The Power of Data Storytelling: From Information to Actionable Insights
We are on the verge of a cultural shift in which data-driven organizations and decision-making will become the norm. But how dependable, quick, and significant are these choices? We ask how crucial data storytelling can be in assisting us in coming to meaningful and actionable judgments as we investigate its potential.
In New York City, there were 140 000 noise-related complaints between the winter of 2013 and the autumn of 2014. Lower Manhattan councilwoman Margaret Chin sponsored a bill in November mandating that the Department of Environmental Protection begin monitoring noise levels throughout the city.
What would have motivated you to make a significant decision if you were a city councilperson?
Take a look at the three different data visualizations.
Information about New Yorkers’ noise complaints, including the type of complaint, the time, the location, and the message
When are we propelled to take action?
Understanding simple facts is difficult.
When rows and columns are used to represent data, it can be overwhelming for a user to manipulate data tables to inform decision-making. However, data visualization, whether straightforward or intricate, aids in the understanding of data. Visualisations that are made with charts that are appropriate for the audience’s context encourage enhanced understanding and the generation of insights.
Yes, I understand.
Look once more at the three boxes shared above. What does each of these cause you to feel?
- Do you remember what you saw?
- Is it interesting enough for you to be willing to listen and ask additional questions?
- Does it motivate you to act?
The third box continues by telling a story. While facts (such as in representation a) merely give data, a narrative offers context, which improves our understanding and leads to insightful conclusions. A data story (narrative) can reveal a flow over time, whereas data visualizations just depict a point in time.
The strength of data stories lies in their capacity to produce insights that spur action.
Putting the puzzle pieces together
When data and graphics are combined, we move beyond merely disseminating information to providing decision-makers with an experience. Stories are potent because they allow us to enter the worlds of other people, altering our brain chemistry and how our brains function in the process.
A German playwright and novelist named Gustav Freytag spoke about the importance of instilling a dramatic arc into our ability to tell stories in the 19th century. To demonstrate dramatic structure, he simply drew a triangle and emphasized the seven elements he believed were essential for effective narrative. The possibility of effective storytelling brought to the fore the question of what could keep audiences glued.
When BI tools, dashboards, infographics, and spreadsheets start to incorporate data storytelling as a significant component in how they communicate insights to users, they can all fully exploit the benefits data provides for businesses. The following are the key components of a data story:
Understanding the context – Data must be correct, but it also needs to be gathered, examined, and presented in the appropriate context. Who will interact with this data, what challenges will they face, and what goals or decisions must be achieved using the data insights?
Selecting a strong visual – A strong visual is important because it can cut through the noise (information that is not important) and help the target audience understand the insights more easily. To make sure that the audience can easily relate to it, good data visualization is also adapted to their context.
Sharing a captivating story can help to focus attention because it’s always been simpler to convey vital information through stories. By combining a great story with visualization, you can find the answers to some key issues. Users learn not only what occurs but also the reasons why it occurs and why their data behaves as it does.
A data story concludes with a list of possibilities or questions. A data story begins and ends like any other story, with a beginning and a middle. However, the conclusion should never be a predetermined event but rather a menu of choices or a series of prompts for the audience to respond. This makes it possible to achieve the objective of data storytelling, which is to stimulate and inspire critical thinking for business decisions.
Behavior modification to alter neurochemistry
Decisions in business are not always made logically. According to neuroscience, decisions are frequently based on emotion because, in contrast to relying only on reasoning, emotions enable us to weigh our options and make quick decisions.
Only two sections of the brain, the language centers, or the Wernicke and Broca areas, are discovered to be stimulated by detailed knowledge, whereas more brain regions are activated when someone is interested in a tale. The five other parts of the brain that deal with sight, sound, smell, movement, taste, etc. are not stimulated by information.
So we are left unmoved by a sequence of facts or happenings. In addition to being memorable and causing us to suspend disbelief, a well-told story can increase persuasiveness by compelling us to act and letting us know how it will finish.
A cogent data storytelling approach can by its nature lead executives around the world to more swift, informed, and significant judgments, as they increasingly rely on data-driven insights to make critical organizational decisions.
