Storytelling is exactly how it sounds: weaving together a  story rather than just making a series of points. It is a  close relative of visualization — another way to make new  ideas feel real and compelling. Visual storytelling is  actually the most compelling type of story. All good  presentations — whether analytical or design-oriented —  tell a persuasive story.    Like images, stories allow us to access emotions and  emphasize experiences. They add the richness of context  and allow us to “sell” a problem as well as its solution.  With any luck, they keep their audiences awake.    Good stories follow some basic principles: Be sure to  identify your audience. It is critical to create a storyboard;  it allows us to pay careful attention to flow and logic. Set  the scene to sell the problem, make your cast of  characters feel real and work the plot; all good stories  unfold with some tension, and maybe some surprises  develop — here is where you think about how to combine  data and pictures to drive home your points. For the  climax, unveil your resolution to the problem. Make it  compelling. And don’t forget the use of metaphors and  analogies to bring your story to life

Learning launches are designed to test the key  underlying value-generating assumptions of a potential  new-growth initiative in the marketplace. In contrast to a  full new-product rollout, a learning launch is a learning  experiment conducted quickly and inexpensively to gather

market-driven data.    We call them launches, rather than experiments, because  they are meant to feel real to both launchers and  customers. Only then can they yield reliable data. They  are an extension of the co-creation process, but at this  stage, we are asking customers to put their money where  their mouths are. People who say they will buy remain  only potential customers. The only true test of the value of  an idea for customers is their willingness to part with cold  hard cash.

