Telling Human Stories with Data

If you’re reading this and you’re part of the ODSC community, the chances are you’re an expert in the data you work with. You understand the methodologies required to make the data robust and meaningful, and you are already using tools to visualize data for yourself to better see patterns and relationships. Communicating the meaning of the data to non-experts, however, brings new challenges.

[Related Article: Why Effective and Ethical AI Needs Human-Centered Design]

I work with government departments, corporations, startups and charities on developing their data visualization practice–from the simplest PowerPoint slide through to complex, interactive dashboards–and I consistently find that this storytelling aspect of data science is the one that causes the most problems.

Non-experts in data are often your most important stakeholders: senior leaders, colleagues in non-data roles, investors, customers, regulators, donors, or members of the public. Convincing them of the importance and urgency of a data pattern or trend is what drives change, alters behavior, prompts actions and gets decisions made.

Over my time working with different organizations, I’ve come to rely on a simple three-part framework for creating data visualizations that are compelling for human audiences — telling human stories with data. It’s not a…