Ignite your passion and unleash your potential with data storytelling

By Chris Wyman

It’s the early 2000s, and there is a good chance you are walking around with a revolutionary Nokia 3310 [mobile phone] in your pocket. In fact, so many of us had a 3310 that if laid end to end they would stretch from Halifax to Vancouver and back. Yet, within a decade, the company that manufactured this market leading product would plummet from iconic status to mere afterthought.

Despite their early dominance, Nokia failed to anticipate the rise of smartphones. It was unimaginable to company leaders that expensive smart phones with poor battery life, usability issues and unwanted functions could ever replace dependable functional phones.

This shortsightedness became apparent as smartphones gained momentum. Despite numerous warnings from market analysts and technology consultants, company leaders remained hesitant to pivot towards smartphones. Instead, the company continued to invest in improving their functional phone line.

In the end, Nokia’s reluctance to adapt sealed its fate in the cellular phone market. The company’s failure to recognize and embrace the changing dynamics of the industry led to its decline and loss of market leadership.

You may not find yourself at the cutting edge of a communications revolution, but this story presents a cautionary tale. Workplaces that cannot effectively transfer information from technical experts to the decision makers will never execute at their full potential.

To bridge this divide we need a proven approach. Lucky for us, we have a tool that is as old as humanity. That tool is storytelling.

A modern twist on an ancient tradition

Let me show how powerful stories are. In 6^th century BC, Aesop presented lessons of morality and ethics that were told within engaging stories. These stories are what we know as Aesop’s Fables. I will use one of his stories to prove a point. Do you recall, and understand, the lesson of The Tortoise and the Hare? Then you know firsthand how stories can explain, help us retain information, and make us receptive to the underlying message.

Your story does not need to become a classic of the ages to be effective, but presenting your complex data in a narrative structure will increase engagement and ultimately the audience’s understanding. 

The elements of effective data storytelling

Effectively incorporating data into storytelling requires a few key elements.

1. Data

First, it requires a clear understanding of the data being presented. This means taking the time to analyze the data and identify key insights and trends.

2. Narrative

The second component of effective data storytelling is a compelling narrative. This means identifying the key points that need to be communicated and organizing them in a way that makes sense. Unfortunately, it is the organization component where many people stumble. One tip to help ease the process is to rely on another classic literature practice known as the three-act structure. This approach organizes your narrative into three structured sections.

To illustrate this structure, I will walk you through a short example. Imagine you have been tasked with analyzing why your company is experiencing decreasing sales. Ultimately you will need to present your analysis and provide a recommendation. Using the three-act structure as your foundation, your presentation could unfold in the following manner.

• Act one: Setup. In the first act of your data story, you introduce the main character and the conflict. This is important to engage your audience’s interest and enable them to relate to the story. For this example, the main character is your company, and the conflict is the current struggle with decreasing sales. In act one you will use data analysis to illustrate the scope and impact of the declining sales.  
• Act two: Confrontation. In the second act, your main character, the company, confronts the challenges posed by the current situation. In this example, the data analysis would be used to illustrate the reason for the decline in sales and the impact on the company. Maybe you conclude that the reason for the decline in sales is due to an ineffective marketing campaign. In the second act, you will present data that supports your position.  
• Act three: Resolution. By the third act you present a path that will resolve the conflict. Our example concludes with the company using the insights from their data analysis to improve their marketing campaigns.

3. Visuals

The third component of effective data storytelling requires the use of effective visuals. Integrate data visuals into your three-act narrative to support your assessment and conclusions. While there is room for disagreement over what represents a good data visualization, at the very least your data visual should be intuitive and free from clutter.

Used well, the three components of a compelling data story will ensure that your audience remains engaged throughout the presentation. So, when the time comes for you to make your recommendation the audience is more likely to agree with your perspective, and ultimately your recommendation. And isn’t that the whole point of your presentation?

Discover how to captivate audiences and influence decisions in the two-part, Data Storytelling series with Chris Wyman at CPA Alberta’s Ignite Live Virtual Workshop Series on June 11 and 12.