Tell me. Does this 4 word statement sound familiar?
So, what’s the story?
Picture the scenario….you’ve finished pulling together your latest presentation and your boss looms over you (or as much as they can in today’s virtual world) and after flicking through your deck they utter those four words:
“So, what’s the story?”
Or perhaps you’re the boss and you’re looking at an apparent jumble of charts from one of your team, struggling to find the connection or the importance and you lean back on those four wonderful words:
“So, what’s the story?”
Or you’re a stakeholder and your agency have turned up with a laborious deck of over 50 slides full of relevant but heavy statistics. Frustrated, you reach into your arsenal of ‘work speak’ and all you can come up with is:
“So, what’s the story?”
What do we mean when we say or hear these words? After all, what is a story anyway and why are constantly reaching for it in work? Surely we have enough of stories in our lives anyway with all those books, Netflix series and anecdotes at the pub.
It turns out, no we haven’t. As humans we love the stuff, but when we say story in work, often we’re simply asking “so, what’s the point?” or “so, what are you trying to say?”.
To me, this is an important, but perhaps just functional way of looking at things. We’re effectively asking can you demonstrate better focus or structure in your work that allows me to get the key message sooner.
But is there more?
If we are to look at the full definition of what makes a story, we find there is a lot more than just form and focus:
When we choose what tv programme to watch, what book to read, what video game to play, we want more than just structure. We want entertainment, challenge, tension, thrills and excitement. We want to learn, expand our horizons and find new ways to look at the world. We want all the aspects of what defines a story.
So when we ask “So, what’s the story”, could we actually be asking for more. Yes, we are asking for focus and structure, but could we also be asking “where’s the tension in your presentation”, “what is going to keep our audience interested” or “how are we going to connect with our stakeholders through our work”?
Storytelling, and specially Data Storytelling, continues to be a key area of interest within the businesses I work with because it offers the opportunity to find simplicity in the complex. It offers the opportunity to find the interest in what some can deem mundane. It offers the opportunity to express creativity and magic that brings out the emotion in our audiences and gets them on the edge of their seats.
It’s an important skill and in our ever changing, ever more complex and ever more data centric world, it is becoming ever more important.
So the next time you hear or ask “So, what is the story”, challenge yourself on making sure you are delivering against the full definition of the word…because if you do you have the power to inspire, inform and entertain your audience with the true potential of your work.
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At Finding Stories we are passionate about Data Storytelling and its power to help bridge the gap between those that create insights and those that consume insights.
By bridging this gap we create understanding, engagement and, ultimately, value.
If you would like to hear more about our training courses, how we could work together on a more bespoke development programme, or if you need support with key presentations or visualisations then please look around the website to find out more.