Data Storytelling: 5 Steps for Captivating Audiences with Technical Presentations
Note — this is the third part of a series on bringing data to life and driving outcomes. You can read more about High-Quality Success Metrics in Part I and Goal Setting in Part II.
One of the best parts of being in analytics is the joy of discovery. Every so often, you uncover an insight that no one has come across. Maybe you acted upon a new hypothesis, or you took an innovative approach to an existing problem. However, this feeling can evaporate if your amazing findings are not effectively communicated. At Klaviyo, we are obsessed with actionable insights; note the word “actionable” precedes “insights”, which again highlights the importance of the delivery opposed to solely the analysis.
The term we use to describe this is data storytelling. It is often an overlooked skill, and there is a wide variance between experts who have honed their abilities and beginners who have neglected it. For those looking to improve, the good news is that I’ve seen countless examples of rapid growth from those who dedicate themselves to becoming better data storytellers. In particular, I’ve found five useful tips that you can incorporate TODAY.
A quick note before we dive in. There are many forms by which data can be shared: verbally (with or without slides), written docs, Jupyter notebooks, spreadsheets, etc. The five steps below focus on live presentations with a visual aid (often slides), but the major takeaways should still be applicable for other formats.
With that, let’s go!
1. Know the Room
Before even opening your visualization tool of choice, consider who will be in the audience. Will it primarily be technical peers? Will it be cross-functional and a mix of technical and non-technical attendees? Will it be a group that is mostly focused on outcomes and less interested in methodology? Your answers to these questions will dictate where you spend the bulk of your presentation time, as well as how much you will need to explain some of the more advanced concepts. It will also guide you about what to include in your main section and what to include in an Appendix (just in case).
Just as important as knowing the audience is knowing the purpose of your presentation. Are you hoping for a decision at the end of the meeting (or soon after), or are you simply providing an overview of an interesting finding and initiating a brainstorm? Related: how long is the meeting? Does this include time for Q&A (either throughout or at the end)?
While many of these questions seem obvious, too many presentations fail to consider them, resulting in a mismatch between the presenter and the expectations of the attendees. A consequence of this lack of alignment? Audience members slowly taking out their phones to check email or Slack (i.e. a white flag of surrender by their attention span). Prevent this avoidable catastrophe by knowing the room!
2. Craft your Narrative
I firmly believe our most accomplished data storytellers will have impact on the order of prior generations’ screenwriters, musicians, and artists. Similar to the finest of these professions, it is critical to have a story arc that your audience can follow. Start with your key takeaways and work backwards to build your narrative.
I typically organize in a basic structure that might cause you to have flashbacks to high school essays: an introduction, main body, and conclusion. Your intro should set the stage for what’s the come. You may choose to phrase this as Purpose or Problem Statement. The main body in the middle contains your methodologies and major findings, building momentum slide-by-slide. Lastly, your conclusion should effectively summarize the major takeaways (and demonstrate why the insight is actionable).
Two additional techniques that might be useful:
- Leading with a Summary: often useful for an outcome-focused audience (i.e. senior execs), sharing your findings right from the beginning provides an early preview that you can reinforce through the rest of the presentation.
- Closing with Next Steps: a staple of our Weekly Growth meetings at Uber, ending with Next Steps ensures an orientation towards action. This is most effective when you or your team will be the ones owning future work.
3. Strive for Simplicity
Knowing the Room and Crafting your Narrative provide a solid foundation. It’s time to layer on a few more concepts that will take your data storytelling to the next level. Let’s start with the benefits of keeping things simple. Too many presentations go awry because the slides were overly complicated and challenging to follow. Make it easy for your audience by aiming for one takeaway per slide and be sure to reinforce that takeaway with your words.
The only complexity should be the problem you are solving, not the way that you are communicating it.
Visually, stick to a relatively consistent style; don’t make your audience repeatedly guess what type of slide is coming next (I’ve included below one reliable option that has worked for me). Leverage charts and images, as they can be powerful visual aids to drive home your message, but ensure they are easy-to-follow and don’t require a magnifying glass for small fonts. Avoid the dreaded word wall. If you have so much text on a slide that it prompts you to begin a new paragraph, it might be a sign that a document is a better medium than slides (a possible exception is if you are using slides for content meant to be consumed asynchronously). For slides that build, use animation (ideally a simple “Fade In”). In general, your slides should amplify your message, but don’t feel like every word needs to be included. It’s perfectly fine to speak to concepts in more depth than summary phrases on slides. Trust me, your audience will thank you.
4. Break it Up
Now we are getting to the steps that require a higher degree of difficulty to pull off. I mentioned being relatively consistent in the last section. An extreme form of consistency is monotone, and nobody wants to sound like Ben Stein in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. Beyond changing things up every few slides, the best way to break it up is to be interactive. Getting the audience involved will snap folks back to reality. This could take the form of a dedicated Q&A section, or you can encourage interaction by selectively pausing along the way and soliciting questions. I’ve also seen success by posing an open-ended question on a slide either to get a discussion going or to prompt a few suggestions from the audience before getting the desired answer and moving on. Just don’t answer the question yourself like Professor Stein!
If you are presenting about a serious topic or explaining a dire trend, I wouldn’t go much further than the above tactics. For more neutral or optimistic meetings, try out these other ways of breaking things up:
- Inject Humor: this is often my tactic of choice, even though I’m not naturally funny (or so I’m told…). I try to find a couple places in my presentations to use humor. Sometimes, they land perfectly in the flow and I get some laughs; other times, they flop but I keep the dialogue moving. Whether the audience is laughing with you or semi-groaning at you, it certainly keeps them engaged! This is easier to execute in-person as opposed to over Zoom.
- Movement: this one really depends on the type of meeting. If the setup does allow you to move around a bit, heading to the other side of the room from time-to-time will often bring you back into focus. For large audiences, this can be essential. Again, better in a physical setting as opposed to Zoom, and you don’t want to overdo it and distract.
Here’s one example where I combined all our different ways of breaking things up. At Uber’s monthly new hire training, I led a session focused on one of our cultural values. To keep 100+ folks engaged early in the morning, I told the story of Uber’s global presence by 1) having folks stand up as I discussed their region, 2) using open-ended prompts to solicit answers from the audience, and 3) physically running over to those who raised their hands and offering them my mic to answer. While I may have looked silly (and my jokes about increasing my Fitbit step count didn’t always land), I am confident that everyone remembered my session and the key takeaways!
(Bonus points if you can spot the ways that I’ve broken things up in this very blog post…)
5. Bring the Passion
You have been given the gift of an audience who is interested in a topic that matters to you. Show them how much you care about it! Attendees often mirror the tone of a presenter, so if you bring infectious enthusiasm, your energy will show up in the audience as well. I’m not suggesting that you put on a false persona; instead, channel the excitement that you demonstrate when talking about the things you are most passionate about. Maybe it’s cooking, a favorite TV series, or the Red Sox. Said differently: if the topic you are presenting doesn’t seem exciting to you, why should it be exciting for the audience? Bring the passion!
It’s also important that you know your material. Especially in data roles, it takes time to build up credibility for high-quality analytical work, and you want that reputation to endure. Be an expert about your methods and metrics. Anticipate the questions that folks might ask and know how you plan to respond (or have an Appendix slide ready). If you honestly don’t know the answer to a question, be transparent about not knowing, but also commit to digging in and reporting back (if it’s important), and then actually follow up with the answer.
A final note on closing. Too often, folks end abruptly without a final transition. Your audience is expecting a conclusion, but they are left with a book missing its final page. Don’t do this! I have a simple two-part approach. Begin with a straightforward “That’s all I got” or “That’s all from me”, which are both great ways to signify that you are wrapping up. Then, if a Q&A will follow, lead into that with “…let’s get into questions.” If you will be followed by another presenter, make a direct handoff: “…now I’ll pass it to Julie.” If it’s truly the end, close with a simple “…thanks!” This style of closing has the added benefit of letting your audience know that it’s time to applaud (if applicable) and show you their appreciation of a great presentation!
You made it! Let’s review the five steps for data storytelling success one more time:
Know the Room
Craft your Narrative
Strive for Simplicity
Break it Up
Bring the Passion
By incorporating these guidelines, I’m confident that you will be a better data storyteller. I also want to emphasize that expertise here is definitely a journey and requires repetition. Personally, I’m constantly learning and trying to improve, even after thousands of presentations to all manners of audience types. There is always another level, and I’m always seeking that next milestone.
That’s all I got, now back to you to put these tips to action and unlock this skill!
