Becoming a Master Storyteller

Have you ever sat through a presentation that was full of analytics? Maybe the presenter was going slide by slide and you found yourself wondering, “When's this going to end? Are there any more snacks at the back of the room?” You may have noticed that your head started dipping, and your eyes started to glaze over. How did it feel to be in that situation? Probably not very good. Did the information motivate you to take action, beyond finding the snacks? Probably not.

This month, in the Rethink Sales Newsletter, I'm going to do something a little different. I’m going to give you a preview of how to communicate your story with analytics in a way that’s engaging and interesting. Sounds impossible, right? There can’t be a way to turn your data into a story people actually want to hear, can there? After all, it’s data. It’s not supposed to be fun. But there is good news. While telling your data story may never be your definition of fun, I can show you how to create a story, with your data, that gets your message across and gets action… And getting the action you need from your story could be pretty rewarding, if not fun.

A lot of us are numbers people. Numbers give us clues. They give us answers. Numbers are important in both business and in life. Numbers are what lead us to success and profitability. But, since most of us are people, and not human calculators, we need to do something to bring life to our numbers, to give them meaning, to give them impact and make something good happen.?

That’s exactly what my new course that I produced to the team at LinkedIn Learning is all about. It's called Analytics-Driven Storytelling. It's a high impact course, that takes less than one hour, that can literally change the way you communicate. After you take it, you'll be on the path to becoming a master analytics storyteller. It will help you in areas like organizing your thinking, finding your data story, and getting your message across in a compelling way. You’ll learn how to get commitment and get the action you need from your audience. Within the course, I’ll cover five essential elements to analytics driven storytelling.

First, we’ll talk about the power of data stories. Why are stories so powerful? It's because they engage our primal wiring, that’s been in place for thousands of years. Our brains process and remember information in stories - something with a beginning, a middle, and an end. And since stories start with who you are and your comfort level around storytelling, we'll get into how you think and how to get your head right about telling stories. A lot of us, including me, get hung up with complex story structures we read about in those business storytelling books, and we can’t remember them when it comes to actually sharing our narrative. So, I’ll share a simple formula for a great story that you can actually use.?

Second, we’ll get into what you're solving for. The problem you’re addressing will reveal your story. I’ll tell you how to set a goal for your story to set the foundation of how you work with your analytics. Because you're probably not going to tell your story just one time, you're likely going to tell it more than once to a variety of audiences, I’ll show you how to put together a storytelling campaign.?

Third, we'll take a strategic view and I’ll show you how to apply a thought model to jump-start your thinking, rather than creating new models from scratch. I’ll introduce some analytics players, who might be in the cast of your story, and we'll listen to what they might say. And, if you hadn’t picked up on it already, your analytics aren’t the star. It’s your story and the problem you’re solving for that are the stars, and your analytics are the supporting cast. They could help you set the stage, identify the problem, or create the direction for the future.?

Fourth, we’ll look at how you build your data story. You have to find your data story within a mass of analytics, and not be swayed by what you believe is the story, in order to hear what the analytics have to say. Once you find your storylines, how do you connect the data dots between A and B? How do you refine your story? How do you engage the outsider to get a different perspective? I’ll show you how to craft your story and I’ll give you some real-life examples of how to take 200 pages of analytics down to several story lines that each can be shown on one page.

And then fifth, and finally, we’ll take some steps to hone and master your abilities as a storyteller. I’ll show you how to test drive your story and shake off the spare parts to finalize it. And then I’ll give you some hints on how to practice and develop your personal style and make analytics storytelling your lifelong hobby.

So, check out the course here and share it with friends and colleagues. I think you’ll enjoy it and pick up some new ideas and skills you can apply right way. And together, we’ll start you on your journey to becoming a master analytics storyteller.

Analytics-Driven Storytelling

Happy storytelling!

-Mark