Data story
Wow! Data story!
C’mon, can you really create a story out of data? The boring, mind-numbing, repetitive, death-by-PowerPoint data. How many times have we sat through such presentations, only to come out fed up and thankful for the escape.
Well, I have tried my best to reduce data into significant, meaningful bites and have spread them out over slides, so they can strike the audience in a pattern which aids in absorption of figures. Simple?
Actually hard! Figures are vital to many a situation and they do provide a whole lot of inputs in a short span of time. They are solid and powerful. The problem is, they are very difficult to follow and absorb during a presentation.
Now I have seen very few people, able to master this art of data delivery. One of them whom I admire is a person, who tells an animated visual story with data. Striking?
Oh! yeah – this person is a master at this art – because he enjoys telling the world, the truth and is so passionate to make people understand the reality.
He is none other than Hans Rosling.
hans rosling TED
I consider him one of my mentors when it comes to presenting data.
Well, I can go on, talking about him and his style – but I would rather welcome you to see and discover for yourself the unique method of presenting data.
Now, that you have enjoyed this presentation, let’s try to glean out some learning.
- Style: This is the un-transferable part of any presentation training. You need to develop a style that is unique to you. Hans uses the style, which kind of resembles that of a sportscaster. He actually breaks quite a few presentation NO-NOs – Don’t put your hand in your pocket; Don’t turn your back to the audience; Don’t stand in the path of the projector light. But with all these, Hans shines through. One reason is his confident style, combined with the passion to narrate a story.
- Story: Well, you must have guessed by now, that data can only be made sensible and relevant when it is in the form of a story! Hans does exactly that. He weaves the impressive data in to a world-story and enjoys sharing that story with the world. He is excited, animated and overall – has planned this story-format. A real storytelling of data.
- Interaction: We all know we need to interact with the audience. But interaction is broader – it also requires us to interact with our presentation tools. Hans does that beautifully – He becomes a part of the tool – His hands, his body, his silhouette all interact with the visual presentation. Here we see the tool and presenter becoming one. A marvel indeed!
So that’s all for today! The next time you have the daunting task of presenting data – remember to weave a meaningful and relevant data story and then simply enjoy the flow in your own style.
A wonderful presentation. Will help in setting the prioritize right for human world.