Digital & Data Storytelling 

Storytelling joins up the (data) Dots

The more data points you have, the more useful it would be. Could be. If you and others could understand it! Data is harvested at great expense to help leaders make better decisions. Big Data means what it says - hundreds of thousands or millions of data points. How to translate that into a useful executive summary? 

An executive summary should enable better decision making underpinned  by reliable data. But no CEO will trawl through all the data - they’re paid to made decisions, not read and analyse thousands of  data points. But they do need to understand the context, the trajectory, the story of the data. That’s where Storytelling comes in. It joins up the data, distills data into a narrative, makes complex data comprehensible and helps decision-makers make better decisions. 

Do you want to turn data into intelligence that can lead to better decision-making? Tell great stories. 

How StoryPower® can help help you use Data:

• 1-2-1 Storytelling and SpeakerCoaching sessions for big events like fundraising pitches, board meetings, media opportunities, and recruitment fairs; 
• ongoing work with your people: onboarding, retention and internal comms; 
• small group workshops on storytelling, presentations and pitches with interactive exercises and real life bespoke case studies, group projects and presentations, plus personal and immediately useable feedback; 
• supporting webinars; 
• ongoing group and 1-2-1 coaching.

Data costs a lot to acquire but it isn't a goal in itself. Data has a function: to enable better decisions. It doesn't matter how much data you have unless it is accurate and useable. Otherwise it's just data. Storytelling makes data useable - by finding and communicating the "big picture" from a mass of data. It is essential to understand, analyse and talk about data. It translates complexity into clarity and inertia into action.

Storytelling is described as joining up the dots. Nowhere is this more important than when talking about data. 

8 Reasons Why Storytelling is Important for Understanding, Analysing, and Using Data

1. 1. Context: Data alone can be dry and hard to interpret. Storytelling places data in a real-world context, making it more relatable and understandable.
2. Engagement: Stories have the power to hold an audience’s attention. When data is presented in a story format, it is more likely to resonate with people.
3. The same is true for Memory retention: People remember stories way better than raw data.
4. Emotional connection: Stories evoke emotions, emotions trigger action. Data doesn’t.
5. Simplification: Stories take complex data and make them clear, simple and accessible.
6. Decision-making: Stories help decision-makers understand data, highlighting the implications and consequences of different choices, so they can make better choices.
7. Persuasion: When data is presented in a persuasive story, it is more emotionally convincing. And that’s where the power is.

Storytelling humanises data and makes it more understandable, meaningful, and actionable. Data doesn’t move people, stories do.

"How many hearts have been warmed by PowerPoint?"

- Peter Botting