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Data Storytelling: Turning Metrics Into Meaning

  • Writer: Jonathan Eyres
    Jonathan Eyres
  • Oct 14
  • 2 min read

Updated: Oct 21

A woman presents on "Data Storytelling" in a conference room. Colleagues watch attentively, surrounded by laptops and documents.

Here’s the truth: nobody—and I mean nobody—gets excited about raw spreadsheets. If your big marketing insight looks like an Excel file that needs a PhD to decode, your audience has already mentally left the room. Data is powerful, sure, but stories move people.

Think of data storytelling as the difference between reading a restaurant menu and being served a perfectly plated meal. One gives you info. The other makes you hungry to take action.


Why Storytelling Matters

Numbers alone don’t inspire action. “Our CTR increased by 12.7%” sounds nice, but it doesn’t mean anything until you say, “That spike came from our TikTok ads—so we’re shifting more budget there next quarter.”

Stories turn dry data into context, emotion, and direction. And no one’s ever said, “Wow, that pie chart changed my life.”


The Crimes of Bad Data Presentations

  • The Spreadsheet of Doom: A wall of numbers, no explanation, everyone’s eyes glaze over.

  • The Graph Without a Plot: A chart with no story. It’s pretty, but it’s basically a screensaver.

  • The Overachiever Slide: 12 metrics, 9 arrows, and 3 competing headlines. Congratulations—you’ve created chaos.

If your deck needs a Rosetta Stone, it’s not data storytelling. It’s data torture.

Chalkboard brain art with orange outline, filled with finance and tech doodles: light bulb, charts, currency symbols, laptop, and globe.

The 4-Part Storytelling Formula (a.k.a. How Not to Be Boring)

1. Set the Scene

What happened? Paint the picture. “Over the last 90 days, web traffic has been climbing like a squirrel on Red Bull.”

2. Introduce the Conflict

Why does it matter? “But bounce rates are up too, which means people are peeking in the window but not coming inside.”

3. Reveal the Insight

What’s the aha moment? “Turns out, TikTok is driving the traffic—but our landing page is slower than a dial-up connection in 1998.”

4. Deliver the Action

What happens next? “We’re fixing the page speed, doubling down on TikTok, and setting up retargeting.”

This structure works because people love a good narrative arc—even if it stars your analytics dashboard.

A woman speaks at a podium with a microphone and laptop, addressing an attentive audience in business attire in a well-lit room.

Tailor the Story to the Audience

Different people need different flavors of the same story:

  • Executives: Big picture, ROI, what it means for the business.

  • Marketing Team: Campaign performance, channel strategy, what to do next.

  • Sales: How marketing’s efforts will get them more leads (a.k.a. more commission).

Same data. Different story.

Visuals That Help (Not Hurt)

  • Keep it simple. One main chart per insight.

  • Use labels, not hieroglyphics.

  • Highlight what matters—literally circle it if you have to.

  • Ditch the chart junk. If it doesn’t help the story, it’s gone.

Tools That Make Storytelling Easier

  • Looker Studio: Add annotations directly to charts.

  • Canva / Slides / Pitch: Keep your narrative clean and pretty.

  • Loom: Great for narrating the story if people won’t read (they won’t).

Person using tablet displaying blue charts. Finger points at pie chart. Papers with data on table. Bright, analytical setting.

Final Thoughts

Your data might be brilliant—but if no one gets it, it’s wasted. Storytelling bridges the gap between information and action.

So stop dropping charts like confetti and start telling stories that make people lean in, nod along, and say, “Let’s do this.”


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