The presentation deck was flawless.

Sixty-three slides of pristine data analysis, complete with trend forecasts, recommended strategies, and competitive benchmarking that had taken my team three weeks to compile.

Every chart was pixel-perfect. Every statistic bulletproof.

I could feel the confidence radiating from my laptop screen as I clicked through slide after slide of irrefutable evidence.

Then I watched my clients eyes glaze over.

By slide fifteen, he was checking his phone.

By slide thirty, he was physically leaning away from the table.

When I finished with my carefully crafted summary of key insights, he looked up and said: “So… what does this actually mean for us?”

I had thirty minutes of data. But zero minutes of story.

That’s when I knew I’d confused having the most information with having the most impact.

Here’s the brutal truth about expertise in our data-driven world:

Information is abundant, but understanding is scarce.

We live in an age where anyone can generate reports, compile statistics, and present findings.

Your clients aren’t suffering from a lack of data – they’re suffering from too much of it. They don’t need another technical deep-dive or perfectly formatted spreadsheet.

What they need is for someone to bring the data to life.

One of my favourite examples of epic data storytelling is a young woman called Hannah Ritchie, a sustainability scientist from Oxford.

Early in her career Hannah could have chosen the traditional path – sticking to the numbers, producing dry statistical reports that would never shift the needle on climate change.

Instead, she made a bold decision.

One which transformed her career and global impact.

Hannah saw that the climate crisis wasn’t suffering from a lack of scientific evidence. It was suffering from a story problem. People weren’t paralysed by missing information – they were paralysed by fear.

So she decided to translate her climate data into a message of hope. She created a newsletter centred around one question: “How do we use data to give people agency, not despair?”

What happened next?

Her newsletter ‘Sustainability By Numbers’ grew from an idea to over 60,000 subscribers. She was approached to speak at TED, a talk that went on to be watched by over 1 million people. Her work has since shaped government policy – as well as being publicly endorsed by global icons including Bill Gates.

All because of one decision.

To elevate out of her technical expertise, focus on the story behind the data and show up as the primary translator of her field.

Data storytelling isn’t about dumbing down your expertise.

It’s about elevating your impact.

Hannah didn’t become less of a scientist when she became a storyteller. She became an infinitely more powerful one.

When you master the art of transforming data into stories, you don’t just deliver information – you tap into the unique power of storytelling to get people to care enough to take action.

Here’s a powerful framework to transform how you can show up as a data-storyteller:

1. Choose Your One Question Like Hannah’s focus on “agency, not despair,” identify the single most important question your data can answer for your audience. Don’t try to solve everything. Choose the ‘mission-critical’ problem that keeps your clients up at night and own that space completely.

2. Lead with Human Impact, Not Data Points Hannah doesn’t just talk about with carbon emissions statistics. She talks about what those numbers mean for the future. Before you show your first chart, paint the picture of what’s at stake for real people in real situations.

3. Find the Story Hidden in Your Numbers Every dataset contains multiple narratives. Hannah chose to highlight progress and possibility rather than just problems. Look for the story in your data that creates momentum rather than paralysis.

4. Use the “So They Can…” Test After every insight, complete this sentence: “So they can…” Keep drilling until you reach actionable outcomes. Hannah’s work doesn’t just inform—it enables governments to make better policy decisions and individuals to take simple yet meaningful action.

5. Become the Translator, Not Just the Technician Position yourself as the expert who goes to the fringes of your field and brings back insights in language your audience can understand and act on. As yourself the question, if I had to explain this concept in a bar to my friends – how would I frame it?

In a world of fake news and debatable facts – real data is now quite honestly one of the most powerful forces on earth.

However here’s what experts like Hannah can teach us.

Data alone never shifts the needle.

To do that we need to learn how to turn compelling data into compelling stories, that in turn actually compel people to take action.

So, the next time you want to show up, present the facts, lead a conversation and get people to pay attention.

First start by asking yourself.

What story do I need to tell?

Why am I the right person to tell it?

What’s the most powerful way it can be told?