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Humanizing Data Through Stories

What truly matters is the story behind that data

Photo by Ben Sweet on Unsplash

Jerry Seinfeld got most of his inspiration from the people out on the streets going about their business. He collected the little pieces of data about them and put his own spin on it. Coming to think about it, being a great comedian means being a good observer and a good storyteller.

You too can be the Jerry Seinfeld of your own field, not necessarily by telling something funny but by connecting the two pieces of the puzzle: data + storytelling. The keyword here is storytelling because it’s not so much about the data than it is about the story behind it.

Look around you, data is everywhere! Everything you say or do is data. If you don’t believe me, ask Facebook and Twitter. What we eat, breathe, walk, and talk is data. Everything becomes the data but what truly matters is the story behind that data and what it means to different people.

I was inspired by a data humanism project, then became super obsessed with Giorgia Lupi’s project, Dear Data. It’s a year-long, analog data drawing project by her and Stefanie Posavec, two award-winning information designers living on different sides of the Atlantic. Why don’t you check it out yourself?

Same rules. Different territory.

I‘d figured by now most of us care more about the essence of sharing data, but I was wrong. I was wrong many times when I looked at the numbers and when I shared them. Then, I asked myself, is data storytelling different from THE storytelling?

If you’re familiar with the construct of any story, the rules of engagement in data storytelling remain the same as the rules in storytelling. Those rules include laying out the foundations, building up the tension, and releasing that tension. In other words, the setup, the tension, and the resolution. It’s the journey from the moment you realize that data existed to when you sigh in relief. Again, the keyword here is storytelling. The data is secondary, as Gary Stewart explained. Don’t forget also that telling a story with data is like telling a joke; you need an unexpected piece to keep people curious and get them focused.

“Storytelling is the noun and data is the adjective.” — John Zimmer

What that means is that you should not be bogged down by the data and everything you learned about it. Storytelling is the key element and data is the context that brings out the story. The story is powered by your data. Don’t share the oysters, just the pearls of wisdom that your audience can engage with.

When you build your data story, find the natural story arc and think of the action you want to get out of the people you’re presenting for. Are you trying to influence them, inform them, or persuade them? The data is secondary to that. This is not to say that the data is not important. On the contrary, it’s the building block but it’s not the blueprint.

What do you feel when you hear data storytelling?

I personally feel emotionally connected to that term because data on its own is so abstract. Storytelling makes it more real and vivid. John Zimmer told us about two emotions that run through him when he hears about data storytelling:

1. Excitement: because people can no longer get lost in the data and they will only learn what’s relevant and useful to them
2. Amusement: because no matter the context, we will apply the three principles of an impactful and persuasive speech that were laid down by Aristotle many decades ago and they come out best in storytelling: logos (logic), ethos (credibility), and pathos (emotions).

Check out that Fitbit chart

Here’s a little exercise by Elizabeth Grim: You’re probably reading this from your phone. Go to any of the apps that are tracking your steps, sleep, or even screen time. Look at how much information your phone is tracking about everything you’re doing. What story does it tell about you? Are you training for a marathon? How does your Garmin watch tell if you’re getting better or worse?

The charts you see are not the only thing and they are not the story, but they are there to support the story. Have you heard of the story of the woman who realized she was pregnant after looking at her Fitbit data? Now, that’s a great story to tell, isn’t it? #FitbitBaby

A Woman Realized She Was Pregnant After She Saw Weird Data On Her Fitbit

What truly determines if data is meaningful and visually appealing to whoever is consuming it is the context. There are certain UX and visualization guiding principles that you can follow that were shared by Gary Stewart:

• Minimize clutter and increase white space
• Use color with purpose and apply color contrast
• Incorporate light movement
• Indicate how important something is through size

But these are obviously not hard and fast rules. They are a good starting place and they are not the be-all and all, as Elizabeth Grim said. What’s more important is creating impactful visuals. You can achieve that by giving people the information they need to make a decision.

You’re a rebel and don’t like following the rules? People are encouraged to break convention and challenge the status quo if that’s the best way to tell the story with the data. You don’t want to use a zero baseline? Make sure you have a good reason for that but do it if it serves a great purpose, without being unethical.

What about the cognitive load of data? How much is too much?

I think at this point we’re all well aware of the cognitive load that the data represents. Obsessing about the data is not going to help your story. To help you determine how much you should share, Aleksandra Hadzic suggests that you tell the data story in 1 minute. Can you tell the same story in 30 seconds? Strip down your idea to the bones. Then strip it again down to the morrow. Just as Mark Twain said, “I would have written a shorter letter, but I did not have the time.”

“Just because you’re saying more, doesn’t mean you’re sharing more.” — Gary Stewart

Numbers do not speak for themselves

Nothing speaks for itself. I learned from attending the #IamRemakable session that accomplishments do not speak for themselves and the same goes for data. It’s all about the narrative. Everything else gets washed away. We tend to think that nothing is influencing the numbers and that they are objective. However, numbers are not objective. There are so many factors that could be at play.

It’s important to have the right data but it’s also important to know the story behind it and whom you’re sharing it with. An executive will look at the data differently from a consumer who’s trying to pick the best Airbnb place or the best place to get a haircut. When you’re telling a data story, it’s important to learn about how useful the data is and how your audience feels about it. That’s what makes a good data product. Understanding who the audience is helps you craft the level of details you should share.

We tend to think that when we present the data that people will know exactly what to do with it. Oftentimes, people try to influence others and manipulate them through the data. When you share the data and the impact it has, you have to know that everyone will interpret it differently, as Aleksandra Hadzic shared. We really want people to interpret it their own way but at the same time, you have to tell people what’s in it for them and what they need to do with it. Then, allow them to be aware of their own intuition. That’s what makes a great data product.

Humanize the data.

Is there a better way to humanize the data than with storytelling? Think of data storytelling not just in terms of the impact it has but also in terms of the process that you follow to collect the information. The process itself can be a tool to connect with your audience. If you’re researching refugees, the little stories behind the data matter. The data points that you’re collecting matter. They can be the key to great data storytelling. You should never separate the human aspect of the data from the technical part.

There’s a great story that Mark Lovett shared with me two weeks ago about the numbers. The more I hear it, the better it gets. Statistics can be mind-numbing but it doesn’t have to be that way. Brian Sokol who spoke at TEDxSanDiego on humanizing the refugee crisis analyzed the data around the refugee crisis. However, he realized that the number itself doesn’t matter if you don’t humanize it and bring it down to what it means to one person in the audience, as Mark Lovett said.

Magnify Social Impact - iSimplify Presentations

So, what do we do with all the numbers we have?

This a really cool and practical four-step guide that you can follow to humanize the data:

1. Avoid abstraction: If you’re talking about a KPI, try to find why that KPI matters and how it impacts people. Talking about a disease? Bring the number in the room. Instead of saying 15% of the world’s population will suffer from x, say that in this room of 100 people, 15 people will experience x, as John Zimmer said. Guaranteed, it will move some hair!
2. Strip it down to the morrow: When presenting, I learned that it comes down to the one thing you want people to walk away with. What do you want them to remember the most about your data story? What is the moral? People should not be hunting for that. “It’s not Easter egg hunt”, as John Zimmer said.
3. Know your audience: Speak about data in the context of your own audience. The same data can be presented in an entirely different way for a different audience. Make your data relatable and personable. To tell a good story, ask yourself this question: why should they care?
4. Know thyself: Honestly, why do you even care about the data? How did you get to the point that this is so important that you have to tell the world about it? Show people why it’s important to you, as Mark Lovett said.

A little gift of inspiration for you

I get most of my inspiration from the books I read, the people I meet, and the relationships I leave. You can improve your visual data storytelling language by observing the spaces around you and looking at how people consume different pieces of data. Try to find cool ways to bring people to the conversation and speak to them instead of speaking at them.

Some other great reads for you

• Magnify Social Impact by Heba Abusedou
• My favourite reads! by iSimplifyPresentations
• My favourite Podcasts by iSimplifyPresentations
• What Kurt Vonnegut can teach us about business stories by John Zimmer
• The best stats you’ve ever seen by Hans Rosling
• Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller

I hope I inspired you to learn more about humanizing the data. If you like this story, share it with others. Follow my Website, Twitter, and Instagram for more stories.