Effective Data Storytelling

Chapter 4 The Anatomy of a Data Story

Data stories combine visualizations with narrative flow. This combination can breach the barriers between people and data, engaging the former and delving deeper into the latter.

—James Richardson, Research Director at Gartner

An ancient Jewish folktale dating back to the eleventh century captures the essence of why we must tell stories with our insights.

Truth, naked and cold, had been turned away from every door in the village. Her nakedness frightened the people. When Parable found her she was huddled in a corner, shivering and hungry. Taking pity on her, Parable gathered her up and took her home. There, she dressed Truth in story, warmed her and sent her out again. Clothed in story, Truth knocked again at the villagers’ doors and was readily welcomed into the people’s houses. They invited her to eat at their table and warm herself by their fire. (Simmons 2009)

Just like Truth in this allegory, cold, hard facts are often dismissed or ignored. However, similar to how Parable helped Truth gain access to the villagers’ homes, stories can help insights enter into the minds of your audience. Truly, narrative and visuals help your data go places it can’t go alone.

In the first few chapters, I’ve explored why the combination of data and narrative is so powerful. Now, I want to shift the focus to what exactly a data story is before I dive into how to tell stories with data. Without a clear understanding of what a data story is, you’ll have a ...