{"id":5952,"date":"2025-06-05T06:04:10","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T06:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev-alumn-nus.pantheonsite.io\/alumnus\/?p=5952"},"modified":"2025-07-17T09:49:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-17T01:49:32","slug":"how-to-tell-a-better-story-with-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/2025\/06\/05\/how-to-tell-a-better-story-with-data\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Tell a Better Story with Data"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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In today\u2019s data-saturated world, dashboards and numbers alone rarely drive action. \u201cData is essential, but stories are really how people understand, care and act,\u201d said Dr Subhayan Mukerjee, Assistant Professor at NUS\u2019 Department of Communications and New Media, who led the recent masterclass on 26 May at the Shaw Foundation Alumni House.<\/p>

Dr Subhayan shared a three-step framework to guide effective data storytelling:<\/p>

  1. Find the signal<\/strong>: Extract one clear insight from the noise.<\/li>
  2. Build the narrative<\/strong>: Frame that insight using a story arc (problem, insight, resolution).<\/li>
  3. Show and tell<\/strong>: Use visuals and annotations to guide interpretation.<\/li><\/ol><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    He illustrated this with examples like Spotify Wrapped, which transforms listening data into personalised narratives that users eagerly share on their social media. Another example was The Straits Times<\/em> interactive feature on athlete Shanti Pereira, which turned race statistics into a compelling story of perseverance and performance.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Dr Subhayan Mukerjee<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    THE CHALLENGE OF TOO MUCH DATA
    <\/strong>
    During the panel discussion, Ms Ambika Srinivasa (Arts & Social Sciences \u201922, MOC \u201924), Account Executive at Bud Communications, said the hardest part of her job in tech PR is cutting through the clutter. \u201cYou are constantly flooded by a plethora of sources,\u201d she shared. \u201cIt\u2019s really an exercise in discernment and research to find a statistic that is credible, recent and relevant.\u201d She recommended going straight to trusted industry sources like WARC, Campaign Asia, or reports backed by IMDA. These, she says, lend credibility both to the story and to the client.

    BALANCING STAKEHOLDER EXPECTATIONS
    <\/strong>
    Data storytelling often involves navigating multiple stakeholders, each with different priorities. Mr Darrell Lian (Arts & Social Sciences \u201915), Business Manager at Kontinentalist, explained how this plays out in his work with UOB and NGOs. Kontinentalist is a Singapore-based data storytelling studio that crafts visually compelling narratives about Asia, bridging the gap between research and the public through creative storytelling and data visualisation. \u201cThe issue isn\u2019t a shortage of data\u2014it\u2019s about choosing the right story for your audience,\u201d he explained. In one case, Mr Lian recalled having to choose whether to highlight fintech investment trends by country or by product category. \u201cWe always go back to: who are we trying to reach?\u201d Ms Ambika added, \u201cThe more you can do with a data point, the more valuable it becomes. It needs to lead somewhere\u2014a call to action, a resolution or a real-world benefit.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Ms Ambika Srinivasa (Arts & Social Sciences \u201922, MOC \u201924), centre, addresses the challenge of too much data.<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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    TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES THAT WORK
    <\/strong>
    Both speakers also shared the tools they use to bring data stories to life.<\/p>

    • Meltwater<\/strong>: Ms Ambika uses it to track article views, sentiment analysis and keyword performance. It helps her report campaign effectiveness in terms that matter to clients.<\/li>
    • Flourish<\/strong>: Mr Lian recommends this free, web-based tool for creating interactive and visually striking charts. \u201cIt\u2019s great for getting started and works well with Excel or Google Sheets.\u201d<\/li>
    • Google Analytics<\/strong>: A beginner-friendly tool to understand web traffic and user engagement.<\/li><\/ul>

      The general consensus among the speakers is that you don\u2019t need fancy tools to begin. Start with what you know, like Excel or Google Sheets, and build from there.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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      Mr Darrell Lian (Arts & Social Sciences \u201915)<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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      USING AI: HELPFUL BUT HANDLE WITH CARE<\/strong>

      AI is becoming a common aid in data storytelling, but both speakers stressed that it is no replacement for human judgment. Both Mr Lian and Ms Ambika agreed that while AI can speed up research and ideation, every output must be fact-checked. \u201cAI helps us create mock-ups or early drafts quickly, but it\u2019s far from perfect,\u201d said Mr Lian. \u201cYou won\u2019t get highly customised or high-quality results from just prompting a tool.\u201d Ms Ambika shared a cautionary tale: \u201cChatGPT once gave me a stat that wasn\u2019t in the original client\u2019s report. It just made it up. That really scared me.\u201d<\/p>

      HOW TO START DATA STORYTELLING AS A BEGINNER<\/strong>

      Whether you’re in PR, business analytics or public policy, the general principles around data storytelling are the same: start with the insight, shape a story around it and present it in a way
      your audience can relate to. And always remember, as Dr Subhayan put it: \u201cIf you can\u2019t say it in one sentence, you haven\u2019t really found the story.\u201d

      When Dr Subhayan asked the speakers to suggest how people can approach data storytelling as a novice, Mr Lian\u2019s advice to newcomers is this: \u201cBefore you get to the story, get comfortable with data.\u201d His suggestion is to take a simple dataset, like a spreadsheet with two columns, and explore it. \u201cTry to visualise it, look for trends and ask yourself what stands out,\u201d said Mr Lian.

      Ms Ambika added, \u201cYou don\u2019t even need a tool to start\u2014just awareness. Pay attention to how numbers are being used in daily media, even Instagram posts. That mindset shift is the first step to telling your own data story.\u201d<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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      WHAT THE AUDIENCE ASKED<\/strong>

      The panel ended with a lively Q&A. Here are a few highlights:<\/p>

      • On Black Swan events<\/strong>: One participant asked how to use data storytelling to uncover unknown risks. Dr Mukerjee noted, \u201cIf you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know, it\u2019s hard to frame a story.\u201d Ms Ambika said that, in such cases, preparing a Q&A and engaging in a discovery session with consultants could help.

        <\/li>
      • When asked how we can\u00a0benchmark data and ensure the credibility of information<\/strong>\u2014especially from social media and news websites\u2014Mr Lian advised looking for cited sources and transparent methodologies, while Ms Ambika added that data from government-backed or accredited bodies helps ensure credibility.

        <\/li>
      • Driving Real-World Impact<\/strong>: When asked if they had worked on a data storytelling project that successfully influenced stakeholder behaviour, Mr Lian shared a campaign\u00a0 he worked on that helped reduce monkey feeding incidents in Singapore \u2014 demonstrating how thoughtful data storytelling can drive real-world impact.<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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        An audience member raises a question. <\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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        Photos by Roy Yap\u00a0<\/h6>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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        <\/div>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

        At a recent NUS masterclass, industry professionals and alumni shared practical tips, tools and personal lessons on using data to craft impactful, real-world narratives. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_theme","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5952","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-events"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5952","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5952"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8407,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5952\/revisions\/8407"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.nus.edu.sg\/thealumnus\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}