In this new blog series, I want to share some tips and tricks on how to effectively turn data into a story and present it to an audience.
Presenting a dashboard or a data-driven story is interesting because, while it’s somewhat similar to a normal presentation, it’s also a bit different in the way it’s planned. You’ve probably prepared a presentation before, whether during your studies or at work, and used data to support your points. But what do you do when the data itself is the main focus, and you need to turn it into a story?
Data Schoolers might already know the struggle since they’re required to give such a presentation in their final interview. Maybe they found the planning process as tough as I did. With this post, I’d like to help make the first steps a bit easier by showing how to build a clear context for your story.
Exploratory vs. Explanatory
Before diving into data visualizations or dashboard building, you first need to think about what kind of presentation or dashboard you actually want to create.
As the name suggests, exploratory analysis is more about the user or viewer actively engaging with the data. It’s built to help them understand the data by interacting with it. This can lead to a lot of different insights—or sometimes just a few.
Explanatory stories are more like traditional presentations because you’re taking the results from your data and using them to show connections and tell a clear story. It’s important to think carefully about the kinds of visualizations you use to make your point as clear as possible.
So, which approach should you go with? It depends on the purpose of the task. But if you want to tell a story, I’d strongly recommend the explanatory method. It lets you really show your expertise and respond to questions in more detail.
Who
Once you’ve decided on a method, the next step is to narrow your context by figuring out who your audience is or who your product is for. The better you know your audience, the stronger the foundation for your presentation.
Try to be as specific as possible when choosing your target group since different audiences might need different stories. Be empathetic, step into your customer’s shoes, and think about who the key decision-makers could be.
What
After you’ve identified your audience, ask yourself: “What do I want my audience to know or do?” This is your chance to make it clear why your audience should take you seriously and pay attention.
As the expert, it’s your job to know and understand the data. This puts you in a position to guide your audience’s thinking, reinterpret the data, and help them understand the information. Look for specific problems or unanswered questions in the data. Then, turn these into a question that’s important for your “Who” and can influence their actions.
How
Finally, once you’ve worked through the previous steps, ask yourself what data is relevant to achieving your goal. Make sure you don’t completely ignore data that seems irrelevant at first glance—it’s part of building a story that even outsiders can understand.
Choosing the right visuals is also important. For a data analyst, picking the right visuals and presenting them effectively is key to showing your expertise. Think about which charts best represent your points and how you’ll include them in your final dashboard or presentation. You can find plenty of examples of visuals here: https://datavizcatalogue.com/.