WEEK 3: audience & message
STEP 1 | Begin your week by joining us for our live lecture
We take a step back from graphs this week to assess the situation in which we are communicating. Specifically: who is our audience, and what do we need them to do? Through our lecture on Monday, October 7 at 11AM ET and assignments, we’ll learn about and practice identifying a specific audience, understanding their needs, and thoughtfully crafting our message.
You can watch the audience & message lecture recording below:
STEP 2 | Review learning materials
choose a format that will help you learn best–select at least one from the section below
READ | storytelling with you chapters 1 & 2
consider your audience & craft your message (pages 3–43)
Before you spend time creating content, there’s high utility in first pausing to answer some basic questions: who is your audience, and what action should they take? See lessons about audience and the Big Idea introduced in this week’s lecture explored through example.
LISTEN | SWD podcast episode 37: it’s for THEM
listening time 1:08:35
Tune in for a deep dive on audience: ways to identify who they are and prioritize their needs, strategies for approaching the challenging but common case of the mixed audience, and tips for getting to know an unfamiliar audience.
WATCH | audience matters!
viewing time 54:46
Your audience plays a critical role in how you choose to visualize and talk through your data. This video illustrates how the same numbers can be shown differently depending on who you communicate to.
STEP 3 | Submit the weekly synthesize activity
required for certificate of completion
SYNTHESIZE | apply this week’s learnings
Complete the Big Idea for your course project exercise (only visible to course participants). NOTE: we will use the Big Idea for your course project during class on Monday, October 14, so plan to complete this beforehand and have it handy for lecture!
STEP 4 | Explore optional resources to support your learning
OFFICE HOURS
We’ll have two sessions of office hours this week. These are optional sessions that you can join to ask questions or chat. Alternatively, if you aren’t able to attend a session this week you can submit a question here.
Meet with Simon on Thursday, October 10 at 4AM ET: register to attend
Meet with Amy on Friday, October 11 at 1PM ET: register to attend
Additional recommended resources
following lecture dive deeper into topics of your choosing
READ | stop, collaborate & listen (to your audience)
Before you spend time creating content, there’s high utility in first pausing to answer some basic questions: who is your audience, and what action should they take? See lessons about audience and the Big Idea introduced in this week’s lecture explored through example.
LISTEN | SWD podcast episode 19: ask smart questions
listening time: 39:23 (transcript)
Tune in for content that extends beyond the scope of this week’s theme into questions to ask as you explore and explain data that may be helpful for your course project (and in general!).
WATCH | from model output to data-driven deliverable
viewing time 42:17
See technical output transformed into a communication that works for a general audience through asking questions, offering feedback, and redesigning with a clear message in mind.
PRACTICE | SWD community exercise: enhance this visual
Get some practice identifying a clear recommendation for your audience, then make assumptions to redesign a visual to improve its effectiveness for driving action. After submitting your solution, browse others’ to compare and contrast, furthering your learning.
Great work! Pausing to carefully consider your audience and craft your message helps ensure you create content—including data visualizations—that gets your message across clearly and resonates with your audience.
Next week… We’ll continue to explore the important planning phase for communicating with data and introduce a majorly useful low-tech technique to frame your content: storyboarding. Get your sticky notes ready. See you then!