Stop 05 · Data VisualizationTopics · 6/10

Storytelling With Data

In short

Two analysts can find the same insight. The one who tells it as a clear story gets the decision made. Facts matter, but the order you present them matters too.

Structuring a set of charts and numbers as a narrative with a clear point, not just a data dump — the difference between a report that gets read and one that gets skimmed and ignored.

The jaadu unrolls a long picture scroll for an audience of small friendly creatures.

Think of it like this

The storyteller's picture scroll

Traditional storytellers unroll a painted scroll one scene at a time: the setting, the trouble, the turning point, the ending. Nobody shows the whole scroll at once. A data story works the same: context, problem, insight, then what to do.

Watch it happen

The shape of a data story

Context

Problem

Insight

Evidence

Action

1/5Context: 'Repeat orders drive most of our revenue.'

The big ideas

What you need to know

Know your audience

What do they already know, what do they care about, and what decision can they make?

The big idea in one sentence

If you can't say your point in one sentence, you're not ready to make slides.

Headlines, not labels

Each slide or chart title states its point. The chart is the proof underneath.

Cut what doesn't serve the story

Interesting side findings go in an appendix, not the main flow.

Save yourself the pain

Common mistakes

Oops

Walking through every step of your analysis in the order you did it.

Do this instead

Lead with the answer. Your process is interesting to you, the decision is interesting to them.

Oops

Ending with 'any questions?' and no recommendation.

Do this instead

End with a clear ask: what you recommend, and what you need from them.

Your mission

Tell a three-slide story

~35 min

Quick check

What should usually come first when presenting findings to a busy manager?

Go deeper

1Read a summary of Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic's 'Storytelling with Data' principles.
2Practice writing a one-sentence 'so what' for every chart you build.
3Restructure a data dump you've made into a narrative with a clear beginning, middle and end.