The elements of a story

We hear all the time that a story is essential to a good report or presentation. Setting aside whether that is true or not for another day, what goes into a story? That’s been my question. I know what goes into a good questionnaire. I know the critical elements of a cluster analysis. But what do I know of stories? 

Depending on what expert you go to, there are anywhere from four to eleven critical elements of a story. 

The problem is that all the expert advice on telling a story is in the context of entertainment--a book, a children’s story, around the campfire ghost stories, sitcoms, and so on. But given that, can we move the context over to research and insights and figure out what elements need to be there?  

Some context. I know a good story. I read. I mean, I read a ton. And less than ten percent of my reading is non-fiction. I don’t read business books for my reading pleasure. I prefer something with a plot to it. And preferably good characters. So I took that experience and applied it to report writing to come up with what I believe are the three critical elements to a story for a research and insights report.

1 Point-of-View

The driving force in any report I have done is to know what is the big main point learned from this research that should drive decisions. Clients want a viewpoint. (Until it clashes with their viewpoint, but that’s a long discussion we wont get into right now.) They didn’t come to you for charts and data. They can get that from anyone. 

I recently heard an interview with Francis Ford Copolla on Fresh Air where he talked about having a one word theme for each of the movies he made. That theme keeps the movie on track and drives decisions. For The Godfather, it was Succession. 

That is essentially his point-of-view in the context of a report.

You should also know your client's point-of-view. This will help you develop the story arc.

Characters

What makes a really good book? Or great movie? You get roped in and really care what happens to the characters. The characters are developed well enough that you care. And that's what I mean by this element--making the reader of your report care.

One thing that might help to think about this in a reporting context is that often in movies or books a key character is not necessarily a person--it can be a concept or object--like a storm, a mountain, or a force to be reckoned with. The idea here is to set up and develop aspects of the data that make your audience care about the final outcome.

Sometimes that can be done by effectively conveying what the participants in the study care about--the problems and challenges they face and how that affects their lives. If you can make your participant feel real to the client--not just a faceless consumer, then you can get them to care.

There is no limit to the number of characters in a good story, but avoid the Russian novel syndrome. (Or the “white guys who all look alike” problem of Netflix. Yes, that’s a real thing--and it is not just people of color who have issues with this. I hate it when all the male characters in a movie or series basically look the same and dress the same. It’s as hard to keep them straight as the multitude of characters in a Russian novel.

Remember, the most important thing about this element is how you include it to make your client care about the data and insights. It’s all about them seeing themselves in the story.

Arc

Think of the arc as how you are going to get your audience from their point-of-view to your point-of-view. 

So, for example, if your client comes into the research with the thought that this advertising concept is really powerful because it shows the product in action, but then you learn that the target audience doesn’t even care about what the product does because of the brand’s controversial stance on social issues, then the arc needs to take your client from their current point of view to understanding why they should change it. A simple way to get there is to identify evidence from the study that supports the main insight.

Don’t be afraid to have more than one arc to your story. Life isn’t always a clean answer. Sometimes to get from one point of view to the other you need to take different routes. The really good stories can either be linear and focused, or follow multiple plotlines that eventually intersect.  

In the end, if you want to tell a story with your reporting, those three elements are the most critical and will often encompass the relevant other elements.

 __________________________________

I have been involved in the market research field, as a corporate-side research manager, a bulletin board platform co-founder, and then a research agency owner for over 35 years now. I have learned a thing or two about doing research better. My intent with these articles is to share practical and thought provoking ideas to elevate your research game, whether you are the person conducting the research or the person using it to make better decisions. (Or if you wear both hats!) 

Twitter: @TripleScoopPMR