Setting the Context

Setting the context of a data story is crucial to ensure that the audience understands the data and its significance. Introducing the context is the first step to telling a data story, but when building the data story, the first step is identifying the insight and message. Once we have defined the message of the story, the second step is to define the context, which corresponds to bringing all audience members to the same level of understanding. The context contains all and only the information needed to understand the insight.

Context types

Consider the following context types:

Differences between the past and present

This technique involves highlighting a change or trend over time to provide context for the current situation. For example, if we tell a data story about the rise in popularity of a certain product, we’ll begin by showing that only a few people were interested in this product in the past and then show how that has changed over time. This helps the audience understand the significance of the current situation and why it matters.