Communicating Insights: From Data to Action

You can run a perfect analysis and uncover an insight that could save money or improve the product.
But if your message doesn’t land, it won’t matter.

One of the most overlooked skills for junior analysts is communication.
It’s not just about charts — it’s about getting others to care, understand, and act.

The good news: this is a skill you can learn.

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to communicate your findings clearly and effectively by:

• Structuring your message so it’s easy to follow
• Adapting your communication to different audiences
• Focusing on what matters — and avoiding unnecessary detail
• Choosing the right visuals to support your insights

Let’s dive into it.

1. Why Communication Matters in Data Analytics

Stakeholders aren’t looking for technical details.
They’re looking for clarity on insights and next actions.

We opened this course by saying the analyst’s job is to bridge the technical and the business.
Communication is the last mile of that bridge — and it’s often where analysts drop the ball.

You don’t need to be a public speaker.

But you do need to use the fewest words possible to clearly explain:

• What you found
• What’s still unclear or needs further analysis
• What you recommend based on the data

If you can do that well, your value as an analyst multiplies.

2. Know Your Audience

Different people care about different things.
One of the biggest mistakes analysts make is presenting the same analysis the same way to everyone.

Here’s a simple rule of thumb:

Stakeholder	What They Care About
Executives	Outcomes. What’s happening? Why does it matter? What should we do?
Non-Technical Stakeholders	Business impact. How does this affect goals, priorities, or user behavior?
Technical Stakeholders	Methodology. How was the analysis done? Was the data clean? Does the logic hold?

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Who They Are

Executives
Senior decision-makers like CEOs, VPs, or directors.
They focus on high-level impact — growth, risk, revenue.
They don’t care how you got the answer, only what it means and what to do next.
Keep it short, clear, and actionable.

Non-Technical Stakeholders
People like product managers, marketers, sales leads, and operations managers.
They make daily decisions but aren’t data experts.
Show how your insight affects what they care about: users, performance, and priorities.

Technical Stakeholders
Data scientists, engineers, or other analysts.
They understand SQL, modeling, and data pipelines.
You can go deeper here — walk them through assumptions, methodology, and edge cases.
Rigor matters.

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Bottom line:
Speak the language of the person in the room.

• Sometimes that means skipping SQL details and going straight to the takeaway.
• Other times, it means walking through your logic step by step.

The more you tailor your message, the more likely it is to land — and lead to action.

3. Use the Pyramid Principle to Communicate Clearly

One of the most effective ways to present your findings — especially to busy stakeholders — is by using the Pyramid Principle, popularized by McKinsey and other consulting firms.

The idea is simple: Start with the answer, then back it up.

Instead of walking through all the steps of your analysis, you lead with your main takeaway — the so what — and only then show how you got there.

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The Pyramid Structure

Level	What It Is	Example
Top (The Answer)	Your main recommendation or key insight	“We should make onboarding mandatory to reduce early churn.”
Middle (Why)	2–3 reasons or supporting insights	“70% of churn happens in the first 2 days.” “Most churned users skipped onboarding.”
Bottom (Evidence)	The data, methodology, or logic behind each point	Charts, segment analysis, retention curves, etc.

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Why This Works

• It respects time
  Executives don’t want to dig — they want the bottom line fast.

• It’s easier to follow
  People absorb structured messages better than linear walkthroughs.

• It highlights the business value
  By leading with the outcome, you focus attention where it matters.

4. How to Structure Your Message

Once you know your audience and what to say, the next step is how to say it.
Structure matters.

Busy people won’t read every word or listen to every detail — they’ll scan.
Your job is to guide their attention to the most important points.

Here are 3 principles that will help:

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1. Make It Skimmable

Most stakeholders scan before they read. Use formatting to help them:

• Use clear slide titles that state the message, not just the topic
  (e.g., “Churn Happens Early” instead of “Churn by Day”)

• Use bullet points sparingly — and only for key ideas

• Use bold or highlight to emphasize numbers, trends, or action items

Skimmability is the difference between something being read and something being skipped.

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2. Show, Don’t Tell

Visuals beat paragraphs.
Charts, tables, and diagrams make your message clearer and faster to digest — if they’re used well.

• Use visualizations to highlight patterns, comparisons, or trends
• Avoid dumping raw numbers — focus on what they mean
• Add short labels or callouts to guide interpretation

Remember: Your chart isn’t the story.
It supports the story.

3. Keep It Clean and Focused

Every slide, chart, or email should answer one key question. More than that? Break it up.

• One idea per slide
• One chart per takeaway
• White space is your friend — don’t fear empty areas

The goal isn’t to impress with volume.
It’s to land one clear idea at a time.

These principles make your work easier to understand — and more likely to drive action.
Clarity is the difference between “cool chart” and “let’s implement this.”

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5. Choosing the Right Chart for the Job

Picking the right chart is part of good communication.
It helps people understand your insight faster — and with less effort.

There are endless chart types out there. Some look flashy and complex.
Don’t fall for that. In reality, 95% of the time, analysts use the same basic set:

• Bar chart:
  Great for comparisons across categories.
  Example: Revenue by country, conversion by channel.

• Line chart:
  Best for showing trends over time.
  Example: Daily active users over the last 30 days.

• Pie chart:
  Useful for showing proportions — but only when there are very few categories.
  Use sparingly.

• Scatter plot:
  Good for showing relationships or correlations between two numerical variables.
  Example: Ad spend vs. revenue.

• Table:
  Best when exact numbers matter, or when your audience needs to compare multiple figures precisely.

  

Always choose the format that makes the takeaway easiest to grasp.
If the insight isn’t clear in under 5 seconds, try a different chart — or add a sentence that spells it out.

Terms Recap

• Pyramid Principle: A communication framework that starts with the main takeaway, followed by supporting points and detailed evidence.
• Executive Summary: A short, high-level explanation of your findings — often the only part senior leaders will read.
• Audience Tailoring: Adapting your message based on who you’re presenting to, focusing on what they care about and how they process information.

Summary: What You Learned

In this chapter, you learned how to turn analysis into action — by communicating clearly, confidently, and with purpose.

Here’s what we covered:

• Why communication matters: Even great analysis won’t make an impact if your message doesn’t land.
• How to tailor your message: Different stakeholders care about different things — speak their language.
• How to structure your insight: Use the Pyramid Principle to lead with the takeaway, then support it with logic and evidence.
• How to make your message skimmable: Use formatting, focus, and clean visuals to guide attention and avoid overwhelm.
• How to choose the right chart: Stick to simple, familiar visuals that highlight your point clearly and quickly.

Bottom line:
Good analysts don’t just find insights — they help others act on them.
Clear communication is what turns your work into business impact.

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The next move is on me

I’ll keep working to create content that helps you become the kind of analyst people trust — impactful, thoughtful, and valued by managers and teammates alike.

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— Alon, DataNoobs