Communicating a Message
Understand how to effectively communicate a clear and relevant message in your data storytelling. Explore direct and indirect communication methods, key questions for good messaging, and practical examples using Altair charts to convey insights clearly and without bias.
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A message is what we want to transmit to our audience. A message differs from an insight, which is what we discover in the data. As previously stated, a message brings a moral or life lesson, inspires and motivates the audience, and even invites them to act in some way.
We need to keep the message as concrete as possible.
Abstract Messages vs. Concrete Messages
Abstract Message | Concrete Message | |
Main Characteristic | Vague and open to interpretation | Clear, concise |
Understandability | Difficult to understand | Easy to understand |
Example | The graph shows an increase in customer demand | Our company needs at least three developers to meet the increasing demand from customers |
It is not a data story without a message. Think, for example, of the fables of Phaedrus, a ...