This document summarizes Jeff Sauer's presentation on using data and reports to tell stories. The presentation discusses: 1) The importance of translating data into stories and moving from data to wisdom by understanding what happened, how much it changed, why it occurred, and what was learned. 2) Using visuals like charts, infographics and videos to tell stories from data in order to transfer knowledge. 3) Tips for effectively presenting results including focusing on the objectives and needs of the audience, using visuals and examples, highlighting solutions rather than problems, and doing more with less.

1. By Jeff Sauer
Founder of Knowledge Land
Storytelling with
Data and Reports

2. Telling a story from
our data

3. Let’s go back to
school

4. @jeffalytics
Remember the scientific method?

5. @jeffalytics
Ask a Question
The Scientific Method
Do Background Research
Construct a Hypothesis
TestYour Hypothesis By Doing
an Experiment
AnalyzeYour Data and Draw a
Conclusion
ReportYour Results (WasYour
Hypothesis Correct?)

6. @jeffalytics
Two problems with
online programs

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Drawing Conclusions
Analysis is a problem

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Confirming Hypothesis
Validating the hypothesis is a problem

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In Other Words…

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If we don’t reflect
and share, how do
we learn?

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What Happened?
Analytics Tools Are Great for Telling Us

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What Happened?
Analytics Tools Are Great for Telling Us
By How Much?

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An explanation of why it
happened
Our brains must come up with

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The story of what we
learned
Our brains must come up with

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A plan for how we can
get more of it
Our brains must come up with

16. Telling a Story
with Our Data

17. @jeffalytics
Our responsibility as marketers
3 Main Points for Today
Why we need stories
Presenting your results

18. @jeffalytics
Download 7 Keys to Strategic
Analytics & Other Materials:
bit.ly/AnalyticsMunich
Before I forget…

19. Our Responsibility as
Marketers
To expand the collective knowledge of our organization

20. @jeffalytics
What is data,
anyway?

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Data = facts
Image courtesy of: http://socialsciences.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Data.jpg

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Big Data = More facts!
Image courtesy of: http://www.bigdata-careers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/big-data.jpg

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I used to stare at this until my eyes bled

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This was revolutionary for the industry
Image courtesy of: http://blog.measureful.com/google-analytics/

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Aesthetics continue to be more pleasing

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But…
In many ways we are stuck in the past

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Some things have barely changed
How different?

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Same data,
prettier package

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We still need
translation

30. @jeffalytics

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Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
What we need to make decisions

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Data = facts
Image courtesy of: http://socialsciences.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Data.jpg

33. @jeffalytics
Data is Cheap Free
The problem with big data
Data is Everywhere
Data is Dumb

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Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
What we need to make decisions

35. @jeffalytics
Information = Data
with context or
structure

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Creating a narrative from data
Take the Quiz at New York Times: http://nyti.ms/1HVgnCx

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I Scored 50%

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This is an automated report and it’s FREE
Image Courtesy of Quill Engage

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Computer turns data into information
Visit Quill Engage at http://bit.ly/SMXQuill

40. @jeffalytics
Can a computer
replace your work?
Then we need to do more!

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Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
What we need to make decisions

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Knowledge =
Understanding of
the Information

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Knowledge must
be earned

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Computers can’t
automate
knowledge

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We need to help
accelerate
knowledge

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Provide a universal picture
Knowledge Accelerators
Present the answer first
Have supporting detail ready Make everyone better

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Share knowledge with your organization

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Data Information Knowledge Wisdom
What we need to make decisions

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Wisdom = Thinking
and acting on
knowledge

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Your turn, Einstein

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How we make decisions, another picture
Data vs. Information vs. Knowledge: http://www.infogineering.net/data-information-knowledge.htm

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Our responsibility as marketers:
To give our organization the
information and knowledge
needed to make decisions

53. Why we need
stories

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A Case Study
The Periodic Table of Google Analytics

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Teaching Google
Analytics

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There is a lot to
learn
Which leads to…

57. @jeffalytics

58. @jeffalytics

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There has to be
a better way!

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The Task:
Simplify the
complex picture

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My Attempt to Simplify the Complex

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Then provide the detail as needed

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Grab attention
This visual achieved several objectives
Prove expertise
Known structure Understands audience

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Side Benefit?
Tons of visitors, links and shares!
Share count from Share Tally: http://sharetally.co/

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Are your reports
overwhelming?

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Or just putting
people to sleep?

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From data to wisdom
A practical path that we can all take

68. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Path to wisdom: What happened?

69. @jeffalytics
Our website saw a massive increase in sales over the
past week
What happened?

70. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
By how much?
Path to wisdom: How many times?

71. @jeffalytics
We had an increase of 1,000 sales over previous week,
for a 20% increase in sales volume. This resulted in
$100,000 in incremental revenue at a 50% profit margin.
By how much?

72. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
By how much?
Is this expected?
Path to wisdom: Did we expect this?

73. @jeffalytics
We did not expect this to happen. Our new product
line went viral on Reddit and drew in new visitors. A
small percentage of the new visitors purchased.
Did we expect this?

74. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Is this behavior normal? If not, should we
be concerned that it happened?
Why did it happen?
By how much?
Is this expected?
Path to wisdom: Understand why?

75. @jeffalytics
An influential Reddit user found the new product line
through our public preview website and shared with the
system. Because of their influence, we saw an increase in
visitors. No reason for concern.
Why did this happen?

76. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Is this behavior normal? If not, should we
be concerned that it happened?
Why did it happen?
By how much?
Is this expected?
How do we react?
Path to wisdom: Understand why?

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Share the Reddit post with our social channels in order
to increase awareness.
Embrace the visitors upon site entry with welcome
message.
How do we react?

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In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Is this behavior normal? If not, should we
be concerned that it happened?
Why did it happen?
By how much?
Is this expected?
How do we react?
Are there any necessary reactions
Is this repeatable?
Path to analytics zen: How do we react?

79. @jeffalytics
Most sharing on Reddit is naturally occurring and
difficult to replicate. While we can’t expect the same
success, we can use Reddit’s native advertising system to
promote future products. At this strong ROI,
reinvestment is a great idea.
Is this repeatable?

80. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Is this behavior normal? If not, should we
be concerned that it happened?
Why did it happen?
By how much?
Is this expected?
What is the story?
How do we react?
Are there any necessary reactions
Is this repeatable?
Path to wisdom: What story to tell?

81. @jeffalytics
We made $50,000 in profit last week because our
customers are interested in our new product line.
We may not be able to repeat this every week, but this
represents a new sales opportunity to embrace.
What is the story?

82. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Is this behavior normal? If not, should we
be concerned that it happened?
Why did it happen?
By how much?
Is this expected?
What is the story?
How do we react?
Are there any necessary reactions
Is this repeatable?
Understanding what was learned is a key
to future improvements
What did we learn?
Path to wisdom: Formalize learning!

83. @jeffalytics
We can generate profit from our users if we create
great products.
We need to consider a program for reaching these
customers early in product development process.
What did we learn?

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What happened?
By how much?
Is this expected?
Why did it happen?
How do we react?
Is this repeatable?
What is the story?
What did we learn?
Deliver this knowledge in a formal report

85. @jeffalytics
What happened?
By how much?
Is this expected?
Why did it happen?
How do we react?
Is this repeatable?
What is the story?
What did we learn?
Or at the very least leave an Annotation

86. @jeffalytics
In our own words, what happened on our
website during this time period?
What happened?
Start the cycle again, wiser

87. @jeffalytics
Ways to tell stories

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Words

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Charts
Image from: http://danmeth.com/post/77471620/my-trilogy-meter-1-in-a-series-of-pop-cultural

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Infographics
View this infographic here: http://bit.ly/rapperlyrics

91. @jeffalytics
Data Visualization & Videos
View this visualization here: http://bit.ly/twitterwakeup

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Stories are essential for
knowledge transfer

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Beware:There isn’t
always a story to tell

94. PresentingYour
Results

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Board Room?
Is what I am saying board room worthy?

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I presented in front of a room like this

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Executive Presentation
Executive PresentationTemplate from Knowledge.Land

98. @jeffalytics
What are the objectives of
your company?
Things to consider in your presentation
People want to hear the
benefits they will receive
Use terms everyone can
understand (no acronyms!)
Point out facts and share case
studies to help your cause
Predict the value you will bring
to the table
The CFO will want numbers
to support your arguments

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Find strength in successful outcomes
Full article can be found here: bit.ly/data-driven-performance

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Calculate the return on your efforts
Return on Analytics worksheet courtesy of: http://bit.ly/ROAnalytics

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Presenting

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What you say is important
Addition by subtraction
What you don’t say is even more important

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Use visuals
More presentation tips
Don’t show your work
Find your champion
Assume others will receive the
report offline
Remove ambiguity Smart people act dumb

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Your ideal story has
something for
everyone

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Solutions
Not problems

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Pulling it together and presenting results
Image Courtesy of Knowledge Land

107. @jeffalytics
1) Provide an agenda

108. @jeffalytics
2) Executive Summary

109. @jeffalytics
3) Key performance indicators

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4) Overall summary

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5) Observations and Implications
Get this report template for free at: bit.ly/reportingtemplate

112. @jeffalytics
6) Supporting Evidence

113. @jeffalytics
7) Appendix
Get this report template for free at: bit.ly/reportingtemplate

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Do More
By doing less

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Focus on the recipient, get great results

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Get an Audience
Grow your ideas

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Our responsibility as marketers
3 Main Points
Why we need stories
Presenting your results

118. @jeffalytics
Thank You!
jeff@knowledge.land