5 secrets to converting data into captivating business stories

What’s the earliest story you can remember hearing? For me, it was the story of a boy who Cried Wolf! Like all good stories, this one had a powerful moral to it – don’t tell lies, because if you do, when you tell the truth, no one will believe you. It’s simple to give the message – 3 short sentences and it’s done. But what makes the message unforgettable is the story attached to it.

Hundreds of years ago, human beings realised that if they wanted to pass on data from one generation to the next, the best way to do it was in a story. In business, we forget this lesson. Our presentations are endless streams of dry data with banal conclusions and very little insight. Listeners can’t remember what was on a slide after it changes, never mind at the end of the presentation. So, what do we do to make our presentations memorable? How do we tell stories with our data? Here are 5 simple tips…

1.     What is a Story?

Most of us are stuck because we don’t really know what a story is. So, let’s define a story… here is one that speaks to me - “A story is data with a soul” or a more academic definition “A Story is the narration of a set of causally related incidents/ pieces of information that lead to a significant learning/ insight and a change in the characters or the situation” Here are the key elements:

• A series of causally related incidents (in our case – data points)
• Significant Insight or learning
• A change (or potential change) in the characters or the situation

After you’ve identified the key elements, it takes a little bit of art to weave them together to form a story. But this is something I learnt recently. We’re all born story tellers. It’s in our genes, hardwired into our DNA. It’s what ultimately separates us from animals. The ability to tell stories and pass on our learning from one generation to the next.

2.     Spot the stories in your data…

In all the volumes of data that we have, we’ve got to pick out the particular items which link together to form a series of causally related incidents that will help you to tell your story. Here’s how Steve Jobs did it in his presentation of the iPhone in 2007. (insert first 3 minutes of the link).  

3.     Identify the bad guys! (your problems/ issues/ undesirable situations or results)

Identify your problem statement. (That’s your bad guy!!!) glorify it, make it larger than life.

Describe in detail everything that is wrong with the situation, then slay it with your solution. 

Convert dry facts / figures into stories with a soul, character and life

4.     Now glorify your hero… (the solution!).

Describe how your hero (the solution) has solved the problem for you. Extol the virtues of your solution. Link it to the disasters you described in your problem statement. Show how easy it is to use, implement, manage and govern.

Remember to highlight the new situation… the prince must find Cinderella, Erin Brockovich must defeat big corporate and everyone must live happily ever after. 

5.     Do it all in pictures… 

Steve Jobs perfected his ability to tell strong data stories using pictures. Of course, we are not Steve Jobs, and it’s hard to use pictures, but the effort is well worth it.

The human brain which thinks, sees and experiences life in digital, hi-def, technicolor images struggles with the analogue, black and white still information in text. 

To end my tale… in the timeless words of the GI Joe cartoon…“So Now you know… and knowing is half the battle”

Lets master the art and science of business storytelling, attached is our program brochure - Once Upon A Time (A business storytelling workshop).

Call / Email us for any additional information. Raj Verma - 9930021140 / [email protected]