Did you know that 58% of businesses make half of their decisions based on a gut feeling rather than data? This percentage goes up to 70% for laggard companies.
The challenge isn't so much obtaining data as it is making sense of it. This is an issue you are probably all too familiar with: Data is widely available, but translating these numbers into a story that resonates with your audience and helps you achieve your learning outcomes is a skill you need to master.
1. Tell a Story
If your LMS engagement analytics shows that your audience is disinterested when your manager is not able to find the data they require, for example, it is time to rethink the way you present your data. Your goal is to distill key takeaways and objectives so your audience can extract these insights by themselves and play an active role in the learning process.
Combining storytelling techniques with classic design principles will help you leverage data and turn it into a powerful visual element that keeps your audience engaged:
- Find a structure for your story. Start with a challenge, present the solutions implemented, and show the outcome.
- Use a mix of qualitative and quantitative data if possible.
- Prepare your data. Don't hesitate to strip your data of anything extraneous and zoom in on key insights.
- Clean your data by removing outliers.
- Provide some context for your data. You need to tell a story and work your data into it. Add information about the sources used and write a few sentences to comment on the data or on the causes behind the trends that can be observed.
- Labels can make a real difference. Titles and subtitles should tell your audience what they are looking at and provide some clues regarding the insights they should extract.
2. Use Charts and Colors
Data visualization tools allow you to instantly turn numbers into visual charts and to add colors. Make good use of these tools by sticking to a few basic design principles.
The best format depends on the type of data you are working with. A table is a good choice if you want to structure your data and organize it with labels; however, you need to carefully filter your data and focus on a few key points to maximize readability. Think about using chart elements, such as filling some cells with a bar to summarize key points.
Charts are an excellent choice if you want to show an evolution or get your audience to make a comparison. Pay attention to dimensions. Graphs show the relations that exist in or between a data set. Not all data sets are structured so that a graph would make sense, and this data visualization method requires a lot of preparation, especially when it comes to eliminating outliers. Maps are often overlooked, but they are a powerful storytelling technique because they connect data to geographic areas and can show regional trends.
Using colors will boost LMS engagement by instantly drawing the eye to key elements. However, keep in mind that your audience is going to instinctively group the data presented with the same color. Use this to your advantage to underline an existing correlation, and make sure that this is a part of your narrative.
Review your visual elements and ask yourself if they help you achieve your learning objectives. Do key insights jump out at you when you look at the charts you created?
3. Use the Right Data Visualization Tools
You can improve LMS engagement analytics by choosing the right tool to transform your data into powerful visual storytelling elements. For example, Zoola Analytics, an LMS reporting and analytics solution, has more data visualization features than other LMS systems.