Translating technical results

Data Communication Concepts

Hadrien Lacroix

Curriculum Manager

Data storytelling

venn diagram with the words data narrative and visuals

Benefits:

  • Helps focus attention
  • Meaning and context
  • Helps retain insights
  • Better-informed decision-making
  • Persuade change-resistant stakeholders
Data Communication Concepts

Tech or non-tech approach?

 

Puzzle piece with the tech or non tech

 

  • Technical knowledge is a continuum
  • Data professionals care about their methods...
  • ...but the audience likely cares more about results and implications
Data Communication Concepts

How technical?

  • Low accuracy predictions to supply chain agents
    • Don't care about stats
    • Care about their own pain points

 

Data Communication Concepts

Translating technical results into stories

  • Easy to understand
  • Engage audience
  • Decision-making
  • Drive change
  • Strategies
Data Communication Concepts

Awareness

  • What do they know?

How our model works

 

  • What do they need to understand?

Why we chose our predictive variables

 

  • What level of information do they need?

The correlation coefficients between variables

  • Adjust content

Prediction's impact and limitations

 

  • Be conversational

The context on which our model works

 

  • Serve audience

The interactions between customer traits

Data Communication Concepts

ADEPT

  • Analogy
  • Diagram
  • Example
  • Plain English
  • Technical definition
Data Communication Concepts

Analogies

Instead of

graph of neural network

Use

child playing with shape sorter

1 Alpha, "Liam is an expert on the shape sorter", Creative Commons
Data Communication Concepts

Technical jargon

  • Use acronyms with caution
    • Can help or hurt communication
    • Introduce the term and acronym
  • Jargon
    • Translate terminology
    • Simple terms
    • Guide
    • Definitions
Data Communication Concepts

Focus on impact

Instead of

  • Use a non-relational database to make efficient nested queries.

 

  • Number of rooms shows correlation of 0.7 with a house price.

Focus on

  • Changing the storage approach will save a lot of time.

 

  • The more rooms in the house, the higher the price.
Data Communication Concepts

Humility

  • Be receptive
  • Proactively ensure understanding
  • Explain differently
Data Communication Concepts

Let's practice!

Data Communication Concepts

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