DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story Paperback – September 17, 2019

Most of us create charts and graphs all the time but this book really explains why having clear charts is so important, especially when it comes to being able to communicate clearly. I can't tell you how many times I've sat in meetings and found myself trying to understand the chart titles more than paying attention to the information conveyed in it! Book is written in a fun, relatable style and connects nicely to Nancy's other books, with relevance to the other core concepts she's written about in the past. Having worked with many a scientist and engineer this is a must read if you work with data or any discipline!

The content is well written and really helpful. I used one of the concepts for a presentation recently that turned out very successful.

Having read a few other Duarte books (see my reviews of “Persuasive Business Presentations” and “Illuminate”) and preparing for an upcoming data related presentation, I wanted to get some tips in this regard. In her typical fashion, the author does provide some useful frameworks and suggestions, however, the book seems to be a very quick read which has its own benefits and limitations. As one might put it, Duarte wades into vast data forest, deals with many info overload brambles and thorny decision issues, and emerges with a tale and key lessons to help others of us who are facing similar journeys and challenges.More specifically, the book consists of an Introduction, 4 Major Sections with 11 Chapters: I. Communicate Data to Others: (1) Becoming a Communicator of Data, and (2) Communicating Data to Decision-makers; II. Bring Clarity Through Story Structure: (3) Crafting a Data Point of View, (4) Creating Action through Analytical Structure, (5) Structuring an Executive Summary as a DataStory; III. Make Clear Charts and Slides: (6) Choosing Charts and Writing Observations, (7) Annotating Insights onto Charts, and (8) Building a Skimmable Slidedoc; then IV. Make Data Stick: (9) Marveling at the Magnitude, (10) Humanizing Data, and (11) Storytelling with Data. At the end there is a Summary.My favorite aspect of the books is its overall message and its three-part framework. As Duarte states early on that “By transforming your data into vivid scenes and structuring your delivery in the shape of a story, you will make your audience care about what your data says.” She goes on to indicate that “A significant skill threshold stands between exploring, explaining, and inspiring with data.” To address these skill needs she suggests a “DataStory structure . . . [that] follows the three-act structure . . . [a] first act . . . [with the] problem to solve or an opportunity to pursue . . . [a] second act . . . [with the] conflict and complication . . . measurable symptoms . . . messy statistic that needs to change . . . [and a] third act [that] describes how the story would end if people took action to change it.”To my edification, the three areas seem to correspond with the branches of classical learning such described in Sr. Miriam Joseph’s “The Trivium” (see my review). I took heart from the way Duarte seems to be advocating such an integrated approach.On the one hand, there are the many nuggets of sage advice and practical tips along the way. For instance, she counsels “Due to the subjective nature of assumptions, it’s crucial to be transparent about all of those you’ve made.” She also indicates “Addressing potential counterarguments may be the most persuasive part of your recommendation.” Pointers such use of observation statements/headlines to frame charts, examples of particular layouts or arrangements of information to consider, as well as delivery hints like revealing one aspect of a bar chart at a time are helpful. I also was pleased to see her allusion to Vonnegut and the Guttenberg Project related to storylines (see my reviews of Archer & Jockers “Best Seller Code”)On the other hand, the book itself seems to read like the “pyramid structure” with one slide per thought that Duarte describes and it is over before you know it. It seems that it would have been useful to have more detail in a number of respects. For instance, there could been further reference to business intelligence tools and their use (see my review of Davenport’s “Keeping Up with the Quants”) as well as more attention to presentation difficulties such as dealing with data method questioners and so on. Also, the Kindle version suffers without the use of color and the charts and tables are small and difficult to read.Despite these challenges and the shortcoming of the book/e-book format, Duarte has provide another useful guide.

All we hear about is DATA, DATA, DATA anymore and how there's so much POWER IN DATA. Big data! Valuable data! Organized data!But what does any of that matter... unless something's being done with the data. Unless someone (you, maybe?!) takes the data and makes a recommendation based off of that data.This book takes the guesswork out of crafting recommendations. It gives you step by step instructions to help you move from just exploring data... to explaining it in such a way that moves someone to action.Sound risky? Sure... it could be... but the fact is:Unless you're willing to move from EXPLORER OF DATA to RECOMMENDER BASED OFF OF DATA, you'll never advance in your career. Seriously. You'll just be seen as a an analyst.You don't want to settle for analyst, do you?You want to be something more.This book is a solid, challenging, but entertaining read. If you've liked (or loved, as millions have) Nancy Duarte's past books, you'll get a huge kick out of this one, too.

This book was an easy read, and I really appreciated how simple the thoughts were organized. I would recommend this to anyone presenting data, especially to help you organize the presentation and make it come alive so that the audience responds.

Nancy Duarte is a guru in the data storytelling field! Read this book before drafting your PowerPoint to tell your next data story. It will save you a ton of time and keep you grounded and focused as you powerfully share your big idea in order to inspire others. It's also such a pleasure read since it's so beautifully designed and illustrated.In the data visualization field classroom, our goal is to teach students to tell a clear story quickly and clearly and to make it memorable. This book is the recipe (or secret sauce) for making this happen!

One of my mantras, as a leadership and presentation coach -- as well as in my role as an NYU and Columbia leadership professor -- is that numbers, in and of themselves, are completely meaningless. What really matters is: the story that those numbers tell. Too many business people -- especially those in data-driven fields -- tend to drown and to bore their audiences with numbers without providing context...and without effectively targeting their story to their audience. But Nancy Duarte, in her wonderful and indispensable new book, demonstrates why -- and how -- we can all do a more effective job of presenting our data, and inspiring people, by leveraging the power of story. DataStory will join Duarte's other amazing, bestselling books -- especially Slide:ology and Resonate -- not up on my bookshelf as a trophy, but on my desk, within arm's reach at all times, for ready reference.