Tell Stories using Data — Top 10 strategies to follow
Learn how to make your stories more engaging
Introduction:
Creating charts and graphs is easy. Extracting the story from those graphs is challenging. So a Data Analyst role is not to make attractive visuals; a graphic designer could do that. The vital part of a data analyst is to make sure that the audience can evoke precise information via those graphs. Not everyone can read data. It’s our duty as data analysts to explain those graphs and charts with an exciting story.
Here are some of the strategies to follow while creating graphs and telling stories using those visuals:
- Make the audience curious — This is the first and foremost step to follow. Presenting data is like showcasing a movie to the audience. The introduction decides the essence of the whole film. So spend more time preparing for the perfect intro.
- How to build curiosity? — Everyone knows that the intro must be engaging and curious. But HOW??? It’s a simple thumb rule. Provide the audience with a problem to solve. Don’t portray your solutions. Let them come up with their thoughts.
- Use analogies/metaphors— Every people can’t view from your perspective. To make a connection with the audience, use examples/analogies/metaphors.
- Use the second person words “you/your” instead of “I/me” — Be frank! No one is excited to hear your boring thoughts. So say those stories in the place of their shoes. It impacts your stories a lot.
- Don’t be so serious — You are not going to win with a stern mindset. Be friendly with the audience you connect with.
- Create a fictitious character — If there is a story, there must be a character who plays the story. Without that, it is just a formation of sentences. So, create a fictitious character who represents the customers (or who the data is about).
- Use “details” while storytelling — If your data is vague, the audience shows no interest in them. Keep trivial details in them, so that people can play that story virtually in their heads.
- Believe what you say — Don’t just come up with stories that you don’t believe in. Though you are a good speaker, if you don’t trust your words, there is no way the audience could feel your aura.
- Eliminate the distracting visuals — Your ultimate goal is to make the audience understand your insights. If you feel that the graphs/charts distract people from listening from your stories, just dump it.
- Humanize your content — Instead of using the headings like “Upcoming customer trends,” use “What people will buy?”
Bonus tip: Make everything simple. Simplicity leads to great thoughts.
Conclusion:
These strategies inspired me a lot. I got these insights from a Linkedin learning course named “Learning Data Science: Tell Stories With Data” by Doug Rose. I highly recommend checking out this free course to get more insights. Add some of your ideas that I have missed in the comments.
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