storytelling with data podcast: #75 The Data Storyteller’s Handbook with Kat Greenbrook
Feb 13, 2024
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New Zealand-based data storyteller, Kat Greenbrook, shares insights on creating business impact using data storytelling. She discusses frameworks for plotting time and character data stories, bridging knowledge gaps with stakeholders, and keeping things honest. Also, she talks about the evolution of data storytelling, types of data stories, and approaches to measuring ROI of data storytelling.
Understanding the audience and tailoring the communication to their needs is crucial in data storytelling.
Ethics play a vital role in data storytelling, ensuring honesty and transparency in representing the data.
Deep dives
The Power of Data Storytelling and Communicating Insights
Data storytelling is an important skill that helps in effectively communicating data insights to a wide audience. By using narratives and stories, data storytellers can engage their audience and make the data more relatable and understandable. The process involves finding the right metrics and insights, creating a clear narrative structure, and designing visuals that support the story. Data storytelling is not limited to in-person presentations but can also be done through written communication or virtually. The key is to tailor the approach to the specific audience and their level of data literacy. Overall, data storytelling helps bridge the gap between technical analysis and business decision-making, making data more impactful and actionable for organizations.
The Importance of Understanding the Audience
One crucial aspect of data storytelling is understanding the audience and tailoring the communication to their needs. This involves considering their level of data literacy, their preferred communication style, and their specific interests and motivations. By empathizing with the audience and considering their perspective, data storytellers can create more engaging and effective narratives. Tools like empathy spectrums can help identify the audience's preferences and tailor the communication accordingly. When presenting to different regions or cultures, it is important to adapt the examples and exercises to make them relevant to the local context. Whether presenting in person or virtually, data storytellers should always consider the specific needs and expectations of their audience.
The Role of Ethics in Data Storytelling
Ethics play a vital role in data storytelling. Data storytellers should always adhere to ethical principles to ensure that the story accurately represents the data and insights. The goal is to provide an honest and transparent representation of the analysis and avoid making up narratives that are not supported by the data. Data storytelling should be grounded in the results of the analysis and reflect a deep understanding of the data and its implications. It is important to distinguish data storytelling from fictional storytelling and focus on communicating factual and reliable information. By maintaining ethical standards, data storytellers can build trust with their audience and ensure the integrity of their narratives.
The Process and Value of Data Storytelling
Data storytelling involves a process of analyzing data, identifying key metrics and insights, creating a clear narrative structure, and designing visuals to support the story. It is essential to start with a solid foundation of data analysis, ensuring that the insights are well-founded and reliable. Data storytellers should focus on the message they want to convey and find the most impactful and relevant insights to support that message. The value of data storytelling lies in its ability to bridge the gap between technical analysis and business decision-making. By presenting data in a compelling and relatable way, data storytellers can help organizations make better-informed decisions, drive meaningful actions, and improve overall understanding of complex data.
Cole talks with New Zealand-based data storyteller, Kat Greenbrook, about her new book, The Data Storyteller’s Handbook: How to create business impact using data storytelling. Kat shares her empathy for anyone who has ever been told to “make your data tell a story” and isn’t sure where to start, and offers guidance for better understanding your audience and arranging insights into a narrative structure. Tune in to learn about frameworks that can help you plot time and character data stories, how to keep things honest, bridging knowledge gaps between you and your stakeholders, and more!
