The document outlines the importance of storyboarding and data visualization in creating effective presentations. It details a process for storytelling through organized visual representation, focusing on clarity, audience engagement, and the strategic use of data visuals. Additionally, it emphasizes the need for simplicity in charts and the effective use of color to enhance data communication.

1. Storyboarding and
Data Visualization
Basic Steps To Create Effective Presentations
By Carmen Proctor
E2E IT / CloudenUp

2. Why are you here?
Changes:
• Shortens extremely long presentations
• Delivers content in a very clear and easy to understand manner
• Simplifies very data heavy presentations
• Keeps focus on the project objectives, not filling the white space
A shift is being made to focus on delivering concise, to the point, and
visually appealing presentations to both internal and external clients.

3. What is Storyboarding?
The process of visually depicting the flow of a presentation in an
organized manner to create a cohesive compelling end-to-end
story.
Benefits
 Forces you to assimilate information, causing
you to clarify the logic of your hypothesis
and supporting assertions
 Help you to focus the analysis
 Can identify gaps in your analysis
 Prevent work that is unnecessary or
redundant
 Act as a work plan for each activity stream

4. How Is It Done?
Storyboarding is an iterative process, where you make
adjustments as you go to create the best story.
Gathering the
information you
found through
analysis
Collect
Findings
Create
Headlines
Organize
Findings
Sequence
Findings
Determine the
message for each
piece of analysis
Look to identify
themes among
findings
Add, remove, and
sequence themes
and findings to
create the story.

5. Collect Your Findings
As you come to the end of data analysis, begin to collect your
findings based upon hypothesis’ and assertions.

6. Create Headlines
Create your headline for each of your findings, briefly conveying the
message of the content to be included within the slide.
Authentication
Customer
Authentication
CSA’s are frequently
unable to authenticate
the customer
Multiple
Authentications
Customer’s are
authenticated multiple
Times each contact
Headlines
 Concise and to the point
 Identifies which pieces of analysis
fit where
 Occasionally, one finding yields
creation of multiple headlines

7. Organize Findings
Categorize your headlines to identify high level themes or pre-
targeted areas of analysis to create a preliminary structure to the
presentation.
IVR Process Systems Operations

8. Sequence the Story
Review story board to determine the most impactful and relevant
information to the client and sequence the content in a smooth and
meaningful manner.
Theme 1 Theme 2 Theme 3 Theme 4
Objectives
 Remove and/or move (appendix)
irrelevant and low impact analytical
findings
 Determine most powerful way to
display the analysis
 Create a cohesive flow to the story

9. How Do I Support My Story?
The Assertion-Evidence methodology provides a guideline to adding
content within each presentation slide.
Assertion Sentence
• Top of the slide, below slide headline
• Expresses the answer to each question
in a clear succinct manner
• Short, but not so short it’s cryptic
Assertion Evidence
• Supports assertion sentence with evidence
or an explanation and visual aids
• Evidence can be an example, statistics,
flowchart, etc. (data visualizations)
Things to keep in mind:
• The key topic/objective of the slide
• The audience of the slide and their
knowledge/familiarity of the topic
• Possible questions the audience may have
about the key message
Client

10. How Do I Support My Story?
Data Visualization
The core objective of all data
visualization is to effectively display
data to assist in analysis.
Client

11. The 6 fundamental questions guide how we see the world around us.
We should use these same questions to guide us in data visualization.
PORTRAIT
CHART
MAP
TIMELINE
FLOW CHART
MULTI VAR
PLOT
Align Visuals to How Most People See
the World
Who
What
How Much
Where
When
How
Why
Visualization
X
X
X
X
X

12. Certain charts lend themselves best to showing certain types of
data; whether relationship, comparison, distribution, or composition.
Data Driven Teams Use Charts Often,
But Which Chart Type Should I Use?

13. Get rid of any elements in a chart that do not convey anything
new, distort data, or distracts the audience from the story you
want to convey.
Grid Lines
Axis
Values
3D Aspect
Distorts Data
Simple, Accurate,
and No Distractions
Actual value is 600
but shown to be
below 600
Actual value is 403 but
shown to be below 400
Simplify Charts to Focus on the Main
Point

14. How Much Should I Simplify?
We need to strike a balance between over-ornamenting and
over-simplifying charts. Charts should be simplified to the point
where they are not distracting but can still convey the message
clearly.
Extremely Ornate Extremely Bare
Strike a
Balance

15. For More Complicated Data, Use Sparklines
to Ensure Clarity and Scalability
Break down multiple axes/series of data and show as
“Sparklines”, whereby a chart may be broken down and
displayed as a series of separate charts placed next to each
other.
TransferRate
Queue Current Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 1-Year
Sales 33% 25% 29% 35% 32%
Technical Support 34% 35% 36% 37% 38%
Retentions 14% 10% 9% 6% 11%
Billing 28% 20% 20% 35% 15%
General Info 72% 74% 79% 85% 65%
All Queues 36% 33% 35% 40% 32%
• Confusing To Read
• Need to Consult Legend
• Space Consuming
• Difficult to Analyze Especially When
Scaled Down
• Detailed But Easy to Read
• No Need to Consult Legend
• Easily Scalable
• Easy to Spot Trends
Line Graph Sparklines

16. Color Reinforces Analysis
Only Use Color to Reinforce a Message
Use color to merely supplement/reinforce the message and never as
the main vehicle for delivering analysis. When printed in B/W, colors
can be indistinguishable; use shapes instead.
Red
=
Green
Color Critical to Analysis Analysis Washed Out in B/W
Analysis Fully Intact in B/W

17. The brain naturally wants to compare items of different color even
when there isn’t anything to compare. Use simple color contrast to
draw the audience’s attention to specific items.
Multiple Colors but
Nothing Emphasized Color Used to Emphasize
Multiple Colors Confuse the Brain, Instead
Use Contrast to Emphasize

18. What Does This All Look Like In Action?
Findings
Organized &
Sequenced
Visible White
Space
Simple & Easy to
Read Chart that
Supports the Tag
Line
Assertion-
Evidence
Methodology
Consistent
Theme
Uses Only
Relevant Text
Use Color to
Highlight
Elements
Company Team

19. • Compendium of Data Visualization Rules
www.albertsuckow.com/tag/visual-communication/
• Edward Tufte – www.edwardtufte.com
• Perceptual Edge by Stephen Few – www.perceptualedge.com
• Data Visualization Best Practices by Power Frameworks
www.powerframeworks.com/best_practices
• Gallery of Best and Worst Statistical Graphics
www.datavis.ca/gallery/index.php
More Resources