Tell Data Story

Tell Data Story

Turn raw data plus a goal into a one-page interactive story built from 2-3 narrative design patterns. The output is a single self-contained HTML file the user can open in a browser, send to a colleague, or paste into a CMS.

Inputs

The user provides:

1. Data — file path to CSV/PDF/JSON/Markdown table, a pasted table, or a verbal description of numbers.
2. Goal and audience — what they want the reader to take away, and who that reader is. If missing, ask in Step 2.

Optional $ARGUMENTS: a pattern name (compare, concretise) or pattern number (13, 08). Empty argument means auto-pick mode.

Workflow

Copy this checklist into your response and tick boxes as you go:

- [ ] Step 1: Read the data and note its shape
- [ ] Step 2: Clarify takeaway, audience, format (skip questions already answered)
- [ ] Step 3: Confirm the goal back to the user before going further
- [ ] Step 4: Propose patterns (direct from $ARGUMENTS, or auto-pick 2-3) and get sign-off
- [ ] Step 5: Generate narrative-output.html from template.html
- [ ] Step 6: Report picks, rationale, and output path

Step 1 — Read the data

• CSV, JSON, Markdown, plain text: read directly with the Read tool. Note row count, column names, key dimension (time, category, geography), magnitude range, and any obvious outliers.
• PDF: try python3 -c "import pdfplumber, sys; print(pdfplumber.open(sys.argv[1]).pages[0].extract_text())" <path>. If pdfplumber is not installed or extraction fails, ask the user to paste the key rows.
• Pasted table or verbal description: work from what they gave you; ask for a sample if it is too abstract to choose patterns from.

State the shape back in one sentence so the user can correct you before pattern selection.

Step 2 — Clarify intent

If the user has not already said, ask up to three questions in a single message. Do not ask more than three. Skip any that are already answered:

1. Takeaway — In one sentence, what should the reader walk away thinking?
2. Audience — General public, technical/expert, internal decision-makers, or something else?
3. Format — Where does this live? Slide, blog post, social share, internal report, exhibit panel?

Step 3 — Confirm the goal

Before picking patterns, mirror the brief back to the user in 2 to 4 short lines, then stop and wait for confirmation. Do not move on until they reply.

Use this shape:

Data: one line restating the shape (rows, dimension, range). Takeaway: the one-sentence message you'll build the story around. Audience and format: who it's for, where it lives.

Sound right, or want to adjust before I pick patterns?

If the user corrects anything, update your understanding and re-confirm only if the change is material (different takeaway, different audience). Small wording tweaks do not need a second round.

Step 4 — Propose patterns and get sign-off

If $ARGUMENTS is non-empty (direct mode):

• Match against the list in Available patterns below. Accept the id (13-compare), the short name (compare), or the number (13).
• If no match, stop and list the 18 valid names so the user can retry.
• Apply that single pattern. Skip auto-pick heuristics. Still walk the user through it (one or two sentences on why it fits their data) and ask for the green light before generating.

Otherwise (auto-pick mode), choose 2 to 3 patterns. Use these heuristics, then read patterns.md for the candidates' full why and how before finalising:

• Persuade / argue a point → Argumentation: 01-repetition, 02-silent-data, 13-compare
• Make scale or magnitude land → Emotion: 08-concretise, 05-humans-behind-the-dots
• Pull the reader in, let them play → Engagement: 03-exploration, 04-users-find-themselves, 16-make-a-guess
• Sequence complex material → Flow: 06-gradual-reveal, 07-speed-up-slow-down
• Shift perspective, reframe → Framing: 09-familiarisation, 15-defamiliarisation, 14-convention-breaking, 17-physical-metaphor
• Move the reader to act → Engagement: 18-call-to-action
• Empathy / personal stake → Emotion + Framing: 11-breaking-the-4th-wall, 12-addressing-the-audience

Selection rules:

• Prefer patterns whose categories (in patterns.md) align with the stated goal.
• Diversify: when two patterns serve the same purpose, prefer the pair that covers different categories so the story has both head and heart.
• Match data shape: small-multiples-able data favours 01-repetition; two-entity comparisons favour 13-compare; sequential or time-series data favours 06-gradual-reveal; large counts of people or events favour 05-humans-behind-the-dots or 08-concretise.

For each pick, write one sentence of rationale that names the user's specific data and goal, not a generic restatement of the pattern. Bad: "Use Compare to show the difference." Good: "Use Compare so the 3 % marketing spend sits next to the 47 % salary line at the same scale, and the gap becomes the chart."

Then present the proposal to the user as a short bulleted list (pattern name, one-sentence rationale each) and ask:

Happy with these, or want to swap one out? I'll generate the page once you say go.

Wait for a green light before Step 5. If they swap a pattern, update the list and re-confirm. If they say go, proceed.

Step 5 — Generate output

1. Read template.html.
2. Fill placeholders:
   • {{TITLE}} — short headline derived from the user's takeaway.
   • {{TAKEAWAY}} — the takeaway sentence verbatim.
   • {{PATTERN_BLOCKS}} — one <section class="pattern-demo"> per selected pattern, in the order the story should be read. Each block contains:
     • Category pill (use the primary category from patterns.md)
     • Pattern title and number
     • Why this pattern — one or two sentences pulled and tightened from the pattern's why
     • Applied here — one or two sentences naming the user's data and the specific move
     • A working demo built from the user's actual data: inline SVG, HTML, and JS. No frameworks, no external CSS, no build step. Match the visual language defined in design-system.html: Fraunces headings, monospace labels for axes/captions, the paper/ink/category tokens already inlined in template.html, yellow .hl only as a background behind text, soft .demo-frame panels for chart areas.
3. Write the filled-in file to narrative-output.html in the current working directory. Overwrite if it exists.

Critical: the demo must use the user's numbers, not the example data from the pattern's catalog entry. The catalog's example field is a reference to existing work, not data to copy.

Step 6 — Report

In your final response, give the user:

• A bulleted list of the 1-3 patterns picked, each with the one-sentence rationale from Step 3.
• The output path (./narrative-output.html).
• One line telling them to open it in a browser.

Keep the report short. The HTML is the deliverable.

Available patterns

Use these ids (or the bare number / short name) for $ARGUMENTS matching. Full why and how for each in patterns.md.

• 01-repetition — Repeat one motif across small multiples until the pattern feels inescapable.
• 02-silent-data — Ghost a data point, then reveal it for shock.
• 03-exploration — Let the reader filter and drill in.
• 04-users-find-themselves — Reader locates their own dot in the population.
• 05-humans-behind-the-dots — Hover a dot, meet the person.
• 06-gradual-reveal — Layer complexity one beat at a time.
• 07-speed-up-slow-down — Control playback tempo to spotlight dense moments.
• 08-concretise — Translate abstract magnitude into a familiar physical equivalent.
• 09-familiarisation — Re-label the chart around the reader's own reference point.
• 10-rhetorical-question — Open with a question, deliver the answer in the chart.
• 11-breaking-the-4th-wall — A subject inside the chart turns and addresses the reader.
• 12-addressing-the-audience — Rewrite copy in the second person.
• 13-compare — Two things at the same scale; the disparity is the chart.
• 14-convention-breaking — Set up a chart convention, then break it.
• 15-defamiliarisation — Re-draw something familiar strangely.
• 16-make-a-guess — Reader draws their prediction; reveal the truth over it.
• 17-physical-metaphor — Direction carries feeling: up is good, down is bad.
• 18-call-to-action — End with one specific, low-friction next step.

References

• Full pattern catalog with why, how, and a real-world example for each: patterns.md
• Output scaffold with the design tokens inlined: template.html
• Visual language reference (colors, type, components, motion). Edit this file to retheme the skill; keep token names stable so template.html stays in sync: design-system.html