Storytelling with Data: A Data Visualization Guide for Business Professionals

by Cole Nussbaumer Knaflic

Overview

Don't simply show your data—tell a story with it!

Storytelling with Data teaches you the fundamentals of data visualization and how to communicate effectively with data. You'll discover the power of storytelling and the way to make data a pivotal point in your story. The lessons in this illuminative text are grounded in theory, but made accessible through numerous real-world examples—ready for immediate application to your next graph or presentation.

Storytelling is not an inherent skill, especially when it comes to data visualization, and the tools at our disposal don't make it any easier. This book demonstrates how to go beyond conventional tools to reach the root of your data, and how to use your data to create an engaging, informative, compelling story. Specifically, you'll learn how to:

• Understand the importance of context and audience
• Determine the appropriate type of graph for your situation
• Recognize and eliminate the clutter clouding your information
• Direct your audience's attention to the most important parts of your data
• Think like a designer and utilize concepts of design in data visualization
• Leverage the power of storytelling to help your message resonate with your audience

Together, the lessons in this book will help you turn your data into high impact visual stories that stick with your audience. Rid your world of ineffective graphs, one exploding 3D pie chart at a time. There is a story in your data—Storytelling with Data will give you the skills and power to tell it!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781119002062
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	10/07/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	NOOK Book
Pages:	288
Sales rank:	236,111
File size:	7 MB

About the Author

COLE NUSSBAUMER KNAFLIC has been analyzing data and using it to tell stories for over a decade, through analytical roles in banking, private equity, and at Google. She delivers presentations and workshops for organizations seeking to improve data presentation and pens the popular blog www.storytellingwithdata.com.

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Table of Contents

foreword ix

acknowledgments xi

about the author xiii

introduction 1

chapter 1 the importance of context 19

chapter 2 choosing an effective visual 35

chapter 3 clutter is your enemy! 71

chapter 4 focus your audience’s attention 99

chapter 5 think like a designer 127

chapter 6 dissecting model visuals 151

chapter 7 lessons in storytelling 165

chapter 8 pulling it all together 187

chapter 9 case studies 207

chapter 10 final thoughts 241

bibliography 257

index 261

Editorial Reviews

“This book is excellent value for money and recommended reading for Business Analysts and Project/Programme managers or anyone who finds they struggle to achieve the impact they hope for when attempting to communicate their reasoning and analysis.” (BCS, February 2016)

From the Publisher

02/01/2016
For many business professionals, being asked to "show the data" often results in frustration, pressure, and feeling inadequate. Knaflic, known for her blog, storytellingwithdata.com, proposes using concepts from storytelling and visual design to illustrate data effectively. Most of the book is focused on presenting data visually. The author, who gives workshops on the subject, demonstrates how design principles can make standard visuals most effective, offers alternative designs, addresses when not to use an image, and convincingly evangelizes on why pie charts are not recommended. Later, she addresses narrative structure and rules for writing. Throughout, the author emphasizes how to incorporate data, whether as a visual or not, as part of an overall idea. For those interested in more information, Knaflic supplies books, authors, and websites for further reading. The author's style is friendly, chatty, and informal, though also at times clunky and unclear. This isn't an issue, however, as she employs numerous figures and illustrations to support her points. VERDICT While the topics promoted here aren't new, Knaflic doesn't claim them to be otherwise. This recommended work asserts that storytelling is a successful way to communicate information and effectively promotes the practical necessity of clarity and maintaining credibility.—Robert Mixner, Bartholomew Cty. P.L., Columbus, IN

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