Effective Data Storytelling: How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative and Visuals

by Brent Dykes

Master the art and science of data storytelling―with frameworks and techniques to help you craft compelling stories with data. The ability to effectively communicate with data is no longer a luxury in today’s economy; it is a necessity. Transforming data into visual communication is only one part of the picture. It is equally important to engage your audience with a narrative―to tell a story with the numbers. Effective Data Storytelling will teach you the essential skills necessary to communicate your insights through persuasive and memorable data stories. Narratives are more powerful than raw statistics, more enduring than pretty charts. When done correctly, data stories can influence decisions and drive change. Most other books focus only on data visualization while neglecting the powerful narrative and psychological aspects of telling stories with data. Author Brent Dykes shows you how to take the three central elements of data storytelling―data, narrative, and visuals―and combine them for maximum effectiveness. Taking a comprehensive look at all the elements of data storytelling, this unique book will enable you Effective Data How to Drive Change with Data, Narrative and Visuals is a must-have resource for anyone who communicates regularly with data, including business professionals, analysts, marketers, salespeople, financial managers, and educators.

Genres: Business, Nonfiction, Science

336 pages, Hardcover

Published December 17, 2019

Reviews

[Christina Stathopoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to learn more about data storytelling, THIS is the book for you. The book goes way beyond typical data visualization content and covers how to communicate your insights more effectively to others and drive change. Storytelling is one of the aspects that makes us stand out as a species & support our ability to hand down generations of history & knowledge. The author does a great job of pairing theory with real-world examples so you can understand exactly how the lessons are put into practice.

"We hear statistics, but we feel stories. A narrative offers an opportunity to engage the minds of your audience at a deeper & more encompassing level than facts ever can."

[Farhad Azadjou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing book which seperate into three sections perfectly. Data, narrative and visuals. It has a very structured and smoothed text and explane all you need for data storytelling. I enjoyed reading this book.

[Mohamad Jalalimanesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

خیلی کتاب کاملی بود و واقعا خیلی یاد گرفتم ازش. به خصوص در مورد بخش روایت‌گری (Narrative) در کار با داده‌ها محتوای خیلی خوبی داشت. فقط یه کم زیادی در مورد اهمیت داستان‌پردازی با داده‌ها صحبت میکنه که میشه اون قسمت‌ها رو سریعتر خوند.

[Robin Groen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book and an invaluable addition to anyone pursuing a career that centers around the communication of data!

[Maurilo Borges · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I ever read related to how to make data tell its story and get to the audience. Worth rereading it.

[✧ moira ✧ · Rating 3 out of 5]

uni stuff

[Karisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible book, very insightful, and actionable. It had plenty of examples and descriptions (sometimes a bit much), and I definitely took away a good bit of information. I read it a bit slow because of the density of the information but it was a "worth it" read.

[Jenn "JR" · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked up this book at the recommendation of a business school instructor - and I really enjoyed it. The author's book is structured really well -- great examples and illustrations. Not only does he cover the history of data presentation, but he also dives into an overview of Gestalt principles guiding visual depiction of data, and some meaningful/abstracted business cases (especially the pricing strategy visualization in the last chapter). Highly recommend this book!

[Tom Tao · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favourite book in 2020 so far.

[Esteban · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some interesting insights, but you've to cut through way too much BS.

[Niena Aniesza]

Data and statistics may seem boring and difficult to understand, but this book presents various fun methods to make data understandable and engaging.

[Nhi Nguyen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve always mentioned “data storytelling” in my CV and cover letters when applying for jobs—without truly understanding what it actually meant. I didn’t even know what makes an insight good or worth recommending. Looking back, what I used to do was simply dump all the findings from my data exploration, create every possible chart I could, and then naively call it “meaningful insights” or say that “data storytelling is in my blood.”

This book was a wake-up call. It showed me what real data storytelling is—and it’s worlds apart from what I had been doing. I realized I knew almost nothing about delivering insights that actually matter. Data storytelling is more than exploring data. It’s more than generating charts and presenting them all as “the result.”

It’s about deeply considering your audience—understanding who they are, what they need to see, and how to guide them toward the right interpretation. It’s about helping them see the story in the data as you intend, and turning findings into actionable insights. It’s about the long explanatory phase that comes after exploration.

The “story” in data storytelling is not just a fancy metaphor—it’s real. Just like a writer crafts a narrative or a director shapes a film, a data storyteller builds a plotline, a storyboard, a flow. You choose visuals that reveal insights clearly, without noise or confusion. You give the data a voice and purpose.

There are hundreds of things to do before you can honestly call something “data storytelling”—and before this book, I didn’t know any of them.

That said, there are parts I found unnecessarily long, and some examples didn’t feel very relevant. I wish there were more practical use cases—especially ones that show a bad example and then how to improve it. But overall, it’s still a good book that taught me a lot and completely shifted the way I think about presenting data.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title and subtitle really says it all. A very useful and practical guide to effective storytelling with data. It lays out why effective change happens by bringing data, narrative and visuals together to engage and audience and convince them to change. While the focus is on data, much of the information can be easily applied to a host of communication task. Most of the chapters do not get to deep into the weeds of data and charts/visualizations. But the middle chapters might be challenging if you do not have experience working with charts and data on a regular basis. This seems like a book that would be handy to have for reference when needed as you seek to put the insights and practices to work. I am not really a data person nor do I give presentations very often. But I found it fascinating and very useful. I can say without hesitation that if more presenters read and put the strategies outlined in this book, presentations would not only be more interesting but more effective and likely to lead to change.

[~ Dra · Rating 5 out of 5]

To be honest, I have no words for this book other than "AMAZING."

In my opinion, the author was really great at delivering the idea of data storytelling. At first, he introduced us to the importance of data storytelling through its history. From there, he highlighted how data storytelling can influence many things and how important it is for a data literate person to be a good data storyteller in order to convey insights from the data.

Then, he explained in detail how to be a data storyteller, including what we should include and improve in our visualizations. Last but not least, he shared his own project in data storytelling when discussing US education. This is actually one of my favorite parts because I was able to see how the topics explained by the author were applied in a real project. Then, he reminded us that as data storytellers, we are change agents and at the same time need to uphold integrity.

Aspiring data storytellers should read this book!

[Willis · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who does a lot of work with data, this is a powerful, practical book full of advice. If you geek out on data, you especially need to read this book. It is very well written and easy to follow. Dykes corrects a lot of myths around storytelling, teaching concepts such as data storytelling is not just about data visualization. If you want to read more details you can read my full length review on my blog or medium page.

https://cocreativelythinking.com/why-...

https://medium.com/@cocreativelythink...

[Adam Morrissey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book should be a must-read for executives and those that want to achieve high results. It is hard to be presented data and lack the data literacy to discover insight or critique the material. Likewise, this book helped me become a better data analyst and consultant. Brent writes and structures the book in a way that is less textbook theme and more everyday English nomenclature.

Invest your time in reading this book! You'll want to reference it or read it again!

[Sam T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting - great visuals. Seems a little redundant at the end but maybe those extra examples will be what makes me remember the principles. Changing the perspective of the process surrounding data storytelling - particularly the difference between exploratory and explanatory phases were “epiphany” moments more me and how much better my reporting can be.

[Umar Ashfaq · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storytelling goes as old as humanity itself, but the immense volume of data we have today is redefining this discipline. This book provides meaningful insights on how you can enhance your own storytelling skills with data. The fact that the book itself is so well written is an evidence of author’s insights that he shares in the book.

[Rebecca Macnamee · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first part of this book was interesting - it didn't introduce any new/innovative concepts, but the use of the images was helpful and it did present the information in a very organized way (like a textbook, but not written dryly).

I particularly liked the chapter on Narrative, as I felt that put a new angle on that concept than I've seen other places.

[Camille · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect level of detail and practicality (for me at least)! I highly recommend it to anyone with an interest in telling data stories and anyone who wants to go beyond data visualization concepts. There are plenty of examples and detailed explanations to make it easy to implement the framework and suggested approaches.

[Ale Mora · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! The narrative is engaging and easygoing. The examples and tips are straightforward and super helpful. The author is not redundant, and he covers almost every scenario. I had a great time reading this book, and I wish I had it a while ago when I started as a data analyst professional.

[TimurN · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book appeared as very detailed and informative guide about data storytelling. Now I have clear view of different strategies how to express data stories in presentations. Many illustrations and diagrams convey information easily.

[Kristian Blom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

This book is great excelent as it is engaging, relatable and relevant!

Brent Dykes is great at storytelling and that made me read every chapter with interest!

Thanks for a great read!

[Daiyuk Lam · Rating 5 out of 5]

我看的是中文版《資料故事時代》， 我個人很喜歡這本書， 作者Brent Dykes 深入淺出解釋，更有很多例子說明了故事性演釋資料的重要，當中有些故事是令我有所動容， 為故事中的勸間者不忿及可惜， 說明了把資料有效說出來，是真能感動人。 作為設計師，書中也有建議設計圖象資料的Do & Don’t , 教導如何跟隨人的視覺感知引導觀眾看你想表達的，如何減少視覺垃圾讓觀眾能專注重點，相信我能應用在未來工作。 多謝作者的用心，真正做到以資料說故事，也感謝洪惠芳的翻譯，推介 ～

[Joe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Solid review of the fundamentals; inspiring examples & processes to try out. Less noise, more signal.

[Sireesha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely enthralling!

[Glenn Victor · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you do any kind of data analysis this book is a must read and a keeper to have around.

[☘Misericordia☘ ⚡ϟ⚡⛈⚡☁ ❇️❤❣ · Rating 5 out of 5]

While I do despise storytelling, this one's good.

[Janet Cobb · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little weighty - but some great insights.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good tips but waffly - about 10th of the book was useful. Also all the quotes drove me absolutely nuts.