18: Data Viz Engagement with Alli Torban

Too often we think that if we make a decent data visualization, it's a guarantee that people will stop, look, and listen. There's a big chasm between information and action. The bridge across that chasm is engagement. The brilliant Alli Torban joins me today to explore how we can more effectively address engagement with interventions targeted for the particular kind of audience you're trying to reach. Those four audience types, and what you can do to engage them, are:

Interested & Focused (e.g. a board director reading an annual report): Reduce the friction with clean, approachable charts and clear information. No "chart junk"!

Interested & Distracted/Overwhelmed (e.g. a CEO or Executive Director): "What's in it for me?" - put the viewer at the center of the chart by highlighting what they specifically need to know.

Disinterested & Focused (e.g. a reader of a general magazine, a high-net worth donor seeking a fitting recipient): Offer a "welcoming gesture." Make your chart inviting, artistic, or story-driven. This is data art - engaging in its own sake.

Disinterested & Distracted (everyone on social media!): It has to be eye-catching, tastefully animated, entertaining, unique or unusual. Stop the scroll! Check out the fascinating animated chart I reference here.