We’re taking a quick detour from our Data Storytelling series for a bonus lesson on how to get to the data that will become the star of your story. In this post, we’ll tell you why visualizing a data ecosystem for your organization is important and how you can build your own. It all comes down to maps—the most visual way to represent where you are and where you can go. Similarly, before you can use data, you have to know where to find it and where to send it.

Up to this point in our Data Storytelling series we’ve not only covered the importance of telling stories with data, but also how to structure stories using the Hero’s Journey. But like any great writer, you need to consider two critical aspects before putting pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard). Specifically, you need to know your audience and your goal for telling them your story—otherwise, you risk wasting a lot of time and losing the interest of key stakeholders.

So far in this blog series, we’ve discussed the importance of data storytelling and covered how to use the STAR model to share your achievements as you might during a job interview. Now, we’ll explore how to draw from Hollywood’s version of storytelling—using the Hero’s Journey framework (departure, initiation, return)—to create an engrossing, transformative story.

As an L&D practitioner, you collect learning data, build reports, and create analytics infrastructure to make better-informed decisions. But if no one is listening to you, then what’s the point? In this post, we'll explore the basics of crafting an interesting, compelling story with your L&D data.

Once you’ve collected, measured, and evaluated your learning data—what’s next? How do you use that information to promote L&D and show off the value and impact of your learning programs? Knowing how to craft engaging and interesting stories that directly relate to various areas, teams, and departments across your organization takes careful planning and execution.