Keys to hold the audience’s attention: Data Storytelling
Learn How To Be a Facebook Ads Specialist
18/11/2020
Recruitment process: the key to the ITO service success
22/02/2021Written by: Gabriela Martínez Cubero
Thousands of data are generated daily; myriads of photos, videos, audios… all seeking to reach their target audience simultaneously.
In our way to reach the audience, there are many challenges: the algorithms, the tricks to have organic positioning... yet the biggest one is to make people feel that they have to keep their eyes on us.
The current "big race" is for our attention. Even when attending a lecture or being in a face-to-face presentation, that content is competing against the tempting screen of our cell phone. That's why our message needs to be clear and really attractive from the get-go, and has to appeal to our audience emotions.
So, how do I make people see the importance of the topic I'm talking about? How do I convince them?
Here are some keys to capture the attention of our target audience:
Know who you are speaking to
To generate a genuine connection, the first thing we should think about is not the size of the “pie chart” or how many columns we should put in. It is essential to place the audience as a central focus, to consider their previous knowledge, context and culture; since their cultural conventions are inseparable from how our message will be interpreted.
Follow the order "Context-conflict-resolution"
When we don’t tell a story and just try to sell a "magic potion", there is a bigger change of rejection and less understanding from the audience.
Every story needs to have a pounding heart that makes you feel. Don’t just throw you conclusions or "answers'' too fast. We must let the audience see the facts, feel them, think about them and create their own interpretations or resolutions, following an order of context-conflict-resolution.
This will allow each person to get excited and feel they've discovered something new. And that's precisely the key. No one wants to listen to boring facts. We want emotions. Human beings by nature want to see things on their own, discover by themselves in their own personal way. When they just tell us about stuff and we’re expected to be mere spectators, it’s hard to get excited. And conversely, when there is emotion, there is learning and action!
Simple and easy to understand graphics
The magic of handling data lies in selecting the pieces of information that are useful to your audience. We will be failing in synthesis (and empathy) if we overwhelm our audience with lots of data. Simplicity is key.
- Always make the context evident: never forget to clearly indicate which period we are talking about and the 5Ws (What, Where, When, Who, Why & How)
- Do not try to put all the information in a single chart. If you do this, you won't be understood.
- Goodbye to traditional titles! Let's tell the audience briefly what they are going to observe and why it is important. Doing this previous exercise also helps us to confirm that the info that we are going to show is really relevant.
As a professional in Communications, I know that everything conveys a message: what is said, what is silent, the colors, the thickness of the charts, the order and the hierarchy of information. That is why I find that "Data Storytelling" is key to connect with the audience, both to share knowledge and to do business.