Telling Compelling Stories with Numbers: Data Visualization and Communication

Important information cannot speak for itself. To tell its story, information relies on you to give it a clear voice. In government services, the challenge merely begins with collecting vital data, because you must then make sense of it and pass it on to others, accurately and clearly. No information is more critical to your work than the numbers that reveal what’s happening, how you’re performing, and opportunities to do better. Quantitative information is usually presented in tables and graphs, but few are properly designed, resulting not only in poor communication, but at times even in miscommunication. This is a travesty, because the skills needed to communicate quantitative information effectively are simple to learn—simple, but not intuitive. Stephen Few introduces these simple skills and the common mistakes you should avoid through examples of both good and bad quantitative communication.