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Malcolm Gladwell: why oral data’s different

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Why would you present data orally instead of in print? You might think that if all you have is data, why bother with the sweaty palms? Just post the paper online and let people read it!

Not if you want to test your conclusions. Oral and written renditions have different effects, and elicit different responses.

Malcolm Gladwell told how he realized this on an always interesting podcast, the Ezra Klein Show.

Here’s Gladwell’s explanation almost verbatim, starting at 57:25.

My father taught math and would be constantly going off to conferences. I was always very skeptical.

I thought, What possible value is there for him to go and present a paper when they could just send someone the paper?

… Read the rest “Malcolm Gladwell: why oral data’s different”

The six genres of data stories

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This appeared originally on the TDWI site in September behind a paywall. It’s still there, but today they’ve had the 90 days of exclusive use that I agreed to.

Survey after survey reveals that about 80 percent of business users don’t use data analysis—despite all the marketing and “easy to use” tools.

As if in response to this sad showing, renowned author and academic Tom Davenport proclaimed that data scientists should know “data storytelling.” He’s right. Storytelling has transmitted knowledge and motivated action in every medium we’ve ever known. Stories around a fire, stone tablets, Gutenberg’s books, news, and e-books have all made use of stories.… Read the rest “The six genres of data stories”

Five Tips for Better Data Stories

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Originally published on September 22, 2015 in BI This Week, a TDWI publication.

A “data story” sounds like such a great idea. You just mix data with storytelling and you’re done — except that most data storytellers get one thing wrong: they drown out the story with data.

Such storytellers, I believe, assume that audiences enjoy data as much as they themselves do. For them, data ranks with love, food, and air. They throw visualization upon visualization at audiences because in the belief that data is the new language of business.

The trouble is that many of us in business — roughly 80 percent of business people, according to business intelligence industry studies — don’t embrace data with such warmth.… Read the rest “Five Tips for Better Data Stories”