The ARF lead a Leadership Lab event on the topic. Here are some key takeaways:
Scott McDonald, Ph.D. – President & CEO, ARF:
- Stories are important partly because they are ancient—storytelling helped human beings evolve
- Classic elements of narrative writing include: sympathetic character; detail; conflict; and, dramatic narrative arc
- Stories are powerful because they shape the way we see the world
- The way we frame a problem helps determine the solution
- Whoever controls the narrative controls the perception
- In business, stories are going to be around brands and will serve as part of the brand equity
- Let the data drive the narrative
- Comedy is the most frequent narrative structure used in television advertising
- Build something that is easily updated, that the audience can take charge of, to find the story that they want to find. The chart type has to adapt to that story
Christopher Bacon – EVP, Global Research Quality & Innovation, ARF:
- The opening line of a great story draws the audience in to create a world that goes beyond charts, data, and numbers
- Data need to be actionable, pertinent, relevant, understandable, and digestible
- Critical insights start from the right data
- Crafting the story—what is it that you wish you knew?
- Brilliant storytelling allows us to transform facts into something more powerful and to be more influential
- Assess the situation: Where are you now?; Where have you been?; Where do you need to go?; What decision needs to be made?; and, What insight is needed to influence the organization?
Helen Doherty – Senior Producer & Tobias Sturt – Creative Director, both of Graphic, a Kantar company:
- The process of data, story, chart, and design always works in that order
- Visual storytelling empowers the audience to find their own story in the data
- The practice of data visualization involves looking at the data, finding the insight, structuring, figuring out how to communicate
- Charts help to tell the story. They must be clear and functional—design is the last element and provides the magic when combined with the story
- The representation of data doesn’t just help the audience understand the numbers, it changes the way the audience thinks about those numbers
You can access the slides and video from this event, by clicking here and using your myARF login and password.