Storytelling

CHALLENGE AND SELECTION

The first tool I used was the tool of Storytelling , to achieve a shared understanding of a problem space among a diverse group of stakeholders before attempting to identify and define

possible solutions to the problem. I use this approach often with our customers, who are government agencies working to apply technology innovations to modernize their mission or the delivery of their services to their customer, which may be U.S. citizens, businesses, and non- citizens. I have used the technique of using a straw man visualization of a problem domain with a set of questions or prompts for discussion to allow a diverse group of stakeholders to learn from each other in the process of defining the scope, boundaries, key elements, and relationships between elements to consider when identifying pain points and opportunities for improvements or solutions.

APPLICATION

I found the storytelling course to be informative and worthwhile. Unlike a Udemy course on Tableau that wades right into the applied aspects of clicking and dragging items, Coursera courses offer more of an academic background on the subject matter.

The point of this course is to hammer home that stories provide context and meaning that can’t be matched by a list of facts. We’re informed that stories engage more of your brain than simply absorbing a list of facts.

We learn that you should always try to make your stories relatable to the viewer so that they personally connect or identify with some aspect of the story. You should find a specific story of a person who exemplifies the larger narrative rather than starting with a lot of general facts and figures.

Politicians employ this tactic all of the time. Instead of spouting off a list of facts about their particular issue, the politician will first paint a picture regarding Joe the small businessman or Jill the single mom. They’ll then discuss how legislation (or lack thereof) will affect their constituents particular situations; in the hope that the listener will relate to the individuals. This is an exercise in using the particular to illuminate the general.

Here are a few of the tips I learned in regard to telling stories with data:

• Use time based trends and consider a line or bar graph depending upon the data;

• Use rank ordering (e.g. use a bar graph to rank salespersons by sales);

• Use data comparisons where appropriate (e.g. polling data showing candidate

support over a period of time);

• Use counter intuitive visualizations (e.g. most people are surprised to learn that

the United States has the highest incarceration rate by far amongst OECD countries);

• Tell stories through relationships (e.g. use scatterplots to illustrate the

relationship between sales and profits);

• Check your facts;

• Focus on a key statistic or intriguing piece of information;

• Make your story insightful; don’t leave the audience guessing on what you want

them to take away form your presentation;

• Make your story relatable

INSIGHT AND APPROACH

Good storytelling demands understanding of the viewpoint of the audience, perhaps even the audience’s audience to whom your story may be forwarded. To have good uptake and lasting impact, it may benefit from viral attributes — simple messages, easy to read and pass on. A good story takes an audience on a journey, one that may last over several stories. For an audience to engage, it must care enough about your story to want to give it attention and then perhaps forward it. They may not care about your main message, but love the way you put it, perhaps finding it funny or interesting. If it is a multi-part story, they must care enough to look forward to the next part. An audience that cares is more likely to be open to the change in their behaviour you wish to create. So, in all storytelling, keep your focus on what the audience is seeing or hearing, not on what you are telling or want to tell.

Who tells stories?

Stories are told by all sorts of people, such as customers, celebrities, experts, your people, your business partners and, increasingly, bloggers. Industry experts provide excellent stories that reflect various, sometimes conflicting, value propositions. Social media sources are great for content (YouTube, blogs, case studies, TED talks, etc). People who work in customer insight are often quite technical in their outlook, perhaps used to dealing with data and analysis or producing and preparing complex reports, possibly uncomfortable with storytelling, with

bringing data and analysis to life. The main point is that stories tap into our human and social need to relate to why the data has meaning.

The flow of a story

Most stories are not fully positive or negative, but contain a mix — and perhaps a sequence — in which things move from good to not so good and back to good. Charity aid storytelling often depicts bad situations to be remedied by work funded by your donations, for example.

