Data can frequently appear intricate and difficult to convey in an understandable manner, particularly when your audience lacks a substantial level of data literacy. Nevertheless, an increasing number of organizations strive to make decisions based on data in the present day, which means you are likely to encounter circumstances where you must utilize data to support your argument or validate your budget. Dashboard storytelling involves crafting a captivating narrative centered on your data and key performance indicators (KPIs) to demonstrate your business performance and sway your audience, typically through interactive and engaging visualizations.
Dashboards enable you to convey your narrative in a clear and comprehensible way, tailoring it to the specific audience you are addressing. By utilizing dashboard storytelling, you merge the effectiveness of storytelling to captivate your listeners with the definitive nature of real-time data showcased through graphs, charts, tables, and other formats.
Benefits of Data Storytelling
You can simplify the report to enhance clarity and comprehension. Your audience might become disoriented in a lengthy 20-page document filled with excessive text. By utilizing a dashboard, you can convey your message more effectively without losing the attention of your audience. Clear visuals enable you to present your findings and support your arguments.
You can implement color-coding. Dashboards provide the opportunity to use colors to convey significance in your data. For instance, figures displayed in green indicate a positive outcome, whereas any data shown in red signifies a negative result.
You can create an interactive report. Unlike traditional reports, which are static and do not permit modifications after creation, dashboards are interactive. You can engage with your charts and tables to compare current performance with past results, set a custom date range, and uncover additional details regarding a specific KPI. You can offer valuable insights into your performance at a glance. Dashboards are crafted to facilitate quick conclusions. With a single glance at the dashboard, you can grasp the current state of your business, making your data storytelling both engaging and dynamic. Here are 6 tips that will help you showcase your data in a story format.
Make Actionable Insights
You can transform metrics into actionable ideas or insights when you understand how to narrate a story using data. Utilizing key performance indicators (KPIs) is among the most efficient methods for converting quantitative data into results-oriented narratives. Your data will become vibrant through the use of an interactive embedded analytics dashboard designed to captivate customers. These dashboards enable you to choose KPIs that correspond with your fundamental organizational objectives.
Develop a Plot
A well-structured story possesses a clear plot, irrespective of its theme or format: it includes a beginning, a middle, and an end. By utilizing data storytelling tools, you can generate visuals that propel the narrative and effectively communicate your message to your audience. Much like a conventional film or novel, your data narratives should commence with an overview of the current scenario, progress with insights that lead to a conflict, and culminate in data-driven decisions for subsequent actions.
When crafting a data-driven narrative, it is beneficial to convene in a collaborative setting to outline the beginning, middle, and end of the story. Once you have established a framework, you should start to fill it with the KPIs and visualizations that not only convey the message your audience requires but are also most pertinent to the data you intend to showcase. By logically developing your plot and incorporating suitable visuals to enhance its appeal, you will be able to optimize processes and engage your customers, thus boosting efficiency and productivity. Subsequently, we will explore the visualization aspect.
Identify Data Sources
Collect the information necessary to effectively communicate your story and engage your customers. After you have collected the data, it is time to link it with your analytics. While this may seem like a technical process, it doesn't have to be.
Focus solely on the data that is relevant to your analysis in this instance. It's crucial not to inundate your customers with excessive information. The most effective way to minimize cognitive load is to thoughtfully choose the variables you will include and retain only the most essential data. The concept of cognitive load is founded on the understanding that the brain has limitations in its capacity to handle multiple tasks simultaneously. As a data science professional, you need to be mindful of what you request it to do.
Choose the Right Visualizations
As a data science expert, you need to create an effective data story through impactful and meaningful visuals. Once the narrative is crafted and the data sources along with KPIs are identified, the next step is to select the graphic representations that will effectively convey this story.
There are numerous types of visuals that can be created, including bar charts, line charts, tables, and pie charts, among others. While the prospect of using all these options may seem appealing, caution is necessary when determining how and when to implement them. It is crucial to remember that not every visual format is appropriate for every context. Adhering to established data visualization techniques is key to staying on course. For instance, employing a pie chart to compare more than three elements can lead to a cluttered visual that is hard to interpret.
Remove Clutter
Maintaining focus in your narrative is a crucial best practice. Imagine that you are preparing a presentation. Your audience prefers not to be bombarded with excessive text or numbers. This same concept is relevant for both a centralized information view, like dashboards, and a more detailed representation of a specific graph.
Dashboards offer the benefit of crafting a narrative around your key performance indicators (KPIs). However, overloading them with too many indicators can lead to confusion. It is essential to exclude any superfluous elements and only incorporate those that genuinely enhance your story.
Alternatively, if charts and graphs are poorly designed, they can become cluttered. Focus on the datasets that are essential to bolster your argument. For example, when showcasing the top ten products by revenue, refrain from adding extra metrics such as revenue per salesperson or revenue in relation to investment. If you still want to present these metrics, the optimal approach is to use filters. You can use an AI powered data science tool to apply multiple filters, allowing you to filter revenue by timeframe, salesperson, and investment, thus offering your customers various perspectives on the same data.
Encourage Audience Interaction while Conveying the Story
Your target audience must be prioritized. While preparing your presentation, consider what your listeners will gain from it, whether they are team members, business partners, shareholders, managers, or clients. Address questions like who they are and what they anticipate from the presentation.
Once you have this understanding, you can begin organizing your presentation. Concentrate on metrics and outcomes. How did everything unfold? What accomplishments did we reach? What modifications will we implement to enhance future processes? This approach ensures that audience members are not only informed but also motivated by the content they experienced. Additionally, keep future steps in mind while planning your presentation, as this will help you maintain focus on what truly matters: achieving your goals.
Getting started with telling a compelling story could be quite challenging even for established data science professionals. You can get the right guidance from Eduinx, a renowned edtech institute that will guide you through your data science journey. You can learn data science and generative AI from non-academic mentors who have over a decade of industry relevant experience. At Eduinx, we also offer placement assistance and help you land your dream job through a 360 degree career support.
