Stories have been recognized for their power of communication & persuasion for centuries and we need to operate at that intersection of data, visual and stories to fully harness the power of data. Online journalism has already started to show the path but we need to develop the science of data-story to get them widely adopted in business. We used a case study based approach to map the four different layers in a data-story: See - Show - Tell - Engage. We developed a framework of key dimensions within each of these layers and then rigorously analyzed 25 carefully selected case-studies to see which elements were being employed in the data-story. We focused not only on the dimensions of data abstraction and visual representation, framing and transition but also on the dimensions of story structure, point-of-view, relatability and engagement through emotions, takeaways and interaction. Our framework indicates generic strategies that can be used for effective data-stories using exploratory and explanatory visualization in personal and presentation context.

1. What makes a data-story
work?
Amit Kapoor
Kavitha Ranganathan

2. Emotion & Empathy
I am blind

3. Emotion & Empathy
It is spring &
I am blind

4. Persuasion
Logos + Ethos + Pathos

5. Data-Story-Visual
Data
Story
Tale
Graph
*
Art
Visual

6. Synthesis -Visualise-Story
analysis | SYNTHESIS
numbers | VISUALISE
argument | STORY

7. Narrative is Powerful
Source: Pitch Interactive

8. logic | EMPATHY

9. Data & Stories
The focus of stories is on
individual people rather than averages,
on motives rather than movements,
on point of view rather than the view
from nowhere,
context rather than raw data.

10. Storytelling Triangle
Story
Teller
Listener

11. Visualization
ˌvɪʒʊəlaɪˈzeɪʃən (noun)
Derived from the Latin verb videre, "to look,
to see"
The act or instance to
The act or instance to
form a mental image or
make visible or visual
picture (without an
(with an object)
object)

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14. Data-Story Framework
See the Data
Show the Visual
Tell the Story
Engage the Audience

15. See the Data
Pattern
Trend
Data
Abstraction
Deviation
Outlier

16. Show the Visual
Framing
Medium & Visual
Representation
Transition

17. Tell the Story
Ordering &
Structure
TRF JQL
ZEF LXR
Messaging
(Verbal & Text)
RGT DEF
VWX DFR
Point of View
& Relatability

18. Engage the Audience
Takeaway
ZEF LXR
TRF JQL
Emotion
RGT DEF
VWX DFR
Interactivity

19. Single Frame Dominates
Source: Walmart & Target Store Expansion

20. Establish & Focus
Source: OECD Better Life

21. Stories through Annotation
Source: Napolean’s Campaign

22. Power of Verbal Messaging
Source: Hans Rosling | Joy of Stats

23. Idea-driven
Mileu-driven
Character-driven
Event-driven

24. Build your own story
Source: Working Capital Profiler

25. Emotions are key
Source: Wealth Inequality

26. Think Stories
“I think people have begun to forget
how powerful human stories are,
exchanging their sense of empathy for
a fetishistic fascination with data,
networks, patterns, and total
information... Really, the data is just
part of the story. The human stuff is
the main stuff, and the data should
enrich it."
—Jonathan Harris

27. Amit Kapoor
Partner, narrativeVIZ Consulting
amit@narrativeviz.com
@amitkaps
Kavitha Ranganathan
Asst. Professor, IIM Ahmedabad
kavitha@iimahd.ernet.in