Original ideas are the fuel of innovation and creativity, but they also need to be validated and communicated effectively. In this article, you will learn how to use storytelling and data to support your original ideas, whether you are pitching them to a client, a boss, or a wider audience.
Storytelling is the art of creating a narrative that engages and persuades your listeners. It helps you to connect with their emotions, values, and goals, and to show them why your idea matters. Storytelling also helps you to structure your message, to highlight the key points, and to create a memorable impression. A good story can make your idea stand out from the crowd and inspire action.
In my experience, storytelling is the best way to convey an idea to listeners with different backgrounds. Whether you're an executive or a marketing intern, a software developer or a cruise ship guide, a well-told story is easy to remember because it engages universal experiences and feelings.
Storytelling is quite the art but at least try to make what you’re trying to explain into a real world story about something you’ve experienced. That creates a more compelling narrative than looking at graphs and charts for instance.
Storytelling is a new way of social selling and it spreads in wide range of audiences. Though, you need to be very authentic and honest with your story.
Navigating the SaaS space as a fractional FP&A/CFO has taught me the power of intertwining data with compelling narratives. While storytelling taps into emotions, the credibility of your narrative is bolstered when substantiated with data. Especially in SaaS, metrics like Churn Rate, Lifetime Value, or Customer Acquisition Cost can be story drivers. For instance, a tale of retaining a crucial client segment becomes more impactful when paired with a low churn rate. Additionally, tools that visually represent these metrics can be potent storytelling aids. A dynamically plotted growth curve or a heatmap of user engagement zones can be narrative centerpieces. The art lies in ensuring the data doesn't overshadow the story.
Storytelling is like a political campaign: A must-do if you want to grab the attention of your audience. It is the platform to showcase your idea, its novelty, depth, and relevance so people can connect to it and eventually invest themselves in it.
To craft a compelling story, you need to have a clear purpose, a target audience, and a main message. You also need to follow a basic structure that includes a hook, a challenge, a solution, and a call to action. A hook is a way to capture attention and curiosity, such as a surprising fact, a question, or a personal anecdote. A challenge is a problem or opportunity that your idea addresses, and that your audience can relate to. A solution is how your idea solves the challenge, and what benefits it brings. A call to action is what you want your audience to do next, such as to sign up, to buy, or to share.
Be like a politician. Your story should be short but full of elements that excite and compel people, and get them fired up. Be playful and authentic.., fetch relatable tales and creative sparks from your own experiences (school, office, friends, travel, disaster, charity) to ignite the imagination. A photo is worth a million words, use pictures and videos.
It’s important not to overcomplicate this step because then it’s highly likely you just dont tell a story. Better to speak in real-world examples than trying to tell enticing stories.
While this is true in theory, many business people find this daunting as a starting point. To get started try using small examples as stories to take your content out of concept and into a reality for people. I.e. ‘you must follow the processes already created to support our customers better’ can be brought alive with a quick story about Lee who has transferred from another company with no process for resolving customer complaints so he was used to average resolution time of x. After 3 weeks with us, following our processes he is excited to see our customer resolution time is y and his day is so much smoother. He told us that he can now predict being home in time to help his kids with their homework. Processes make life easier.
Story need to touch one or more of emotions of a person. Creating a hope/happiness, using relatable incidents. Story has to be "told" based on the audience. Story for primary school and story for scientists or story for artists may have to be presented in the way it reach the target. Telling a story in customer language do not literally mean language like - French or Spanish or Sanskrit. It is about telling the story in a way that the recipient can make a connect. In a business presentations one may be challenged in knowing the audience in advance especially with large sized audience with diverse background. Approach may have to be chosen between being generic (or spreading oneself all around) and from being specific or focused.
In my capacity as a fractional FP&A/CFO within the SaaS sector, I've often emphasized the synergy between data and narrative. Building on this framework, data acts as the spine of your story. Consider the hook: imagine beginning with a striking metric, like “80% of our target segment faces X problem.” For the challenge, historical data can depict the magnitude of an issue. The solution phase can be enriched with projections and KPI improvements, demonstrating the efficacy of the idea. The call to action, meanwhile, might highlight potential ROI or reduced churn rates, motivating stakeholders to act. SaaS businesses, with their plethora of real-time data, are uniquely positioned to weave such data-driven tales.
Data is the evidence that supports your idea and shows that it is feasible, reliable, and valuable. Data can help you to validate your assumptions, to test your hypotheses, and to measure your results. Data can also help you to convince your audience that your idea is based on facts, not opinions, and that it can deliver on its promises. Data can also help you to address potential objections, questions, or concerns that your audience may have.
Have you ever observed politicians running for office? Data is central to their storytelling. They use data to "inform, inspire & and persuade" the voters. Data is a versatile tool that can operate in many different ways to create an emotional bond with your audience. Use it to make your stories more elegant and authentic.
I fully agree that nothing better to authenticate your views or perspective than data. A story without support of data is like a soup with all water and no ingredients.
This is so true! You need supporting facts to back your arguments and story. Here’s the key trick though. Know but don’t show the details. The data and details are not part of your storytelling and you only refer to them if asked.
A crucial aspect of using the data is to reveal how the data was collected. Collecting data to support your preconceived notions or hypotheses or stories should be avoided. Sampling methods used for data collection should be revealed. If a biased sampling method is used (e.g, over sampling a particular group or deliberately leaving out another group, etc.), then no matter what fancy models are used, the statistical inference will suffer from such sampling biases. Hence, the story that you tell based on the conveniently collected samples will be influenced by such sampling biases.
Data do not matter similarly in all situations. In a research scientific forum, data will be more relevant In a forum of faithful (religious or political), data may be less relevant. One could afford to be very peripheral, st skin level. Depth in data is not expected in such cases
To use data effectively, you need to select the right data, to present it clearly, and to interpret it meaningfully. You need to choose data that is relevant, credible, and accurate, and that supports your main message. You also need to present it in a way that is easy to understand and visualize, such as using charts, graphs, tables, or infographics. You also need to interpret your data in a way that explains what it means, why it matters, and how it relates to your story.
This might be controversial but I say, don’t present the data. Leave it in an appendix only to be used if your argumentation comes into question.
One has to find the data and the starry story hidden in the numbers and present it to make a point. Look for galaxy-like patterns, trends moving at an impact of asteroid, and outliers billions of light years away that would make for a compelling story. Graphs and charts are so boring for a story. Use mind map maps. Innovate with the analogy of space, mountains, earth, robotics, sports, people or history
The presentation of data will vary with the target. Decision makers will need a broad picture. Bar charts and pie charts, ability to switch between percentage and numbers may find liking from decision makers Operational people will like specifics, more like list of records Representation of data on a map can be a good thing for people who work in functions that can be related to natural disaster or public administration of linear and disparate critical assets
In my tenure as a fractional FP&A/CFO for SaaS ventures, I've witnessed how impactful a story can be when underpinned by robust data. Drawing from the SaaS milieu, the importance of metrics like Monthly Recurring Revenue or Net Promoter Score can't be overlooked. Take MRR, for example. Instead of just showcasing growth numbers, contextualize them with a narrative of how strategic shifts led to those spikes. Present this journey with a well-crafted line graph, and you're effectively merging story with data. Moreover, interpretation becomes pivotal. A sudden spike in user adoption rates isn't just a number; it's a testament to successful feature rollouts or marketing campaigns.
To combine storytelling and data, you need to balance them in a way that creates a coherent and convincing narrative. You need to use storytelling to provide context, emotion, and motivation, and to use data to provide evidence, logic, and credibility. You need to integrate your data into your story, not just add it as an afterthought. You also need to tailor your storytelling and data to your audience, to their level of knowledge, interest, and needs.
In my role as a fractional FP&A/CFO for SaaS startups, I've seen firsthand the persuasive power of intertwining data with a compelling story. Consider the SaaS world's lifeline: metrics. These aren't mere numbers but milestones in a journey. When presenting churn rates, don't just project a figure; illustrate the story of customer feedback leading to pivotal feature enhancements. Use graphs not just as visual aids, but as plots unfolding in real-time. For a board meeting, a Customer Lifetime Value surge can be depicted as the result of strategic pivots, while for a product team, it paints the tale of successful iterations. The harmony between data and narrative is where the magic happens.
Data has this amazing power to speak your message if you torture it the right way. Data helps storytellers find common joys, fears, complaints, and truths that bring people together and tell the story of how they can overcome their trials and succeed in accomplishing their goals. Pick things that everyone can relate to, universal ideas that people will always want to share with others. And like politicians, no matter what question anyone asks, always make a point to twist data and keep coming back to your specific topic.
Use the SCQA principle to tell you story. There’s no better way in business! That is, Situation, Complication, Question, and Answer.
To improve your skills in storytelling and data, you need to practice and learn from others. You need to practice by creating and delivering stories and data for different purposes, audiences, and formats. You can also seek feedback and advice from peers, mentors, or experts. You can also learn from others by studying and analyzing examples of effective storytelling and data, such as TED talks, podcasts, blogs, or books. You can also take courses, workshops, or online resources that teach you the principles and techniques of storytelling and data.
The most important thing is to remain true to the findings and not bring one's own opinions or biases into play while telling the story. Objectivity should be the gold standard of data based story telling.
Practice, practice, practice ... A craftsman is nothing without the right tools - use tools for the right grammar, visuals and analytics of your content. The story can be confusing, misleading, and even dangerous when done poorly. Always own and be responsible.
Be yourself, be natural. Speak on areas known to you Try to keep things simple and in a way one can relate to. That may need some experience. For some this may come naturally. There is no single approach for all situations and all audience types.
Remember the end goal. If people upvote or share your content, your story is a winner. If your story achieves its purpose of sales or awareness, your story is perfect.