Learn Data Storytelling by Putting a Face to Inflation Numbers

Translating abstract data into everyday language is a skill that can be used by entrepreneurs and leaders in a wide range of fields. Communication of data is a key component of the graduate-level executive classes I teach at Harvard.

According to Hal Varian, the ability to take data, to understand it and communicate it, will be a hugely important skill in the next decades.

It's important to focus on one tactic at a time since the topic of data storytelling can fill a book. Stories involve people and we are wired for that.

The recent U.S. inflation report is an example of personalization. The government reported that inflation increased in March. Percentages are hard to wrap our minds around. Business writers and reporters put a face to the numbers.

When television reporters asked ordinary people on the street how they felt about inflation hitting a 40-year high, nobody said they were frustrated with the percentage increase. They spoke in terms of what it means to them.

A reporter for a local television station in the San Francisco Bay Area caught up with a resident who was loading groceries into his car. He said it was an extra dollar per gallon that he was paying to get into the city to work. My eggs cost a dollar more. Everything is going up at least a dollar, which adds up.

When The New York Times asked more than 2,000 people what inflation meant to them, they complained about the rising price of gas, milk, meat, and beef.

Some of their comments were included.

• "Gas. It's painful at the pump."
• "I never thought I would ever see eggs at $5 a dozen."
• "Bacon is as expensive as filet mignon used to be."

People don't think about numbers as much as they think about themselves. Taking abstract statistics and tailoring them to your audience is the secret to grabbing attention with data.

You can use numbers to support your idea, but you need to answer the question that your audience is asking themselves: What does it mean to me?

• Your investors don't care that your startup is growing by 12 percent a year. They care about making a profit. If you explain how your growth rate will make them money, you'll win them over.
• Your customers don't care that you're adding 12 new features a quarter to your software. But if you explain how those features will make their lives easier or more productive, you'll win them over.
• Your boss doesn't care that the new database runs 6.8 percent faster than the old one. Demonstrate how its speed will save or make the company money, and you'll win over your boss. 

If you explain data in concrete and personal terms, your audience will pay attention.