Quality analysts in the healthcare industry are often tasked with distilling big data into data stories that are clear, compelling, accurate and actionable. Charts and graphs are important visual aids to that communication, but the advancement of healthcare analytics has led to the proliferation of dashboards, reports and other data visualization techniques, many of which do not immediately evince a story to the intended users. This presentation provides strategies to analysts responsible for designing visualization strategies suited not for their own needs but those of a diverse audience, from an infection control nurse assessing an outbreak to a healthcare executive making strategic decisions.  Understanding not only the nature of data but the audience for your information is key to unlocking the true goal of visualization: telling a story where simplicity is king, important plot points are clear, everyone has the same view of the page, and where the audience is moved in a common direction to ensure that the story has a happy ending.