Knowledge Storytelling: Definition, Advantages, Examples, and Methods

Investing in knowledge enables you to make strategic enterprise choices primarily based on insights somewhat than intuition or opinion. It reduces threat and drives smarter investments.

However knowledge has no worth with out understanding. Whereas the information may make sense to you, it’d seem as meaningless numbers on a web page to folks outdoors of your position. 

The advantages of information lie in the best way you talk it. 

On this article, you’ll be taught why knowledge storytelling is a crucial ability and find out how to use knowledge presentation and visualization to affect your viewers.

What’s knowledge storytelling?

Knowledge storytelling is the method of reworking knowledge findings into an comprehensible, relatable story for a wider viewers. It simplifies the advanced and presents insights in fundamental phrases to affect decision-making, have interaction clients and stakeholders, and encourage motion.

The significance of information storytelling: placing insights into context

Knowledge is a important contributor to development. Its energy is within the what: what number of gross sales, how a lot visitors, how typically actions are taken, and so forth. 

With out evaluation, knowledge lacks the why to offer context: why do these numbers matter, why are these figures essential, why ought to we care?

As Efficient Knowledge Storytelling: Easy methods to Drive Change writer Brent Dykes says, “Folks hear statistics, however they really feel tales.”

Additionally from Dykes:

Your knowledge could maintain super quantities of potential worth, however not an oz of worth could be created until insights are uncovered and translated into actions or enterprise outcomes. [via Forbes]

People are hard-wired to share tales as a manner of speaking data. It’s in our nature to want them. We expect in tales, keep in mind in tales, and switch experiences into tales.

On this, Jonathan Haidt, writer of The Righteous Thoughts, says:

The human thoughts is a narrative processor, not a logic processor. 

An train at Stanford College, carried out by Made to Stick writer and professor Chip Heath, reveals how tales resonate.

Heath divided his college students into teams and gave them statistics on crime patterns in america. Half the scholars within the group then needed to give a one-minute presentation in assist of non-violent crime being a major problem. The opposite half needed to give a one-minute presentation on non-violent crime not being a major problem.

In every presentation, the standard pupil used 2.5 statistics. One in 10 college students informed a narrative. When the scholars have been requested to recall the speeches, solely 5% remembered a statistic, however 63% remembered the tales.

Knowledge storytelling takes this in-built attraction to story-led communication and pairs it with visuals to simplify studying.

People reply extraordinarily properly to visuals. Dr. John Medina, writer of Mind Guidelines, discovered that we keep in mind 10% of knowledge we hear after three days, however pair the data with a picture, and we keep in mind 65%.

Because of this knowledge, visuals, and story go so properly collectively. For instance, this visualization on alcohol consumption by PSResearch for Drinkaware is way more compelling than merely stating percentages. 20% and seven% imply nothing with out context.

Narrative provides weight to the bar chart, serving to us perceive the folks behind the numbers.

Combining narrative with visualizations can have a robust affect in your viewers. It makes it simpler to carry their consideration, clarify essential factors shortly, and have them retain the message. 

The end result? Added worth that may be changed into actionable steps to enhance advertising and marketing campaigns and develop your small business.

The power to show numbers and insights into tales is why Brent Sykes says knowledge storytelling abilities are important for knowledge scientists and why demand for knowledge analysts is projected to develop 23% by 2031, a lot sooner than the common for all occupations.

As a marketer, studying find out how to analyze and talk your individual insights begins by understanding what makes a robust knowledge story.

The three important components of information storytelling

Each knowledge story is constructed on three major elements:

1. Knowledge. The muse of your story and the data used to grasp the massive image.
2. Narrative. The storyline used to speak insights, present context, and hook the viewers.
3. Visuals. The visualization of your knowledge and narrative to speak the story successfully and make data straightforward to compute.

The diagram under reveals the connection between these components and the way they overlap.

For a narrative to have the specified affect, every element has to work in tandem.

Narrative explains the information, visuals make content material participating, and good knowledge delivers insights and backs up the narrative to drive change (e.g., improved advertising and marketing campaigns, new product improvements, or private improvement).

In Letterboxd’s 12 months in Assessment, readers are pulled into the story from the beginning with well timed and relatable woes from the coronavirus pandemic.

A touch on the content material followers have been consuming positions the information and builds intrigue. The intro is adopted by a listing of the highest motion pictures Letterboxd’s customers have been watching. 

Every one is accompanied by an auto-playing trailer, evaluation, and hyperlink to the corresponding web page on the Letterboxd web site.

The story concludes with a poignant message and a name to motion to entice non-members.

It’s an excellent instance of how knowledge storytelling can flip one thing dry into participating, interactive, and significant content material. 

Letterboxd’s knowledge may have simply been a throwaway high 10 record on the corporate’s weblog. As an alternative, it’s a content material expertise that makes customers need to shout about their favourite movies and will get them enthusiastic about motion pictures they haven’t seen.

Easy methods to use knowledge storytelling to compel your viewers (with examples)

Knowledge, narrative, and visuals are the framework for efficient knowledge storytelling. The overlapping advantages—have interaction, clarify, enlighten, and alter—are what your tales ought to search to realize.

Listed below are 5 steps to placing the proper steadiness in your knowledge storytelling.

1. Who’s your story for?

An information story will solely hit dwelling if it’s related to (and resonates with) the correct folks.

Ask: Who’s the viewers? 

Be clear on who might be consuming the story. Nailing this may dictate the way you inform the story and what language you utilize.

For instance, for those who’re presenting to an inside viewers, you could possibly get technical with language and use phrases that your buyer base won’t perceive. 

Nonetheless, the way you communicate to totally different folks inside your organization can even differ. Knowledge and language that engages board members won’t have the identical affect with ground workers.

In case your story is for purchasers, guarantee it maintains consistency together with your advertising and marketing campaigns to ship familiarity.

Look intently at your model pointers and advertising and marketing technique. Consider your knowledge story as one other advertising and marketing tactic, so the content material ought to match your branding and tone of voice.

For instance, GasBuddy’s driving insights electronic mail matches the colour scheme, imagery, and conversational messaging of its web site:

The type of content material is acquainted to clients, making it extra naturally participating. Had GasBuddy strayed from this aesthetic, it could have risked complicated the viewers, making a breakdown within the belief it had constructed by sustaining consistency. In doing so, the message would have been misplaced.

2. Discover a story your viewers cares about

Your story is constructed across the central factor of the information storytelling framework: change. 

• What are your targets? 
• What are you making an attempt to elucidate? 
• What change do you need to drive?

For instance, in its annual report for stakeholders and the general public, Oxfam reveals how its work advantages folks worldwide and motivates its viewers to get behind the trigger.

The info, narrative, and visuals deal with targets which are essential to Oxfam’s viewers:

1. The appropriate to be heard;
2. Advancing ladies’s rights;
3. Saving lives;
4. Sustainable meals;
5. Truthful sharing of pure assets;
6. Financing for improvement and important companies.

This makes it simpler to maintain folks engaged, which helps Oxfam talk the information insights that can encourage motion.

Contemplate what your viewers cares about. Use these matters to seek out the hook (e.g., a theme, query, or conundrum) that you would be able to take the viewers on a journey to resolve to assist them remedy an issue or enhance their lives.

Oxfam is aware of its viewers cares about advancing ladies’s rights. Trying on the knowledge, it discovered that youth unemployment for younger ladies was an issue and used storytelling to indicate how Oxfam helps.

Listed below are some approaches to establish a hook in your story.

Developments

What’s on the rise? What’s on the slide? Are there flattening traits? How does this affect the long run? The peaks and troughs of traits can warrant additional inspection.

Instagram, for instance, used viewers insights from 2021 to create a visible outlook for 2022.

Comparisons

Aspect-by-side datasets and the way they alter over time could be analyzed deeper to seek out why one is extra profitable than the opposite. 

For instance, you may evaluate a sequence of adverts to see which was simpler. From there, you might have a look at the weather like headlines and CTAs to offer insights that assist your viewers enhance future campaigns.

Correlations

Fascinating and shocking connections between datasets can present perception for a significant narrative. 

For instance, this scatterplot by Column 5 reveals the correlation between time spent writing weblog posts and leads generated.

By visualization and narrative, Column 5 reveals that because the variety of hours spent writing a submit will increase, so does the variety of leads. 

This data could be expanded additional to take a look at totally different components of longer weblog posts that convert and find out how to use these components to enhance content material advertising and marketing campaigns.

Outliers

Knowledge outdoors of the norm is an on the spot level of research. Why is it appearing that manner? What’s inflicting it? 

For instance, if the vast majority of your clients often spend $1,000–$1,500 a yr in your product however three spend $10,000, why is that this the case? Has a specific upselling marketing campaign made the distinction? Do these clients work together with the identical gross sales rep?

Look out for astonishing knowledge; the surprising could make for nice tales.

To uncover insights price speaking about, observe Gramener’s BUS system. Concentrate on knowledge factors which are Huge, Helpful, and Shocking.

If knowledge is numerically vital, actionable, and non-obvious, it has the substances to interact audiences.

3. Develop a compelling narrative to take the viewers on a journey

When crafting your narrative, it pays to observe a tried-and-tested narrative construction. Whereas constructions differ in the best way they navigate from starting to finish, the preferred story arcs—Freytag’s Pyramid, The Hero’s Journey, The Three Act Construction, and so forth.—deploy the identical 4 elements in some form or kind:

1. Context. The scenario and why you might be telling the story.
2. Characters. The primary gamers (e.g., folks or locations).
3. Battle. The issue that knowledge presents.
4. Answer. The important thing insights, actionable steps, and worth to be gained from the story.

We will see these play out on this modified model of Freytag’s Pyramid.

Introduction

The introduction is the context. That is the place you element the explanation in your story and place your hook — the inciting incident that kickstarts the journey. 

For instance, Nadieh Bremer units the scene and builds intrigue for her “Why do cats and canine…?” knowledge story by introducing frequent questions.

The hook is questioning why cats and canine do what they do, however not having the ability to ask them immediately. Knowledge will uncover the solutions. Bremer’s intro additionally helps the viewers perceive what they’ll be taught and introduces the characters (cats and canine). This instantly brings the story to life.

Your intro’s objective is to get folks to maneuver down the web page. Present context on time durations, knowledge sources, traits, and questions to assist the viewers orientate themselves and get excited for what’s to return.

Rising motion

The rising motion is the battle—the supporting info that carry readers to the height of the journey (e.g., what influenced or contributed to alter? What different proof is useful?) 

However supporting info are simply that: supporting. The central characters are folks, animals, or locations.

In “Why do cats and canine…?” pets are the primary gamers within the story. In Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis’s Goalkeepers Report knowledge story, individuals are the heroes:

In each circumstances, knowledge takes a again seat, offering the supporting info that assist transfer the story ahead. Add a relatable central character to your story to make it resonate together with your viewers. 

Folks care extra about characters they’ll envision of their each day lives. Numbers, because the hero of the story, will fail to strike an emotional connection.

Climax

The climax is the “Aha!” second—the foremost discovering or central perception of your knowledge. 

In conventional storytelling, that is the place the viewers strikes from figuring out to empathizing with the primary character, solidifying their emotional connection. 

In your narrative, it could be a part of the story the place the whole lot falls into place. The viewers acknowledges the issue or profit and begins to surprise what could be carried out about it.

Within the Goalkeepers Report, a story backed by supporting info results in a climax of geography and gender being deciding components in your future.

In “Cicadas: An information story,” created with Juicebox, the climax is the variety of U.S. counties that might be impacted by periodical cicadas.

In each examples, the problem is evident. What follows are options.

Conclusion (Subsequent steps) 

The ultimate part delivers the answer. What would you like folks to do subsequent? Within the Goalkeepers Report, Invoice & Melinda Gates Basis encourages readers to look at further knowledge in additional element to see the progress being made on totally different points.

In “How my dad fishes for the long run,” The Marine Stewardship Council supplies workout routines for the viewers to assist reply questions like “how can we preserve fish shares?”

Go away readers with some actionable takeaways. If what they’ve seen is more likely to have them enthused about your model, present a call-to-action to encourage additional interplay.

4. Discover visuals that simplify and make clear the message

Visualization does quite a lot of heavy lifting in any knowledge story, so your chosen methodology should assist show data successfully to get your level throughout. 

For instance, in its fan research, Spotify makes use of a bar chart to show the share of weekly high songs from outdoors North America and Europe.

This helps readers shortly course of data, whereas clearly demonstrating the distinction in quantity. Had that data been introduced as textual content or a desk, it might not have had the identical affect.

If you wish to present variations in proportions between teams, a horizontal or vertical bar chart is the simplest strategy to do it. However different datasets are finest displayed in several methods. 

Listed below are some frequent varieties of visualizations to make use of in your tales.

Line charts

That is the easiest way to indicate modifications in steady knowledge over a time frame. 

For instance, Spotify’s line chart shortly demonstrates the rise in artists’ followers.

Tables

In case you’re protecting a number of classes on the identical time, a desk will let the viewers course of a considerable amount of data at a look. 

This pattern desk from Stunning.ai reveals how monetary knowledge evaluation has been simplified to indicate enhancements over time.

When designing tables, use icons and colours to attract consideration to particular classes and numbers which are essential to your story. 

By highlighting the latest yr in inexperienced, Stunning.ai is ready to shortly focus its viewers on probably the most spectacular figures. 

Pie charts

Use pie charts to speak the sum of proportions throughout classes. 

For instance, MicroStrategy makes use of pie charts to visualise survey outcomes and shortly present how the bulk compares to the minority:

Maps

Use maps to indicate geographic traits and site breakdowns at a look. 

Cicadas, for instance, makes use of Google Maps to indicate how a brood will affect totally different counties.

To extend interactivity and improve person expertise, every dot on the map reveals details about the county and the Brood Cycle Time, permitting customers to pinpoint how their space might be affected. For extra context, use interactive maps so as to add extra worth to your knowledge.

Discover how the map additionally makes use of darker and light-weight colours? These are a helpful strategy to shortly exhibit greater inhabitants densities or elevated exercise in sure areas.

Infographics

Use infographics to attract consideration to data. Huff Publish’s infographic on the economics of going inexperienced is a good instance of how photos could make statistics extra participating.

Scatterplots

Use scatterplots to discover the constructive or detrimental correlation between knowledge, as proven within the Column 5 instance of time spent writing weblog posts vs. leads generated.

These are nice for making interactive knowledge visualizations, and you may add variables (reminiscent of density, weight, or quantity) by making your scatter factors bubbles:

Visible storytelling finest practices

If you wish to wow your viewers and ship a transparent message, you’ll need to be taught some knowledge storytelling fundamentals, reminiscent of:

• Simplicity and readability are key to serving to your viewers perceive data at a look.
• Use whitespace to attract readers’ consideration to the information.
• Use colour to spotlight key knowledge factors you need to draw consideration to.
• Guarantee graphics match the information. For instance, for those who’re presenting gross sales knowledge for various areas, bigger circles ought to characterize greater volumes.
• Take away chart borders, gridlines, and axes that distract from the information.
• Use standardized items persistently to keep away from complicated your viewers. For instance, for those who’re measuring distance, use toes and yards or centimeters and meters, not a mix of the 2.

Excel and PowerPoint present knowledge visualization instruments inside their merchandise. However to wow your viewers, you’ll need to have a look at specialist platforms with enhanced design options.

There are a number of highly effective instruments you need to use to simplify and visualize knowledge in your tales:

Every software program comes with its personal advantages and consists of totally different options and restrictions relying on the subscription plan. 

Weigh up the professionals and cons for every primarily based on the type of tales you need to create. Most instruments supply a free trial or bundle. Benefit from this to check options and value earlier than committing.

5. Draft, take a look at, and edit your story

To create a draft that engages your viewers, observe the linear story arc: introduction, rising motion, climax, and determination. A transparent starting, center, and finish will make it straightforward for folks to observe alongside and provide you with a transparent construction so as to add visuals the place they make sense.

Use visible hierarchy to position data. Most individuals in Western cultures learn from left to proper in a Z-pattern. Comply with this sample to information readers by your story and assist the viewers course of data.

Work with a designer or use a template to carry your story collectively and take a look at it with members of your group. Ask customers to reply the next questions:

• Does the story inform the reality? Do statistics add up? Do insights make sense? Knowledge ought to dictate the narrative and never be manipulated to suit. Getting caught massaging knowledge for a greater story can injury your credibility. Keep on with the info.
• Is the story related to the viewers? Will they have an interest within the findings? Do insights present real worth? If something appears repetitive or not helpful, reduce it.
• Is it introduced clearly? Is the story straightforward to learn and perceive? Visuals and copy ought to contribute to the narrative and transfer the story ahead. Search for any factors of confusion and ambiguities that will drive the viewers to conclusions that differ from the general objective.
• Did the story have interaction, clarify, and enlighten them? After studying your knowledge story, the viewers ought to be capable of reply their questions, make higher choices, or enhance an final result.

One of the best insights will fall flat if the story doesn’t do them justice. Use suggestions to enhance conciseness and readability in order that knowledge has a robust affect.

The do’s and don’ts of information storytelling

When creating your knowledge tales, hold the next guidelines in thoughts to remain heading in the right direction.

Knowledge storytelling don’ts

• Don’t cherry-pick knowledge. Don’t solely favor insights that assist your thought, give readers the entire image.
• Don’t supply single info with out worth. The what’s nothing with out the why.
• Don’t make the “Aha!” second troublesome. Use clear comparisons to assist folks perceive why knowledge is critical. For instance, if you wish to spotlight the importance of gross sales in a specific area, evaluate it to a competitor’s gross sales, gross sales from a earlier yr, or gross sales in one other area.
• Don’t overcomplicate design. Persist with a small variety of colours that distinction if printed in black and white. Use photographs of acquainted objects to assist readers join knowledge. For instance, for those who’re describing distances, use soccer fields to assist readers simply visualize size.
• Don’t present a insecurity. Share opinions and ship suggestions. Showcase your experience at each alternative.

Knowledge storytelling do’s

• Do guarantee knowledge is full and dependable. Record sources and embody hyperlinks the place related so readers can additional discover insights. Keep away from assumptions.
• Do present key takeaways. Give readers data they’ll use going ahead.
• Do keep consistency. Use repetition in colours, labels, and conventions between visuals. Use language that matches the viewers.
• Do clarify knowledge tales in levels. Current advanced data in digestible chunks to make it simpler to course of. For instance, in case your knowledge story focuses on new markets for development, introducing totally different components steadily by product-level demand, regional demand, and international demand will assist make data simpler to grasp than if it was bundled collectively. It additionally means that you can strengthen your argument with each step.   
• Do current authority. Minimize filler phrases that don’t add worth. The under hack from Grizzle editor Erica Schneider reveals how delicate tweaks could make an enormous distinction to notion. 

Conclusion

Knowledge storytelling is the distinction between knowledge analytics trying constructive to entrepreneurs and getting shopping for in from stakeholders and clients.   

Design tales for the viewers and your targets. Insights must be participating and enlightening, however they need to even be strategically related to affect enterprise choices and alter outcomes. story leaves folks with new concepts and views they’ll put to make use of.

Study extra about presenting clear and interesting knowledge in our Knowledge Presentation and Visualization course.