From the course: Data Visualization: A Lesson and Listen Series

Lesson: Evolution of data storytelling

From the course: Data Visualization: A Lesson and Listen Series

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Lesson: Evolution of data storytelling

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(lively upbeat music) - Where has data storytelling been and where is it going? This is a long conversation, especially when you factor in AI. AI will change everything as we're constantly being told in the media, and for once I'd say this isn't overblown, AI will change everything. I do think it'll initially make data storytelling and all associated tasks easier and faster. But I have a hard time seeing AI eliminating humans from data storytelling because only a human can know which information is really needed given the context and the situation. But I also don't want to underestimate the power of AI and couldn't possibly predict what it looks like 10 years down the road. So let's focus in on an easier question. How did we get to where we are with data storytelling and where is it headed? The short answer to me is that data storytelling is nothing new. Since the dawn of time, humans have been telling stories with data. My favorite example is that ancient man went out on the hunt and they got the buffalo. They came back to the village and told a data story. The story included how many miles they ran, how many buffalo they saw, how many arrows they carried, how many arrows they used, et cetera. They explained the hunt in terms of data. It wasn't just data, of course, there was also the drama of the hunt and the stories of the characters involved. That story, which included data is how people learned how to hunt. We could learn from the data how many miles we might expect to have to run and how many arrows we should probably carry with us. Now, we remembered this information because of the dramatic story of the character who was down to his last arrow and managed to get the buffalo in some dramatic fashion at the last possible moment before some tragic alternate outcome could occur. That form of data storytelling has probably existed since language existed. So the evolution of data storytelling, you could say, isn't such a dramatic evolution after all. Humans have shared data since forever, and while the methods and techniques have evolved, in the end, data isn't that special. And I think this is the most important lesson in data storytelling. Data storytelling is just storytelling. Data is the key ingredient, sure, but you almost need to forget about the data when telling data stories, if only for a moment, to allow yourself to focus on the story, to not get hung up on the data. So in a way, where we're going is really more of the same. As people have more and more and more data and more sophisticated tools to communicate that data to audiences, the most important thing is to remember to tap into our humanity. Go deep into your evolutionary experience and you'll figure out how to communicate it. Just remember, you know how to communicate about puppies and your favorite foods and your trip to Paris last April, treat data like that and you'll know how to share it with others. So in a way, there's nothing new under the sun. That being said, in my conversation coming up next, Kat Greenbrook will share her thoughts about the evolution of data storytelling, zooming in a bit on data visualization and business communications more broadly where data storytelling fits in and where all of this is headed in the future. Join me for this great conversation.

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