Mcom 320: Visualizing and Interpreting Data

Overview

You have probably heard the age-old proverb "A picture is worth a thousand words." In the Book of Mormon, Nephi was commanded to build a ship. He had no ship-making abilities but, because of Nephi's faith, the Lord "showed" him what he needed to do to build it.

"And it came to pass that the Lord spake unto me, saying: Thou shalt construct a ship, after the manner which I shall show thee, that I may carry thy people across these waters. And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me? And it came to pass that the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools" (1 Nephi 17:8-10). Notice that the Lord SHOWED Nephi.

Why might the Lord show instead of tell Nephi how to build the ship? Because visualization is powerful.

Visualizations leverage the human brain's ability to process and interpret visual information quickly. They capture attention and engage viewers more effectively than text alone. Well-designed visualizations distill complex data into clear and simple forms, making information more accessible and easier to understand at a glance. Visualizations enable viewers to recognize patterns, trends, and relationships within data more readily than text descriptions. Visual elements such as charts and graphs highlight these patterns, allowing for faster insights.

Visualizations facilitate the comparison and contrast of data points, making it easier to identify differences or similarities across categories or time periods. Visualizations can tell a story by guiding viewers through data narratives, helping them understand the context, significance, and implications of the information presented. Visualizations create memorable impressions, aiding retention and recall of key insights over time. Audiences are more likely to remember visual information compared to text-based information.

Overall, data visualizations leverage the strengths of the human visual system to communicate complex ideas efficiently, persuasively, and memorably, making them a powerful tool for data analysis, communication, and decision-making.

Given the immense volume and complexity of data today, powerful data visualization is more important than ever. It serves as a critical tool for extracting value from data, facilitating decision-making, driving innovation, and gaining a competitive advantage in today's data-driven world.

In their 2022 book Making Numbers Count: The Art and Science of Communicating Numbers, co-authors Chip Heath and Karla Starr remind readers that understanding numbers is essential—but humans are not built to understand them. Even though numbers in our world have become increasingly complex over time, writers still use terms like a lot or a little to express millions, billions, milliseconds, or nanometers. Expert business communicators translate these complex numbers into language and imagery the audience can understand.

As Heath and Starr point out, good communicators frame numbers in terms an audience can understand.

Graphically displaying quantitative data in a business document offers advantages such as improved clarity, data comparison, revealing relationships, impactful communication, concision, and enhanced memorability.

In this lesson, learn the power of visualizing and interpreting data so your audiences can make informed, intelligent decisions.

Read the following pages & textbook chapter

Incorporating Visuals into Reports and Proposals. (Lumen Learning)

Better Data Visualizations Chapter 2. (Access through the Data tab on the HBLL MCom Research Guide)

Watch the following video