Storytelling Techniques in Data Visualization
The first technique is leveraging a typical type of a hero and his enemy because all stories have a hero. However, the hero would not be significant without a villain. For instance, in business, your brand is the hero and the villain becomes any competitor that the brand can beat. Therefore, a hero and a villain do not have to be in form of a person because even system that can be either. Therefore, when presenting data, one has to define a hero and its enemy in a way that an audience can easily recognize and relate with them and take sides.
The second technique is ensuring you find your hook by finding other elements of a story besides characters. For instance, very story should have an element of conflict. For instance, during the growth process, brands reach a level of development where nothing improves and the presenter can use to define the theme of the story. An example is portrayed in “The Scarecrow” where the hero was not satisfied with what he was doing and needed a job; however, there was something else bothering him. He got an idea of opening a stall when he saw how fresh the produce of his vegetable garden was. Therefore, conflict in brand marketing can be financial constraints for research and development. The technique helps the audience understand the failures and how the presenter got to overcome them.
The third technique is creating compelling visuals because stories are not just words. Humans are naturally visual creatures; therefore, including images and videos will make the story more compelling and memorable to the audience. For instance, the presenter can start a story with an attractive image to capture the audience’s visual imagination. Additionally, compelling visuals can convey meaning without accompanying them with words. An example is where Chipotle uses a certain pace of the video and soundtrack to appeal to emotions.
Reference
Kirk, A. (2019). Data Visualization: A Handbook for Data-Driven Design. 2nd Ed. Thousand
Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Ltd.