Balance Specificity with Content

Data storytelling is using specific data to communicate specific insights and patterns. This lesson will explore how data storytellers make decisions around balancing specificity with content that shows the broader context of trends.

Introducing specificity into narratives

In the context of data storytelling, specificity implies imparting a narrative that has specific elements/delineations/segments that appeal to or target the audience. Data storytellers often employ specificity to hone their messaging by defining their problem statement, their visualizations, and the duration of their presentation with specific objectives and use cases in mind.

A popular technique for incorporating specificity is drawing on the personal experiences of individuals participating in a dataset (e.g., through the creation of personas). This exercise allows a data storyteller narrow down their focus to a specific group of individuals and identify how they are impacted by a particular trend/change/opportunity.

However, narrowing it down into a specific data segment can be problematic. If a story focuses on how outcomes impact specific groups, the narrative may no longer accurately represent the bigger picture.

Brief example

For example, let's consider narrowing our analysis to understand the distribution of tips provided by women, using the Tips dataset.