Crafting effective data stories

I first got the idea for the podcast episode on which this newsletter is based from a recent trip I took to the picturesque Katherine Gorge, nestled about 350 kilometers southeast of Darwin, Australia. As I traveled south from Darwin to the Gorge, we had an amazing guide who shared with us an absolute wealth of information that was fascinating, but also so voluminous I can't actually remember a lot of it.

So I found myself reflecting on the stark contrast between inundating audiences with information and effectively conveying data stories. Unlike a traditional information dump, a well-crafted data story aims to inspire action and provoke thought. It's not merely about transmitting facts but about cultivating engagement and motivating change.

In the world of data storytelling, I believe we should adhere to a carefully structured narrative arc. Just as Brent Dykes advocates for in his work , a data story should emphasise a single master message and gradually build tension through key data points. This deliberate approach fosters a sense of urgency and prompts audiences to contemplate their role in the narrative, which ultimately spurs them into action.

Too often, I've witnessed presentations drowning in a sea of statistics and graphs, just like a recent encounter I had with a fellow airline traveler meticulously fine-tuning his PowerPoint slides. Despite his diligence, the sheer volume of information - sometimes three or four graphs on each slide and a slide deck of easily 50 slides - risked overwhelming the audience.

In contrast, effective data storytelling needs to involve deliberate curation, selecting insights that resonate with the audience and visuals that clearly present the master message and call to action. It should not just be a one-way transmission of endless information. Of course, this curation should be done with a clear understanding of both the audience and the organisation. When we tell data stories, we need to know what the audience will connect with and exactly what we want them to get out of that process.

Thinking back to my trip to Katherine Gorge, I distinctly remember one anecdote shared by our guide about a mishap at a local cotton farm. Although she had shared numerous figures about the sheer scale of cotton production in the region, I don't recall the exact figures and they didn't really sink in until she paired them with a story of a truck carrying an unsecured load of cotton that took a corner too fast and the cotton ended up strewn across the road. Afterwards, locals said it looked like it had snowed in Katherine for weeks because there was that much cotton everywhere. Now that was the vivid imagery that I connected with and still lingers for me, and it was a really clear way for me to process just how much cotton was produced in the region.

So it's these evocative stories that imprint upon our minds, prompting us to connect with the data on a deeper level. An effective data story therefore needs to transcend mere dissemination of information; it needs to make a connection with the audience and be a call to action. Ultimately, good data storytelling is about empowering individuals to leverage data for meaningful change.

This newsletter started as a podcast; if you'd like to listen to this episode and/or follow the podcast, check it out here .

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I am a data storyteller and grounded researcher, and I help organisations use their data more effectively and help them tell great data stories. If you'd like a hand with data storytelling or strategy, I'd love to chat with you.

Keynote speaker | Author | Facilitator