6
Data Storytelling
Data Storytelling vs. Data Analysis
Data analysis comes in two forms, exploratory and explanatory. The first occurs when an analyst digs into the
data without a particular agenda. They seek to understand the data more thoroughly and conduct analyses to
that end. The second is more directed. An analyst creates a report, dashboard, or graphic with the intention of
delivering it to a business leader who will use it to inform a decision. Data storytelling builds on the latter.
So, what makes data storytelling dierent from good, old-fashioned data analysis? Two traits:
1. A focus on a specific business insight
2. The addition of narrative
A data story diers from a basic analysis because it has an agenda. It communicates a concrete finding
and suggests a takeaway. It adds business context to the analysis and delivers a “so what?” statement.
In contrast, a dashboard or report oen presents a slew of data without context or direction. The
reader must decide what’s important. A data story takes that burden o the data consumer. Rather
than cramming as many insights as possible into a single graphic or display, a data story highlights
just the aspects relevant to the narrative it’s telling. This could be a singular discovery in the data or a
set of targeted KPIs to which an executive regularly refers. The key is that, like a traditional story with
characters, a plot, and a climax, it focuses the reader’s attention.
A data story diers from a basic analysis because it has an agenda.
Because of the singular focus of a data story, it’s important to make sure you’re delivering an accurate
story. As the saying popularized by Mark Twain goes, “There are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies,
and statistics.” It’s far too easy to mislead using data. We see these sorts of deceitful data stories all the
time in advertisements that distort axes or proportions to exaggerate benefits, but it’s just as easy to do
so unintentionally. In particular, a data storyteller must be careful when choosing which facts to include
in their narrative. What you choose not to say can be just as potent as what you choose to say, and
although simplicity is vital, over-simplicity can lead to poor outcomes.
Historically, analysts have turned data analyses into data stories in two ways—annotation and
presentation. Some storytellers communicate narrative insights in comments to the visualizations in
a dashboard or report. Others might paste their chart into a slide show and then deliver the narrative
orally. Either way, the goal has always been to deliver a guided walkthrough of the data. When a
storyteller has finished, the stakeholders should understand the key message in the data and how the
business ought to respond. This insight can then inform the decisions they make.