Finalize your Data Story Presentation

Jan Lorenz

Storyboarding

Dykes’ Storytelling Arc

Storyboarding example

Storyboard for a presentation of the datastory The summer break effects on the CoViD-19 pandemic in Germany 2020-2022

Checklist: Datastory Essentials

Most important:

What is your hook?
Make clear what the story is about. Provide context.
What is your main Point?
Select one among all the story points you have.

Then:

What are the rising insights?
Story points to make one after the other from the hook to the main point.
What are the conclusion?
Depending on the assumed audience.

Visuals 1: Visualize the right data

Visuals 2: Choose best visualization

Visuals 2: Graphical Perception

Visuals 2: Example Perception

The blue category can be compared more accurate easier than the gray ones

Visual 2: Pie vs. Bars

Visuals 3: Calibrate Visuals to Message

Keep comparisons in close proximity
Put the things you compare close to each other
Provide a common baseline for comparisons
Can you provide a baseline for your comparison?
Ensure charts are consistent for comparisons
Do you use color consistently

Visuals 3: Example

Visuals 4: Remove unneccessary noise

Remove surplus data
Aggregate less important data
Separate overlapping data
Should you facet a graphic?

Remove/reduce chartjunk

Visuals 5: Focus attention

Which color palettes?
Use color vs. gray
Use text (or other) annotations
Try to find explanatory and not purely descriptive titles

Visuals 6: Data approachable and engaging

Make axis labels
Consider direct labels
Avoid vertical or diagonal text if possible
Use simple axis increments, avoid scientific notation of numbers (no 1e6)
Can you use meaningful guidelines, anchorlines, trendlines, shaded regions, gridlines
Sort categories?
Use transparency to show overplotting
“Independent” variable on the x-axis
…

Visuals 7: Instill trust in numbers

Be careful with:

Truncated y-axis
Inconsistent date intervals
Inconsistent binning
…