data-storytelling

End-to-end data narrative construction -- three-act structure, Knaflic/Duarte methodology, audience-first framing, and orchestration across analysis, visualization, and dashboard skills

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Last source activity: April 15, 2026 at 05:03
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name	data-storytelling
description	End-to-end data narrative construction -- three-act structure, Knaflic/Duarte methodology, audience-first framing, and orchestration across analysis, visualization, and dashboard skills
tier	standard
applyTo	*/story,/narrative,/datastory*

Data Storytelling

Property	Value
Domain	Data Analytics
Category	Narrative & Orchestration
Trifecta	SKILL.md + data-storytelling.instructions.md + datastory.prompt.md
Depends	data-analysis (findings), data-visualization (charts), dashboard-design (layout)

Overview

This is the orchestrator skill. It transforms raw data into a complete, coherent narrative by activating analysis, visualization, and dashboard skills in sequence. The output is a self-contained artifact -- typically an HTML dashboard or scrollable report -- where every chart, annotation, and KPI serves the story.

The cardinal rule: data stories have arguments, not just observations. A collection of charts with captions is a report. A data story says "here's what happened, here's why it matters, and here's what we should do."

Module 1: Three-Act Data Structure

Every data story follows this arc:

Act	Purpose	Content
Setup	Establish context and baseline	Who, what, when, where + "here's how things were"
Conflict	Reveal the surprise, problem, or gap	"But then this happened" / "X is not what we expected"
Resolution	Deliver insight and recommendation	"This means X, and we should do Y"

Audience	Time Budget	What They Need	Artifact Style
Executive	30 seconds	Headline + action recommendation	KPI dashboard, 5-Visual
Manager	2 minutes	Context + options + trade-offs	Dashboard with filters
Analyst	Unlimited	Full data + methodology + caveats	Detailed report with drill
General	1 minute	Simple story, familiar visuals	Scroll narrative, annotated

Step	Action
1. Understand context	Who is the audience? What do they need to do?
2. Choose an effective visual	Story intent → chart type (SKILL cross-ref)
3. Eliminate clutter	Remove everything that isn't data or supporting story
4. Focus attention	Use color, size, position to direct the eye
5. Tell a story	Connect visuals with narrative text

What Is:      "Today, we process 500 support tickets per day"
What Could Be: "With the new model, we could process 2000 with the same team"
What Is:      "Current SLA breach rate is 12%"
What Could Be: "Top performers achieve 3% -- the gap is process, not people"

[Subject/audience] should [action/decision]
because [evidence from data].

Annotation Type	Purpose	Example
Title	State the insight (not the metric)	"Revenue grew 34% but growth is slowing"
Subtitle	Provide context	"Quarterly actuals, FY2024-FY2025"
Callout	Highlight the key data point	Arrow + "Q3 peak: $4.2M"
Caption	Add nuance below the chart	"Note: Q1 2025 includes one-time adjustment"
Footnote	Source, methodology, caveats	"Source: Internal CRM, excludes returns"

Check	Pass Criteria
Big Idea exists	One sentence captures the entire story
Three-act present	Setup → Conflict → Resolution identifiable
Titles are insights	No chart titled "Revenue by Quarter" (must be a sentence)
Color consistency	Same category = same color across all visuals
Source attribution	Every chart cites its data source
Audience match	Executive gets 5 visuals, analyst gets drill-down
3-second test	Each chart conveys its point in 3 seconds
Annotation coverage	Hero chart has at least 1 callout annotation
Data freshness	Date range stated; "as of" timestamp included

Anti-Pattern	Problem	Fix
Chart collection	Charts exist but don't connect	Apply three-act structure
Data dump	Every metric shown "just in case"	Write Big Idea first, cut everything else
Insight-free annotations	"This is a bar chart showing revenue"	State what the data means, not what it is
Wrong audience depth	Analyst-level detail for C-suite	Match artifact to audience time budget
No recommendation	Story ends at "here's what happened"	Always include "so here's what we should do"
Over-designed	Fancy visuals, weak argument	Substance over aesthetics