stories rule the world - domo · visuals keys to data data storytelling 3 narrative @analyticshero....

STORIES RULE THE WORLD: HOW TO TELL A BETTER STORY WITH DATA

Brent Dykes | Director, Data Strategy

WHY? HOW?

DATA STORYTELLING

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2. Inform?

3. Tell a story?

DECISION MAKER

1. Run for cover?

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Hal VarianChief Economist

at Google

“The ability to take data—to be able to understand it, to process it, to extract value from it, to visualiseit, to communicate it—that’s going to be a hugely important skill in the next decades."

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As human beings, we love stories.

Philip PullmanAuthor

“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need the most in the world.”

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As analytics experts, we love data.

Stephen FewData Viz Expert

“Numbers have an important story to tell. They rely on you to give them a clear and convincing voice.”

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Head-to-head: Stories beat statistics

Robert McKeeProfessor

"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today."

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TWO WAYS STORIES BEAT STATISTICS

5%statistics stories

VS 63% $1.14statistics story

VS $2.38

More Memorable More Persuasive1 2

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THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STORYTELLING

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WHAT INFLUENCES DECISIONS?

LOGIC EMOTION

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Antonio DamasioNeuroscientist

“Feelings are not just the shady side of reason . . . they help us to reach decisions as well.”

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WHY MERGE DATA WITH STORIES?

Data Story

EMOTIONLOGIC@analyticshero

We hear statistics,but we feel stories

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AUDIENCES ARE MORE RECEPTIVE TO STORIES

DATA

Shields Up“When we read dry, factual arguments, we read with our dukes up. We are critical and skeptical…”

“…But when we are absorbed in a story we drop our intellectual guard. We are moved emotionally and this seems to leave us defenseless.”

Shields DownDATA

STORYJonathan Gottschall

Author, The Storytelling Animal

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VISUALS

DATAKEYS TO DATA STORYTELLING

NARRATIVE

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EXPLAIN: Narrative + Data

VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

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ENLIGHTEN:Data + Visuals

VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

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ENGAGE:Narrative + Visuals

En

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VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

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Influencechange withdata stories

En

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CHANGE

VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

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DATA: FOUNDATION OF YOUR DATA STORY

En

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CHANGE

VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

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THE TWO SIDES OF INDIANA JONES

Field Archaeologist Professor@analyticshero

EXPLORATORY EXPLANATORY

Flexibility & speed are critical.

I am the audience.

I know the data.

I don’t know what the story is.

Clarity is critical.

I am NOT the audience.

They don’t know the data.

I have a story to tell.

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DATA STORIES VS. DATA FORGERIES

Data Insight

Explore

Audience

Explain

43%

Explore

InsightData Audience

DATASTORY

DATACUT

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DATA STORIES VS. DATA FORGERIES

Data Insight

Explore Explain

43%

Audience

StorySupport

98%↑

Data Audience

DATASTORY

DATACAMEO

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Select

DATA STORIES VS. DATA FORGERIES

Data Insight

Explore Explain

43%

Audience

Data AudienceVisualise

ABCDEFG

DATASTORY

DATADECORATION

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No cleartakeaways

En

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CHANGE

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VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

NARRATIVE: STRUCTURE OF YOUR DATA STORY

MATCH THE NARRATIVE TO THE AUDIENCE

Who is the right audience for my data story?

How do I adjust my data story to my audience?

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How well do you know your audience?

Goals & priorities?

Beliefs & preferences?

Specific expectations?

Topic familiarity?

Data savvy?

Seniority level?

Audience mix?

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Edward TufteData Viz Expert

“If the statistics are boring, you’ve got the wrong numbers.”

…or the wrong audience!

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Audience’s insights into the business are expanded

Data Storytelling Arc

Solution& Next StepsShare recommendations and discuss next steps

Rising InsightsShare findings that reveal deeper insights into the problem or opportunity

Aha MomentPresent major finding or key insight

Set-upBackground on current situation, character(s), and the hook

Gustav Freytag(1816-1895)

TURNING YOUR FINDINGS INTO A STORY

Beginning Middle End

DATA STORYTELLING ARC IN ACTION

Set-up & Hook

What is status quo? What unexpectedly changed?

Rising Insight #1

What influenced or contributed to the change?

Rising Insight #2

What other supporting evidence is needed or helpful?

38%

AhaMoment

What is the impact if nothing changes?

A

B

C

Solution & Next Steps

What are the options? What is the best course of action?

En

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CHANGE

VISUALS

DATA

NARRATIVE

VISUALS: SCENES OF YOUR DATA STORY

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WHAT PATTERNS DO YOU SEE?

I II III IV

x y x y x y x y

10 8.04 10 9.14 10 7.46 8 6.58

8 6.95 8 8.14 8 6.77 8 5.76

13 7.58 13 8.74 13 12.74 8 7.71

9 8.81 9 8.77 9 7.11 8 8.84

11 8.33 11 9.26 11 7.81 8 8.47

14 9.96 14 8.1 14 8.84 8 7.04

6 7.24 6 6.13 6 6.08 8 5.25

4 4.26 4 3.1 4 5.39 19 12.5

12 10.84 12 9.13 12 8.15 8 5.56

7 4.82 7 7.26 7 6.42 8 7.91

5 5.68 5 4.74 5 5.73 8 6.89

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ANSCOMBE’S QUARTET IN ACTION

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

y1

x1

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

y2

x2

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

y3

x3

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

y4

x4

I II III IV

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Data storytelling is mostly about comparisons.

Product A Product B

Time Period X Time Period Y

Segment 1 Segment 2

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5 STEPS FOR BETTER VISUAL STORYTELLING

Identify the right data1

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ALIGN YOUR DATA TO YOUR MESSAGE

Revenue Visits

Mistake: Use convenient but less effective data to convey a key point.

Tip: Carefully choose the data that best illustrates and supports your point.

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Revenue Visits

Revenue per visit (RPV)

Calculated metricRPV (YoY)

Revenue per visit (RPV)

Context

Identify the right data1

Choose the right visualisations2

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5 STEPS FOR BETTER VISUAL STORYTELLING

GRAPHICAL METHODS VARY IN EFFECTIVENESS

More accurate comparisons

More genericcomparisons

2D position along common but unaligned scales

Length Angle Volume Shading

Direction Area Curvature Color Hue

2D position along common, aligned scale

Graphical Perception: Theory, Experimentation, and Application to the Development of Graphical Methods (Cleveland & McGill, 1984) via The Functional Art (Alberto Cairo, 2013)

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ALL CHARTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL

Mistake: Pie charts are generally less effective for comparisons.

Tip: Bar charts don’t necessarily need value labels to convey differences.

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5%

32%

29%

25%

9%

Facebook

YouTube

LinkedIn

Twitter

Google+

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

LinkedInGoogle+

5%

29%

32%

25%

9%

32%

29%

25%

9%

5%

Identify the right data1

Choose the right visualisations2

Calibrate visuals to your message3

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5 STEPS FOR BETTER VISUAL STORYTELLING

Mistake: Don’t force your audience to make awkward comparisons.

Tip: Ensure your visuals easily support the comparisons they’re expected to make.

NewCustomers

ReturnCustomers

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ANTICIPATE YOUR AUDIENCE’S COMPARISON NEEDS

New Customers

Return Customers

PremiumCustomers

Product AProduct BProduct CProduct DProduct E

Orders

Product A

Product C

Product B

Product D

Product E

New CustomersReturn CustomersPremium Customers

Orders

Not so easy to compare

Much easier to compare

Identify the right data1

Choose the right visualisations2

Calibrate visuals to your message3

Remove unnecessary noise4

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5 STEPS FOR BETTER VISUAL STORYTELLING

STRENGTHEN SIGNAL BY REMOVING NOISE

Signal

Noise@analyticshero

DON’T OVERWHELM YOUR AUDIENCE NEEDLESSLY

Mistake: Don’t include unnecessary detail such as multiple values in a line chart.

Tip: Try to limit the number of lines to no more than four.

Page Views

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February 2017

Page Views

February 2017

SAVE AS

Click on legend label

Mistake: Donut and pie charts with a high number of slices generate noise.

Tip: Avoid using more than five slices and aggregate lower values when possible.

USA

UK

Germany

Japan

Canada

France

Spain

Mexico

Brazil

China

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DON’T OVERWHELM YOUR AUDIENCE NEEDLESSLY

Aggregate

19,631unitssold

30%

13%

9%9%8%

7%

6%

6%6%

6%USA

UK

GermanyJapan

Other30%

13%

9%9%

39% 19,631unitssold

Mistake: Donut and pie charts with a high number of slices generate noise.

Tip: Avoid using more than five slices and aggregate lower values when possible.

USA

UK

Germany

Japan

Canada

France

Spain

Mexico

Brazil

China

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DON’T OVERWHELM YOUR AUDIENCE NEEDLESSLY

Aggregate

19,631unitssold

30%

13%

9%9%8%

7%

6%

6%6%

6%USA

UK

GermanyJapan

Other30%

13%

9%9%

39% 19,631unitssold

Identify the right data1

Choose the right visualisations2

Calibrate visuals to your message3

Remove unnecessary noise4

Focus attention on what’s important5

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5 STEPS FOR BETTER VISUAL STORYTELLING

HIGHLIGHT WHAT MATTERS WITH COLOR

Mistake: Choose not to use colors strategically.

Tip: Use color to draw attention to your focus area while still providing context.

Page Views

February 2015

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Page Views

February 2017

Page Views

February 2017

Hover +screen capture

USE CONTENT STAGING TO REVEAL INSIGHTS

Mistake: Provide too much content at one time within a single chart or multiple charts.

Tip: Use animations to break up the content into manageable portions.

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Feb 19-21: A new spring promotion led to a high level of unqualified leads. It was stopped after 2 days.

Feb 19-21: A new spring promotion led to a high level of unqualified leads. It was stopped after 2 days.

Form Start Rate

Form Complete Rate

Sales Lead Rate

Form Start Rate

Form Complete Rate

Sales Lead Rate

Ignaz Semmelweis“Savior of Mothers”

1818-1865

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846

First Clinic(Doctors)

Second Clinic (Midwives)

Childbed Fever Mortality Rates

9.9%Average

3.9%Average

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SEMMELWEIS’S IMPACT ON MORTALITY RATES

0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16%

18%

20%

J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M A M J J A S O N D J F M

1846 1847 1848 1849

Childbed Fever Mortality Rates in Clinic #1

Handwashing policy introduced mid-May

Strict controls enforced on negligent students

Semmelweis dismissed

12.2%

3.5%4.9%

82%↓

2.2%0% 0%

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WHY WASN’T HE SUCCESSFUL?

Ignaz Semmelweis“Savior of Mothers”

1818-1865

Accurate

Valuable

Actionable

Adopted

DATA

NARRATIVE VISUALSEn

ga

ge

CHANGE

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DATA

NARRATIVE VISUALSEn

ga

ge

CHANGE

“Those who tell the stories rule the world.”

Hopi Indian Proverb

QUESTIONS?