The ability to use data effectively is crucial to the success of most modern organizations. This includes optimizing processes using operational data, finding new customers through consumer data, and understanding the immediate business environment using competitor data. But it’s not enough to simply have data; nor is it enough to employ a team of analysts to sift through the multiple haystacks of raw information in search of a needle of insight. To effectively use data, organizations need professionals who are able to communicate and disseminate data-driven insights in order to properly guide decision making.

The MIT Sloan Communicating Data Through Storytelling online short course teaches you how to construct stories from data that persuade, motivate, and inspire action. Discover how to tailor logically sound presentations for a variety of audiences, as well as understand the best practices for presenting data with clarity rather than complexity. In the program, you’ll delve into the TOP-T (topic, orientation, point, transition) framework, developed by MIT Sloan faculty to make complex data more understandable.

This course is ideal for any professional who regularly presents data-driven insights, whether that role is technical or not. If you’re an analyst or analytics manager, the program will enhance your ability to communicate insights, particularly when presenting specialist information to general audiences. If you’re a manager, decision maker, or occupy a functional role, it equips you with the skills needed to tell a clear story with data that can be shared with key stakeholders in the organization. If you’re a consultant or entrepreneur, you’ll have the opportunity to learn practical techniques for persuading and influencing clients.