Three Reasons Why Storytelling is Important in Business
The students in my Storytelling with Data course were recently given an assignment to create a storyboard to discuss their analytical proposal with a marketing team. Most of the class struggled with this assignment. They didn’t know where to start in terms of explaining their approach without using regression analysis or other statistical jargon. Some scoffed at the emotional, touchy feely aspect of storytelling. I coached a group who were trying to solve for Citi-Bike’s distribution problem to personalize it. I suggested they introduce a commuter named Dan into their story and explain that he finds it hard to get a bike to ride to work from Long Island City to Midtown due to a lack of bikes at his neighborhood station. Once the story line is introduced, proceed to explain how the solution will benefit commuters like Dan. As I began to coach the students in this manner, it began to sway some of their stances on selling their proposals and convincing an audience as manipulative. I reminded them that you want to strike the right balance between telling a story and presenting the data.
Crafting a story around data may seem like an unnecessary, time consuming effort. The insights or data may seem sufficient to stand on their own as long as they’re reported in a clear manner. The analytical insights alone may influence the right decisions and their…
