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Communicating a Message

Communicating a Message

A message is what we want to transmit to our audience. A message differs from an insight, which is what we discover in the data. As previously stated, a message brings a moral or life lesson, inspires and motivates the audience, and even invites them to act in some way.

We need to keep the message as concrete as possible.

Abstract Messages vs. Concrete Messages


Abstract Message

Concrete Message

Main Characteristic

Vague and open to interpretation

Clear, concise

Understandability

Difficult to understand

Easy to understand

Example

The graph shows an increase in customer demand

Our company needs at least three developers to meet the increasing demand from customers

It is not a data story without a message. Think, for example, of the fables of Phaedrus, a famous Roman writer of the first century. There is always a message in ...