Practice, Practice, Practice

Everyone loves a good story. It is what engages people to listen and act on your message. However, sometimes data is given as facts–pure, unadulterated facts. It is all well and good but what makes people act on those facts is by making a story and using that to present the information.

That is the main idea of the class. Facts are concrete and undeniable but it is faster to grasp the concept of the data used if it is dressed up with graphs and other visualizations. I learned some tricks into making those pretty pictures from the class. More importantly, the course makes you realize that it isn’t enough to just have something to look at. What’s more important is having a flow that guides the audience on a path on whatto look at and count as important. In the class, those tricks and tips were introduced and the help it gives shouldn’t be underestimated.

As for my personal takeaways, I used to focus more on the content and thought, “if I get this then they should get it to”. I sometimes forget that the reason why I get it is because I am on the inside of the topic. Still, even if they are on the outside, I could normally engage peoplein astory to help them understand it better or quicker. Some people have told me that I tell good stories. It was also in this class that,apparently,my story telling prowess are only such when in a conversational setting and not when I am presenting. It seems like a soft skill but apparently it is a vital soft skill. Data presentations aren’t done sitting around the table over coffee and cakes which means I have to step up in order to take my important message and ingrain in the minds of my audienceas I present it in front of them at the center of their focus.

It was also clear that aesthetic visualizations are subjective. Some visualizations and aesthetics that I would personally preferwon’t always appeal to,say,a team mate or an audience although that shouldn’t happentoo often. Finding that balance of representing the data and yourself with what appeals to your target is quite tricky. It might be quite confusing at first but with more practice, it will happen.

Gathering from my previous statements, while the technical lessons like which platform to use and which pitfalls should be avoided were taught in the class, the biggest take away from my point of view is what the experience teaches. Where I lack and where I can use my strengths became apparent through said experience. How can one improve? It couldn’t be iterated enough… practice, practice, and more practice.Practice making effective visualizations and presenting it with story and confidence.

So, thank you and here is to practice makes perfect.