Stories are powerful things. We’ve used them throughout history to capture attention, convey ideas, fire the imagination, and stir the soul. Data can be persuasive, but stories are much more. A well-told story is inspirational.
On the surface, storytelling appears to be the opposite of analytics: anecdotal instead of quantitative. But quantities aren’t the only way, or even necessarily the ideal way to convey information. We know that not everyone is a quant who thinks natively in numbers. Some think in pictures, thus the popularity of data visualization: “Show me the shape of things, not the quantities. …” Visualization is powerful, but even more powerful is the ability to connect visuals to tell a story with data.
Storytellers are the next generation of business and data analysts. They don’t dismiss the value of the quants—quantification is the foundation. Neither do they devalue the importance of visualization; in fact, they amplify it by scripting a story through visuals to communicate the what, when, where, who, and why of business circumstances and business behaviors.
You Will Learn
- Four reasons to pursue the art of storytelling
- The differences between explanatory and exploratory stories
- How to find the stories in data
- How to choose visualizations for storytelling
- How to compose captivating and compelling stories
Geared To
BI and analytics designers and developers: anyone interested in learning new and highly effective ways to communicate and share information
