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  • Training
    • Data Storytelling Training Overview
    • Introductory Courses >
      • Introduction to Data Storytelling
      • Introduction to Data Visualisation
    • Enablement Courses >
      • Write Better Stories
      • Design better charts
      • Present with confidence
  • Consultancy
  • Why Us
  • Blog
  • Short Stories
  • Contact

Data Storytelling:
Write better stories


"No one ever made a decision based on a number. They need a story"
-Daniel Kahneman

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What is the course.

For those of us in data centric roles, we find ourselves increasingly surrounded by spreadsheets, numbers, models and algorithms. And for most of us, we love it. It’s exciting.

But for a lot of our audience, that love and excitement might not exist. Lots of people can find data daunting, unfriendly and abstract and we need to be respectful of that.

But how does this play out in reality?

When a data lover comes to talk about data, what we often find is that their talks can be:
  • Overly complex, 
  • Long,
  • And lacking in focus.

“I’ve got so much to say so you sit there and listen to it all”.

This is a problem because:
  • In general, our brains don’t like numbers, so can struggle to connect.
  • Long and hard to follow talks or documents can quickly lead to disengagement.

Disengagement then leads to apathy, indecision and disinterest, which in turn leads to missed opportunities.

I have sat through (and to be fair have delivered) presentations that might contain 40-50 slides of charts that leave people bored and reaching for their phones.

So we have to find a way to do things differently. Step in Data Storytelling.

In my course I teach that to be good at data storytelling you need to do three key things:
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  1. You need to storyboard, to create focus and structure in your presentation. A talk that has focus and structure is easier to follow and helps audience engagement. It also helps challenge our urges to show everything we know and instead focus on what does our audience need to know.
  2. You need to focus on elevating your content to create engagement. Elevation comes from creating exciting, memorable, tension rich experiences that engage your audience and make them sit up and take notice.
  3. You need an ending that is action orientated and helps audiences make decisions and makes change happen.

Our data storytelling course focusses on taking a different approach to writing presentations and gets you to a place where you can be confident in telling data stories that stand out and make a difference.

Why do it.

If you're often left frustrated with an audience that has failed to connect with your presentation, or if you simply need help in writing stories that better reflect the investment you have put into your data science project then this course is for you.

Our course is designed to help roles like a data scientist become more confident in delivering effective data stories, but it also works for those roles where data plays a smaller part, but the importance of communicating data effectively is still high.

The course contains models, examples and best practice to help you become a better data storyteller.

The training is interactive and full of discussions, with plenty of examples from TV, Film and Advertising to help validate the theory and bring the training to life.

Participants of the training will end up feeling inspired by how easy and effective a lot of these techniques are to employ ‘back at their desks’ and you will be able to start to reap the benefits straight away.

What it includes.

1. STORYBOARD

What is Data Storytelling and what makes a great story.
Why you should storyboard before writing your presentation.
Specific models that will help you create these storyboards.

2. ELEVATE

The importance of simplicity and making things memorable.
How to introduce tension.
​How to make numbers 'human'.

3. NUDGE

How to end your presentation.
Learnings from Behavioural Economics to increase chances of action.
Self-reflection.

Learning Outcomes.

At the end of the course, participants should be able to:
  • Explain what makes a great data story and why it is important.
  • Write effective storyboards that set the framework for a focussed and structured story.
  • Create memorable story experiences that elevate audience engagement.
  • Apply key elements of behavioural economics theory to nudge your stakeholders to action.

Course Duration.

1 Day

Trainer.

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Ross Durston
To find out more about Ross and his background, click here.

Typical Cost.

Individual Delegate for Public Online, Zoom Based Course: £400 + VAT
Individual Delegate for Public Face to Face Course at Professional Training Venue: £500 + VAT

Team of up to 12 people, Zoom Based Course: £2,500 + VAT
Team of up to 12 people, Face to Face Course at your Office: £3,000 + VAT
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If you'd like to discuss booking the course for a team, or to attend as an individual delegate, please get in contact.

Next Public Training Course.

No current dates but please enquire if you are interested.
Click here to get in contact / book
Download Course Brochure
A Data Centric Corporate Training Company, focussed on Data Storytelling and Data Visualisation Best Practice.