That was the overarching theme of my Lightning Talk at the DATAcated Expo, which was held virtually in October 2021.

You’re not going to keep the ugly, outdated defaults. Great!

But what should you do instead?

And how do you modify a graph so that it’s just right for your audience?

Surely a group of scientists will need something different from a group of policymakers.

Some audiences adore data. Others don’t.

Some audiences have plenty of time. Others don’t.

In this blog post, you’ll learn about:

• the differences between default, traditional, and storytelling graphs;
• which techniques can help you tell a story with data (e.g., dark colors); and
• when to use each type of graph.

Watch the DATAcated Expo Lighting Talk

Missed the live event?

Watch the Lightning Talk here.

This is a 17-minute video. If you’re short on time, just watch a 10-minute segment — minutes 2 through 12 of the video.

Here’s a summary of what’s inside.

Defining the Term “Data Storytelling”

This is a tricky term with lots of definitions.

Some people love this term.

Others hate it.

In the recording, you’ll see me ask the attendees to share what “data storytelling” means to them.

You might define data storytelling as:

• “What does data really mean, and what do you want it to tell.” — an Expo attendee
• “Translating data for non-data centric users.” — an Expo attendee

And data storytelling is NOT:

• Fiction
• Making things up
• Biasing our audience
• Fudging the numbers

Data Storytelling in a Bar Chart

In the Lightning Talk, I showed attendees three versions of the same graph: default, traditional, and storytelling.

We’ll look at each of these side by side, so that you can see how they’re similar and how they’re different.

At the end, I’ll ask you to comment and share which style you think each of your audiences need.

The Default Bar Chart

We never, ever keep the default settings.

The Traditional Bar Chart

Instead, at a bare minimum, we need to design a traditional graph.

We would:

• Enlarge the font
• Enlarge the bars (by decreasing the gap width)
• Remove the border
• Add labels (optional—if we think our audiences would want specificity)
• Adjust the scale
• Use brand colors
• Use brand fonts

It’s up to the viewers to read the chart and figure out the “so what?” for themselves.

The Storytelling Bar Chart

Sometimes, our audiences prefer storytelling graphs.

You already spent 60 seconds cleaning up the default settings.

In another 60 seconds of editing, we would:

• Sort the bars (e.g., greatest to least)
• Gray everything out
• Highlight one takeaway finding with a dark color
• Add the takeaway finding to the graph title
• Bold a few key words to make the title even more skimmable

Data Storytelling in a Slope Chart

You can apply these principles to any and all chart types.

Here’s what the three different styles look like in a slope chart.

(A slope chart is just a fancy name for a line chart that has exactly two points in time.)

The Default Slope Chart

Defaults are for 2005.

We know better.

C’mon, Excel. And Tableau. And PowerBI. And and and.

The Traditional Slope Chart

At a bare minimum, we need to:

• Enlarge the fonts
• Adjust the scale
• Remove the border
• Add brand colors
• Add brand fonts
• Remove the legend and directly label the data

(Direct labels have three key advantages: They’re faster to read; they’re better for people who are colorblind; and they print better in grayscale.)

The Storytelling Slope Chart

Take the edited graph you just made, and keep going!

In a storytelling slope chart, we would:

• Gray everything out
• Highlight one thing at a time
• Re-write the title and put the takeaway message in the title
• Bonus points: Bold a few key words to make it even more skimmable

Which finding will you highlight in a darker color?

You might highlight:

• The Success Story (Project A)
• The Debbie Downer Story (Project C)

Be careful with red; in Western cultures, red means caution! warning! But colors are culturally-specific; in Eastern cultures, red doesn’t necessarily mean anything bad.

Data Storytelling in a Scatter Plot

We didn’t have time to discuss scatter plots at the DATAcated Expo, but I’d still like to share this example with you.

Here’s how data storytelling would be applied to a scatter plot.

Never keep the default settings!!!!!!!!!!

Traditional graphs are all one color and they have topical titles.

Storytelling graphs have a dark-light contrast and takeaway titles. For bonus points, you could label a few key points.

Data Storytelling in a Map

Finally, here’s how data storytelling would be applied to a choropleth map.

Never keep the default settings!!!!!!!!!!

In traditional maps, none of the colors stand out, and they have topical titles.

In storytelling maps, we’d add an intentional dark-light contrast and takeaway title. For bonus points, you could label a few key points.

When Should You Use Data Storytelling?

Comment below: When would you use each style?

Which of your audiences prefer traditional graphs?

Which of your audiences prefer storytelling graphs?

In the video, you’ll also hear the conference attendees share their perspectives, and you’ll hear from me, too.

The post Are Viewers Expecting a Story? Lightning Talk from the DATAcated Expo appeared first on Depict Data Studio.

You read my prior post about using horizontal bar charts for nominal variables like favorite fruits.

My toddler is eating two! bananas a day so bananas are the winner in this fictional fruit contest.

Our original table is ordered alphabetically and that just won’t do.

Our viewers will either want to know about the favorite fruit (a greatest to least ordering) or they’ll want to know about the least favorite fruit (a least to greatest ordering).

How to Re-Sort Your Bar Charts in Microsoft Excel

You’ve got two options for re-sorting your bar chart.

Option A: Re-Sort the Table

Option A is to re-sort your table.

If you’re not working in spreadsheets all the time, you may not have discovered sorting and filtering features before.

Here’s how you can sort data tables in Microsoft Excel:

1. Highlight your table. You can see which rows I highlighted in the screenshot below.
2. Head to the Data tab.
3. Click the Sort icon.
4. You can sort either column. To arrange your bar chart from greatest to least, you sort the # of votes column from largest to smallest.

Well, that would be the logical approach. A largest to smallest sorting should produce a largest to smallest chart, right? Right? Right? But the chart does a somersault!

Here’s where Option A comes in. You anticipate that your chart is going to do a somersault and sort your table the opposite of what you want to appear in your chart.

Option B: Re-Sort the Bars within the Chart

Option B, my preferred method, is to leave your table alone.

I like my tables to match my charts–largest to smallest tables with largest to smallest graphs. It keeps me organized so that I don’t have to do mental somersaults every time I look at my screen.

Here’s how you can re-sort the bars within your Microsoft Excel charts:

1. Click on the category labels on the left. You’ll see a rectangular border appear around the outside of the categories.
   
2. Hold your mouse over the lettering, like the word apples.
3. Right-click and select the option on very bottom of the pop-up menu called Format Axis.
   
4. Then, on the Format Axis window, check the box for Categories in Reverse Order. That’s a jargony name with a straightforward purpose. It just re-sorts your bar chart in the opposite order of your table.

Your Turn

Comment and let me know: Which method do you prefer, and why? Do you prefer Option A, in which you anticipate that the table will do a somersault, and you sort the table upside down? Or do you prefer Option B, in which you use the Categories in Reverse Order button to sort the bar chart itself?

Bonus: Download the Spreadsheet

Want to practice sorting your table and/or sorting the bar chart? Download the spreadsheet I used in this blog post.

Download the template

The post How to Sort Your Bar Charts appeared first on Depict Data Studio.

How to Sort Data

Most folks are familiar with Excel’s Sorting feature. (And if not, you’re going to love it!) The Sort button is located within your Data tab.

Instructions:

• Highlight or select the data that you want to re-order.
• Go to the Data tab.
• Select the Sort icon.
• In the pop-up window, choose how you want to organize your data, e.g., alphabetically or from greatest to least.

Bonus! You can also create multiple layers of sorting by clicking the Add Level button within that same pop-up window. For example, you might first sort by gender and then by age.

How to Filter Data

Have you seen the Excel’s Filters option yet? It’s hiding within plain sight on the Home tab. Filters are one of my all-time favorite features of Excel because, for me, they’re even easier to use than sorting, and they save valuable time as I’m wading through so many numbers.

Instructions:

• Highlight or select the top row of data (or whichever row has your labels in it – it might be the second or third row if you’ve got any empty space at the top of your spreadsheet).
• Go to the Home tab.
• Click on the Sort & Filter button and then select Filter.
• Tiny boxes with tiny arrows will appear on each of the cells in the top row of your dataset. Congratulations, you’ve got filters!
• Click on the arrows to sort the data from smallest to largest or largest to smallest, to sort from A to Z or from Z to A. Or, use the checkboxes to filter the data. For example, you might only want to look at males, or only at females. The filtered-out data hasn’t been deleted and you can make it reappear at any time by simply re-checking the filter’s checkbox.

Bonus! Use your new filters to arrange your dataset by colors. Sometimes I use red, yellow, or green colors to indicate whether items are high, medium, or low priorities for me. I can filter my dataset so that the reds appear on top, followed by the yellows, followed by the greens.

The post How to Sort and Filter Your Data in Microsoft Excel appeared first on Depict Data Studio.