Does Data Communication even matter now?

Won’t AI Replace Analysts?

If everything goes according to the current script, soon anyone in an organisation will be able to ask questions of data in normal, everyday language and get answers straight away, produce their own reports or dashboards from a few prompts.

So why on earth would we need to bother ensuring that we have good communication skills if the analyst role is going to become obsolete?

And that is a very fair question. I don’t think the data analyst role is going the way of the dodo, but I do think it might change - and as it changes communication is going to play an even greater role than it does now.

More consultative, less stuck in the basement

As people get more opportunities to manage their own data needs, I see us in a more consultative, supporting role, rather than a provider of data. People will come to us asking for help understanding what their data is telling them or checking whether their conclusions actually make sense.

We'll become mentors, helping colleagues think through data questions or their analysis - advising how to use data and the traps to avoid. We'll be the ones people turn to when different teams have different numbers or when an answer differs from what is expected. The analysts that can communicate well and put people at ease are the ones who will remain relevant as the role changes.

Analysts Superpower

One of our superpowers is that we know how models work, we get the uncertainty that underlines them, their limitations and the risks that may result. To be honest, this will be invisible until something goes wrong, but when it does (and it will), those of us who can explain why things failed, what can be done and how risks can be mitigated in everyday, ordinary language will become incredibly valuable.

Deep Dives into the Mess

As we move away from providing data for one-off queries or building dashboards, I see us doing deeper dives into edge or nuanced cases (where AI is likely to go wrong) - you know the fun stuff 😊. As these are often messier and more complex, good communication skills to explain what we found, why it matters and what people should do about it are going to be needed.

So, here’s the challenge 

There’s nothing like getting started now. Look for opportunities in your day-to-day work where you can be more consultative - it could be anything from advising colleagues on their analysis, helping someone understand what's going wrong with an AI tool, or just thinking through data questions together. We don’t need to wait for AI to take over - good communication skills matter just as much today as they will in the future.