Using storytelling is highly effective in improving message retention among audiences. For this reason, it is widely used in advertising strategies. However, it’s not the only field where it can be applied. In the business world, it helps enable different stakeholders to interact more easily with the key data from each department within the company.
Where does storytelling’s effectiveness come from?
The main reason for its effectiveness relies on something deeply human: the act of telling stories. That’s why, even in primitive societies, stories served as powerful vehicles for transmitting knowledge, beliefs, and ideas. Despite all the technological advancements we’ve experienced, stories continue to be powerful tools for sharing information.
That’s why, when it comes to improving information retention among stakeholders, it’s best to move away from random data—mainly because random data is more difficult to remember.
Data storytelling, also known as narrative data, is a technique that uses data to tell a story. In other words, it’s a way to communicate the information extracted from data analysis through a story in a clear, coherent, and concise manner. Data storytelling helps the intended audience retain the information and enables the company to achieve more persuasive and impactful results. Moreover, using data increases credibility and builds trust.
It’s important to distinguish between data storytelling and data visualization. Data visualization represents data graphically, using different visual tools to make the analysis easy to understand. However, it lacks the narrative thread that data storytelling provides. This doesn’t mean one is better than the other—they serve different purposes.
Essential Elements of Data Storytelling
With the above in mind, it’s important to understand the key elements to consider when using storytelling in your data communication strategy: data, narrative, and visualization.
- Data: This is the heart of what we want to convey. It must be properly validated, as it provides the foundation for reliable information.
- Narrative: This provides the context in which the data becomes relevant. It’s crucial to choose narrative elements that bring the audience closer to the data.
- Visualization: This involves selecting specific elements that bring the data and narrative to life. It includes everything from charts to the font used to present the data.
How to Apply Data Storytelling
Here are some steps you can follow to implement it:
- Define the objective: This step is key, as it builds up criteria for decision-making throughout the process. It’s important to know what you want to convey and what the key points will be.
- Know your audience: Understanding the audience helps you identify what they already know and provides the necessary context to craft a relevant and powerful story.
- Gather data: Choosing data is easier when the previous steps have been clearly defined. Balance is crucial here: the amount and relevance of the data will influence the effectiveness of the storytelling.
- Organize the data: Once selected, the data must be structured. This can be done chronologically, hierarchically, etc. This step helps make the data more understandable and memorable.
- Create the narrative: It’s helpful to follow the basic Aristotelian structure: introduction, development, and conclusion.
- The introduction provides the topic and context.
- The development shows the relationship between the data.
- The conclusion presents the main message or takeaway.
- It’s also recommended to include comments and explanatory notes.
- Data visualization: Create charts and visual aids to help the audience better understand the data. Visualizations should always be easy to interpret, and the graphics should support the narrative.
- Evaluate the results: Revisit the objectives defined at the beginning, as they provide the framework to assess success and identify areas for improvement.
In addition to following the steps above, it’s crucial to use the insights gathered during the evaluation phase to make the data storytelling message increasingly relevant within the company. This could range from creating a more enriched context to adjusting the criteria used to select which data to present.
To conclude, having the right tools is essential. That’s why we invite you to try BI4Web—the business intelligence tool with the most native graphical representations. This allows you to choose the best visual option to make your data easier to understand and strengthen data-driven decision-making in your company. Request your free trial and enjoy 15 days of access to BI4Web.