take the time to explore differences of each chart type for your data story. Include a narrative that does the thinking for your audience – so they don’t have to. Often times my written narrative on a slide is NOT what my verbal narrative is that goes along with it. I know my audience will read the text on the slide – even if I ask them not to. So I embrace the fact that their behavior will automatically accomplish one objective of them reading the narrative while I can talk over it and highlight my additional thinking and explanation.
Additionally, There are variations of each of these that you can experiment with as well. Keep them simple and to the point. Don’t go too extreme with stylization, shadows, 3D models, etc. Often the most simple visual is the right one. Make the focus on the data, not your ability to make a ‘cool’ graph or chart.
Finally, keep the scale consistent to avoid confusion in visual changes in sizes. The most commonly used tools will often automatically try to guess your axis starting points, scale and more. Be sure to check those for accuracy and if you’re comparing two charts of relatively same data – always ensure the scale is the same to ensure that the insights aren’t skewed by an improper visual.
[author][author_image timthumb=’on’]https://33sticks.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/3740ad70-5e69-42ad-98a9-d5ad821842b0.png[/author_image] [author_info]Bryant joins 33 sticks with 15 years of software consulting, advertising agency, education instruction and leadership experience. His passion is for elevating and leading people in all aspects of his life both professionally and personally. He’s based out of Salt Lake City, UT.
[/author_info] [/author]
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