In in the present day’s data-driven world, information storytelling is turning into more and more necessary for decision-making and enterprise development. Data analytics roles comparable to market analysis analyst, monetary analyst, and operations analysis analyst are getting prevalent as corporations notice the significance of data-driven insights.
According to U.S. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook 2021-2031, these job roles are experiencing appreciable development:
These analysts make use of numerous information storytelling strategies to hold out efficient analytics operations. Let’s focus on what information storytelling is, its main parts and advantages, and in case you are an analyst, how will you develop into higher at information storytelling.
What Is Data Storytelling?
Data storytelling entails analyzing information utilizing visible and compelling narratives to speak information insights to stakeholders. An information storyteller explains the “why” within the information utilizing visualization. The goal is to clarify the info attributes clearly and supply a significant context for what that information represents. Presenting the underlying insights in information and developments is critical for efficient decision-making.
For instance, a monetary analyst can present a candlestick chart to buyers to exhibit the value motion of a inventory or asset. A candlestick chart visualizes the historic inventory patterns utilizing 4 buying and selling indicators (“open price,” “close price,” “high price,” and “low price”) to foretell the upcoming market pattern.
A candlestick illustration displaying an rising and reducing value pattern. Wikimedia Commons
For a greater understanding, take a look at the bitcoin value candlestick chart under. The graph visualizes bitcoin costs for the primary two months of 2023. The inexperienced bars signify an rising value pattern, whereas the pink bars present reducing bitcoin value pattern.
Bitcoin candlestick chart Jan-Feb 2023
An important information storytelling side is that information storytellers want to grasp the enterprise context and stakeholder necessities. Research reveals that 60% of the funding achieved in information analytics goes to waste as a result of the insights obtained don’t align with decision-making and enterprise targets. As a consequence, decision-makers solely use 22% of the info insights they obtain.
3 Major Components of Data Storytelling
Data, visuals, and narrative are the three most important parts of knowledge storytelling. Let’s discover them additional under.
- Data: Data storytellers collect and preprocess the info they should inform a narrative. They carry out statistical evaluation and visualize key developments and patterns for thorough information evaluation.
- Narrative: Creating an interesting story and offering context to the important thing findings obtained from information known as narrative. A very good narrative conjures up the viewers to take motion.
Thomas. H. Davenport, a thought chief in enterprise administration, says:
“Narrative is the way we simplify and make sense of a complex world. It supplies context, insight, interpretation – all the things that make data meaningful and analytics more relevant and interesting.”
- Visuals: An image is value 1000 phrases. Visualization provides weight to the narrative and creates an impactful information story. Visuals will be within the type of graphs, photographs, or movies.
An information analyst can use an information storytelling framework like characters, setting, battle, and backbone to inform a compelling story. For instance, within the e-commerce area, characters will be clients, the setting is an organization combating buyer retention, battle will be an rising churn fee, and backbone is the set of steps the info storyteller suggests to cut back the churn fee.
How Can a Data Analyst Get Better at Data Storytelling?
Understand Your Audience
Understanding the viewers is the important thing to driving information storytelling. If you’re speaking to enterprise executives, it could be important to offer them with high-level evaluation and actionable insights for enterprise technique. But when speaking to the group, it’s essential to clarify the strategies used to succeed in a conclusion intimately.
Choose Appropriate Visualizations
Data visualization highlights totally different features of knowledge, comparable to;
- Comparison (Bar chart, line chart)
- Relationship (Scatter plot, bubble chart)
- Distribution (Histogram, scatterplots)
- Composition (Waterfall chart, stacked space chart)
Understand what you are attempting to attain with information and what number of variables you need to take into account. Select one of the best visualization to convey your concept.
Avoid Clutter
Declutter the visualization by aggregating or eradicating info that isn’t required. For instance, within the charts under, WGM, WIM, WCM, and WFM are the main girls titles in chess; the remaining information will be aggregated as “others”.
Unnecessary FIDE title labels on the x-axis
An easy-to-read aggregated bar chart
Use Vibrant Colors
Use shade palettes accessible to everybody, together with those that are visually impaired or shade blind. Keep distinction in colours and keep away from utilizing the identical colours subsequent to one another. For occasion, within the bar charts under, the colour mixture within the first chart will be exhausting to tell apart in comparison with the second chart.
Difficult to interpret the chart because of shade mixture
Easy to interpret the chart because of shade mixture
What Are the Benefits of Data Storytelling for Organizations?
Promotes Data Literacy Among Employees
Data storytelling can improve the info literacy of the workers within the group. According to a survey by Accenture and Qlik, solely 21% of workers really feel assured in studying, analyzing, and discussing information. Hence, compelling information storytelling encourages them to discover and focus on information throughout the group.
Create Engaging & Valuable Experiences for All Stakeholders
Understanding and grabbing the viewers’s consideration is crucial to efficient communication. The human mind processes visuals 60,000 instances sooner than textual content, and folks bear in mind tales 22 instances greater than details. Hence, telling information tales to your product customers or shareholders utilizing compelling narratives and visualization will be extremely participating and precious.
Influence Decision-Making
Compelling information storytelling gives a brand new perspective or uncovers hidden features. It communicates what must be achieved. It permits stakeholders to make knowledgeable choices and take motion concerning their enterprise technique.
Data Storytelling – Way Forward for Data Analysts
Data storytelling is the artwork and science of speaking insights about information. As information retains rising exponentially and getting extra complicated, data-driven storytelling is turning into a vital ability.
In a corporation, the function of knowledge storytellers is carried out by information analysts or information engineers. Tools comparable to Tableau and PowerBI allow information analysts to construct compelling visualizations and dashboards with out a lot effort. In reality, Gartner estimates that by 2025 a lot of the information tales might be robotically generated.
Data analysts ought to keep in contact with the most recent developments and instruments within the information analytics trade to inform impactful information tales. For extra AI-related content material, go to unite.ai.