Source | www-myhrfuture-com.cdn.ampproject.org | Caroline Styr
Days, weeks or even months can be dedicated to collecting, analysing and interpreting the right data to get the right insights to answer pressing business questions. At the end of this demanding process, how much time is dedicated to preparing how those insights will be communicated? The likely answer – nowhere near enough.
In this article, we’re going to talk through some of the most common questions when it comes to storytelling with data:
“Maybe stories are just data with soul” Brené Brown
“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller” Steve Jobs
A typical story follows a narrative arc, based on rising and resolving tension. Scholars have been analysing this structure, and its impact on audiences, since 335BC. People naturally engage and respond to this arc, meaning that stories are significantly more memorable than facts.
The concept of storytelling with data is therefore about finding the tension, guiding the audience through that rising tension, through the narrative arc, and then ultimately to resolution.
It is this tension that will sustain your audience’s attention and lead them to take action. Most importantly, it is the tension that is important to the audience – not to those who conducted the analysis. This means that you might have to change the story depending on who you are presenting to.
Excellent data visualisation alone is not enough. If there is no compelling story behind the data that the audience will resonate with, the chances of them taking action as a result of your presentation are minimal.