WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.810 --> 00:00:03.240 So, once we've analyzed our data 2 00:00:03.240 --> 00:00:05.340 and we've really bubbled up the true So Whats, 3 00:00:05.340 --> 00:00:06.510 it's time to put it all together, 4 00:00:06.510 --> 00:00:08.790 think about how we're gonna really tell the story 5 00:00:08.790 --> 00:00:10.020 to our stakeholders, 6 00:00:10.020 --> 00:00:11.760 whoever they may be. 7 00:00:11.760 --> 00:00:12.750 And before we do that, 8 00:00:12.750 --> 00:00:15.450 I think it's worth asking ourselves my favorite question, 9 00:00:15.450 --> 00:00:18.720 which is, once again, why? 10 00:00:18.720 --> 00:00:20.610 Why storytelling? 11 00:00:20.610 --> 00:00:22.860 Is that even the right word to use? 12 00:00:22.860 --> 00:00:24.840 Listen, "Harvard Business Review" 13 00:00:24.840 --> 00:00:28.770 tells us storytelling is a strategic business tool. 14 00:00:28.770 --> 00:00:29.790 That's good. 15 00:00:29.790 --> 00:00:33.270 If you look for storytelling in business on Amazon, 16 00:00:33.270 --> 00:00:35.970 you'll find a couple few thousand books on the subject, 17 00:00:35.970 --> 00:00:37.717 also promising. 18 00:00:37.717 --> 00:00:39.240 "Nonprofit Quarterly" tells us 19 00:00:39.240 --> 00:00:41.130 it's a not a magic bullet, though, 20 00:00:41.130 --> 00:00:44.070 and "CBS MoneyWatch" says it's a total scam. 21 00:00:44.070 --> 00:00:46.530 So, which is it, what do we do? 22 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:48.210 Well, listen, the fact is, 23 00:00:48.210 --> 00:00:50.280 these different headlines that I've just showed you 24 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:52.740 are from different time periods. 25 00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.860 Storytelling in business is a total fad. 26 00:00:55.860 --> 00:01:00.720 Yes, it is hot right now, but it is a fad for a reason. 27 00:01:00.720 --> 00:01:02.190 It serves a purpose 28 00:01:02.190 --> 00:01:04.380 and it goes back to what we talked about earlier. 29 00:01:04.380 --> 00:01:07.500 Storytelling is required. 30 00:01:07.500 --> 00:01:10.440 We crave it, we need it. 31 00:01:10.440 --> 00:01:14.490 We must learn from each other via story. 32 00:01:14.490 --> 00:01:16.440 Now, this book, "Wired for Story", 33 00:01:16.440 --> 00:01:19.140 is a really good argument for this, okay? 34 00:01:19.140 --> 00:01:21.870 Lisa Cron writes about storytelling 35 00:01:21.870 --> 00:01:23.160 and what we can learn 36 00:01:23.160 --> 00:01:25.590 from how the brain responds to story 37 00:01:25.590 --> 00:01:28.350 in order to write better stories, okay? 38 00:01:28.350 --> 00:01:30.060 She makes a very compelling case, 39 00:01:30.060 --> 00:01:32.220 among many people, she's not the only one, 40 00:01:32.220 --> 00:01:34.740 that storytelling is critical 41 00:01:34.740 --> 00:01:36.630 for the survival of the human species. 42 00:01:36.630 --> 00:01:38.220 She makes the case 43 00:01:38.220 --> 00:01:40.530 that it's more important than opposable thumbs 44 00:01:40.530 --> 00:01:44.520 as a survival mechanism, as an evolutionary imperative. 45 00:01:44.520 --> 00:01:46.560 Now, that book, 46 00:01:46.560 --> 00:01:50.520 what she's writing about is fictional storytelling. 47 00:01:50.520 --> 00:01:51.360 What about us? 48 00:01:51.360 --> 00:01:53.250 We're not doing fiction, right? 49 00:01:53.250 --> 00:01:54.300 That's okay. 50 00:01:54.300 --> 00:01:59.190 This study proves the point that documentary storytelling, 51 00:01:59.190 --> 00:02:02.700 also very, very powerful and important. 52 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:05.520 The most influential scientists 53 00:02:05.520 --> 00:02:09.090 and influences measured by when those scientists 54 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:13.200 are cited by other scientists in their research. 55 00:02:13.200 --> 00:02:15.180 The ones who are most influential 56 00:02:15.180 --> 00:02:19.860 are those that use narrative techniques in their research. 57 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:22.800 So, yes, storytelling matters. 58 00:02:22.800 --> 00:02:24.690 Okay, you believe me? 59 00:02:24.690 --> 00:02:28.020 If you do, we should probably define story, right? 60 00:02:28.020 --> 00:02:30.150 What is a story? 61 00:02:30.150 --> 00:02:34.050 A story is two parts, all right? 62 00:02:34.050 --> 00:02:37.260 Part number one, my definition of story's two parts, okay? 63 00:02:37.260 --> 00:02:42.260 Part number one is stories are linear experiences. 64 00:02:43.170 --> 00:02:46.110 A story starts somewhere 65 00:02:46.110 --> 00:02:48.780 and it progresses one idea at a time, 66 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:51.750 step by step by step by step, 67 00:02:51.750 --> 00:02:54.570 until eventually, it ends up somewhere else. 68 00:02:54.570 --> 00:02:57.000 There's no such thing as a non-linear story. 69 00:02:57.000 --> 00:02:58.980 You cannot hear more than one thing at a time. 70 00:02:58.980 --> 00:03:00.990 You can't do more than one thing at a time. 71 00:03:00.990 --> 00:03:02.760 Stories are linear. 72 00:03:02.760 --> 00:03:05.940 Okay, now before I get to part two in the definition, 73 00:03:05.940 --> 00:03:07.740 I wanna talk a little bit more about that, 74 00:03:07.740 --> 00:03:09.210 because here's the thing. 75 00:03:09.210 --> 00:03:13.020 A PowerPoint deck is clearly a linear experience, 76 00:03:13.020 --> 00:03:15.870 slide one, two, three, four, five, et cetera. 77 00:03:15.870 --> 00:03:20.580 But I would also make the case that each individual slide 78 00:03:20.580 --> 00:03:24.870 is its own little micro-story within that macro-story. 79 00:03:24.870 --> 00:03:26.420 Now, if you look at this slide, 80 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:28.770 all black and white and gray, 81 00:03:28.770 --> 00:03:31.290 not a lot of visually interesting stuff going on, 82 00:03:31.290 --> 00:03:33.290 but there's that one bright yellow blob. 83 00:03:34.260 --> 00:03:36.360 And by the way, little tangent here, 84 00:03:36.360 --> 00:03:38.070 it's an important tangent. 85 00:03:38.070 --> 00:03:40.590 Human beings, by default, 86 00:03:40.590 --> 00:03:44.460 will look in the center of an image first. 87 00:03:44.460 --> 00:03:47.040 We know this from eye tracking studies. 88 00:03:47.040 --> 00:03:51.120 So, if I looked at this fairly bland slide 89 00:03:51.120 --> 00:03:54.030 and I looked in the center of that chart first, 90 00:03:54.030 --> 00:03:55.560 almost guaranteed I'm gonna look 91 00:03:55.560 --> 00:03:57.900 at that bright yellow blob next, right? 92 00:03:57.900 --> 00:03:59.490 Design can encourage people 93 00:03:59.490 --> 00:04:01.140 to consume content in a certain order. 94 00:04:01.140 --> 00:04:02.700 You cannot force them, though. 95 00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:05.520 So, let's say I looked at the bright yellow blob. 96 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:08.040 That contains the climax of the story. 97 00:04:08.040 --> 00:04:10.110 Ooh, something interesting happened here! 98 00:04:10.110 --> 00:04:13.800 Now, if there's any complexity to that story whatsoever, 99 00:04:13.800 --> 00:04:15.960 just reading the climax is not enough. 100 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:18.300 It's not a complete micro-story. 101 00:04:18.300 --> 00:04:19.380 If there's any complexity, 102 00:04:19.380 --> 00:04:21.840 I'll keep looking around for more information. 103 00:04:21.840 --> 00:04:24.150 So, maybe I'll look at the title next. 104 00:04:24.150 --> 00:04:28.740 The title might be the conclusion, the end of the story. 105 00:04:28.740 --> 00:04:30.630 So, I've read the climax, I've read the end. 106 00:04:30.630 --> 00:04:31.890 How did I get here, I don't know. 107 00:04:31.890 --> 00:04:34.500 If there's any complexity, I'll keep looking. 108 00:04:34.500 --> 00:04:35.610 Maybe I'll read the body copy. 109 00:04:35.610 --> 00:04:38.010 Maybe I'll read the call-out text. 110 00:04:38.010 --> 00:04:41.790 As long as all of the ingredients for story are there, 111 00:04:41.790 --> 00:04:46.050 I will not be confused, annoyed, et cetera. 112 00:04:46.050 --> 00:04:49.560 So, include an entire micro-story 113 00:04:49.560 --> 00:04:52.320 within your larger macro-story. 114 00:04:52.320 --> 00:04:53.940 And maybe it doesn't always have to be 115 00:04:53.940 --> 00:04:55.860 literally each slide is a micro-story. 116 00:04:55.860 --> 00:04:57.930 Maybe you have a couple few slides that go together 117 00:04:57.930 --> 00:05:01.080 that perform, essentially create a micro-story. 118 00:05:01.080 --> 00:05:03.420 Okay, that might be fair. 119 00:05:03.420 --> 00:05:04.770 But make sure you have micro-stories 120 00:05:04.770 --> 00:05:06.090 within your macro-story. 121 00:05:06.090 --> 00:05:09.120 Okay, now we're creating an overall linear experience. 122 00:05:09.120 --> 00:05:10.350 Forget about the micro-story for the moment. 123 00:05:10.350 --> 00:05:12.450 We're gonna focus back on the macro. 124 00:05:12.450 --> 00:05:15.930 A linear experience, how do I get there? 125 00:05:15.930 --> 00:05:17.730 You have to outline it. 126 00:05:17.730 --> 00:05:19.890 We all were told to outline our essays 127 00:05:19.890 --> 00:05:23.250 when we were in seventh grade, okay? 128 00:05:23.250 --> 00:05:26.160 When I was in seventh grade, I was a total wiseass. 129 00:05:26.160 --> 00:05:27.090 I was 12 years old. 130 00:05:27.090 --> 00:05:30.210 I thought I knew everything, and I didn't do it. 131 00:05:30.210 --> 00:05:32.220 I never outlined a single essay in that class. 132 00:05:32.220 --> 00:05:33.053 And you know what? 133 00:05:33.053 --> 00:05:34.920 I got pretty bad grades in that class. 134 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:37.680 It took me 30 years to finally recognize 135 00:05:37.680 --> 00:05:39.840 my English teacher knew what she was talking about. 136 00:05:39.840 --> 00:05:42.000 I outline everything now. 137 00:05:42.000 --> 00:05:44.760 The way I outline specifically, 138 00:05:44.760 --> 00:05:47.250 I draw boxes on a whiteboard. 139 00:05:47.250 --> 00:05:50.010 Each box gets one or two words in it 140 00:05:50.010 --> 00:05:54.810 that just summarizes what that section of content is about. 141 00:05:54.810 --> 00:05:58.110 I also refer to these as my buckets of content. 142 00:05:58.110 --> 00:06:01.110 So, if we use the Hans Rosling story, 143 00:06:01.110 --> 00:06:03.150 remember the video we watched earlier? 144 00:06:03.150 --> 00:06:07.050 Let's think about the outline of his story. 145 00:06:07.050 --> 00:06:09.090 What are the buckets of content? 146 00:06:09.090 --> 00:06:11.640 Well, he talked about Ethiopia for a little while. 147 00:06:11.640 --> 00:06:13.320 He talked about the future. 148 00:06:13.320 --> 00:06:15.390 He talked about how things had changed, 149 00:06:15.390 --> 00:06:16.590 and he talked about the past, 150 00:06:16.590 --> 00:06:18.990 the old, divided world, rich and poor. 151 00:06:18.990 --> 00:06:20.070 But this is not an outline. 152 00:06:20.070 --> 00:06:21.780 This is just a bunch of stuff, right? 153 00:06:21.780 --> 00:06:23.250 I have to put them in order. 154 00:06:23.250 --> 00:06:26.010 A story is a linear experience. 155 00:06:26.010 --> 00:06:27.450 So, let's put them in order. 156 00:06:27.450 --> 00:06:29.490 Here is his outline. 157 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:31.170 Divided world, change over time, 158 00:06:31.170 --> 00:06:34.443 Ethiopia, future possibilities, okay. 159 00:06:35.340 --> 00:06:40.170 This is a great example of an outline that may be terrible. 160 00:06:40.170 --> 00:06:42.870 I have no idea if this is a good story yet. 161 00:06:42.870 --> 00:06:43.980 I mean, just look at it. 162 00:06:43.980 --> 00:06:47.133 Divided world, change over time, Ethiopia? 163 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:49.380 Where did that come from? 164 00:06:49.380 --> 00:06:51.000 That's a weird tangent, right? 165 00:06:51.000 --> 00:06:53.910 Yeah, I don't know if this is gonna be a good story yet. 166 00:06:53.910 --> 00:06:55.230 That's okay. 167 00:06:55.230 --> 00:06:57.990 The outline is the structure, 168 00:06:57.990 --> 00:06:59.940 which hopefully, I have an inkling 169 00:06:59.940 --> 00:07:01.530 that I know how it's gonna make sense. 170 00:07:01.530 --> 00:07:04.860 Obviously, I'm not randomly throwing these boxes together. 171 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:08.820 But it's not proof of a good story yet. 172 00:07:08.820 --> 00:07:11.190 It's just structure to which I will attach 173 00:07:11.190 --> 00:07:13.380 my narrative later. 174 00:07:13.380 --> 00:07:14.700 That gets me to the second part 175 00:07:14.700 --> 00:07:16.680 of my definition for stories. 176 00:07:16.680 --> 00:07:19.020 Stories are linear experiences. 177 00:07:19.020 --> 00:07:22.593 Got one now, I think, maybe, that flow. 178 00:07:23.700 --> 00:07:27.360 Flow is the magic. 179 00:07:27.360 --> 00:07:31.110 Flow is something I don't need to teach you. 180 00:07:31.110 --> 00:07:32.520 You know flow. 181 00:07:32.520 --> 00:07:35.310 You have 50,000 years of evolution 182 00:07:35.310 --> 00:07:37.260 that have taught your ear, 183 00:07:37.260 --> 00:07:40.923 taught your gut to recognize flow. 184 00:07:42.270 --> 00:07:43.650 A bunch of random facts 185 00:07:43.650 --> 00:07:45.120 just sounds like a bunch of random facts, 186 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:47.580 but something that really flows together 187 00:07:47.580 --> 00:07:49.290 just feels different. 188 00:07:49.290 --> 00:07:52.470 So, I'm not gonna define it, but I will tell you this. 189 00:07:52.470 --> 00:07:55.110 The only way you can get to flow 190 00:07:55.110 --> 00:07:59.640 is to use your words to actually think in sentences. 191 00:07:59.640 --> 00:08:01.920 So, if we take the Hans Rosling story, 192 00:08:01.920 --> 00:08:05.370 what I'm saying is we need to actually 193 00:08:05.370 --> 00:08:09.000 use our words and tell his story 194 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:11.700 to make sure it's gonna be a good story. 195 00:08:11.700 --> 00:08:13.590 So, I'm gonna do that. 196 00:08:13.590 --> 00:08:14.910 And by the way, 197 00:08:14.910 --> 00:08:19.910 the goal for this exercise is not to tell the entire story. 198 00:08:20.400 --> 00:08:22.290 If you have an hour-long presentation next week, 199 00:08:22.290 --> 00:08:23.640 you don't have to write your entire 200 00:08:23.640 --> 00:08:27.120 hour-long presentation in words. 201 00:08:27.120 --> 00:08:28.440 What it is, though, 202 00:08:28.440 --> 00:08:32.340 is simply using your outline as your guide, 203 00:08:32.340 --> 00:08:35.460 proving to your own ear 204 00:08:35.460 --> 00:08:38.760 that you can make this structure flow. 205 00:08:38.760 --> 00:08:40.110 In other words, all you have to do is tell 206 00:08:40.110 --> 00:08:42.930 an abbreviated version of your story. 207 00:08:42.930 --> 00:08:45.690 So, Hans Rosling's video is only three minutes, right? 208 00:08:45.690 --> 00:08:48.060 But I can do a 30-second version of his story 209 00:08:48.060 --> 00:08:49.830 that will prove to myself 210 00:08:49.830 --> 00:08:52.950 that this is gonna work as a structure, okay? 211 00:08:52.950 --> 00:08:53.783 So, here we go. 212 00:08:55.020 --> 00:08:56.820 Back when I was a kid, 213 00:08:56.820 --> 00:08:59.100 there was a divided world, rich and poor. 214 00:08:59.100 --> 00:09:02.040 Poor countries had really high child mortality 215 00:09:02.040 --> 00:09:03.003 and birth rate. 216 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:06.630 But over time, that changed. 217 00:09:06.630 --> 00:09:08.100 All the poorest countries in the world, 218 00:09:08.100 --> 00:09:09.840 their numbers on both those measures 219 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.030 came down and down and down. 220 00:09:12.030 --> 00:09:16.170 One country that made some progress like that was Ethiopia. 221 00:09:16.170 --> 00:09:18.570 And in the following 20, 25 years, 222 00:09:18.570 --> 00:09:20.010 they made even more progress, 223 00:09:20.010 --> 00:09:21.570 'til the majority of their people 224 00:09:21.570 --> 00:09:23.310 were already halfway in between 225 00:09:23.310 --> 00:09:26.070 what used to be the poorest versus the richest countries 226 00:09:26.070 --> 00:09:27.150 by those two measures. 227 00:09:27.150 --> 00:09:30.210 And if things keep going the way they've been going, 228 00:09:30.210 --> 00:09:32.700 by 2030, there will no longer be any countries 229 00:09:32.700 --> 00:09:35.010 stuck with high child mortality 230 00:09:35.010 --> 00:09:37.060 and high birth rates like we used to see. 231 00:09:39.090 --> 00:09:40.500 That make sense? 232 00:09:40.500 --> 00:09:42.030 That's a good story. 233 00:09:42.030 --> 00:09:43.320 Did it include every detail? 234 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:44.280 Nope. 235 00:09:44.280 --> 00:09:45.300 I didn't even bother talking 236 00:09:45.300 --> 00:09:47.550 about Addis Ababa versus the Somali region. 237 00:09:47.550 --> 00:09:49.980 I didn't talk about a lot of specific things. 238 00:09:49.980 --> 00:09:50.940 That's okay. 239 00:09:50.940 --> 00:09:52.950 This isn't my final story. 240 00:09:52.950 --> 00:09:56.880 This story only exists to prove to myself 241 00:09:56.880 --> 00:09:58.560 that my story will flow, 242 00:09:58.560 --> 00:09:59.760 and I think I proved it. 243 00:09:59.760 --> 00:10:00.990 That story's gonna work. 244 00:10:00.990 --> 00:10:02.520 Ethiopia is not a tangent. 245 00:10:02.520 --> 00:10:03.840 Now, why did that work? 246 00:10:03.840 --> 00:10:05.460 How do I know that that worked? 247 00:10:05.460 --> 00:10:08.010 What is my ear picking up on? 248 00:10:08.010 --> 00:10:09.213 Transition words. 249 00:10:10.087 --> 00:10:11.677 "The world used to be a divided world, rich and poor, 250 00:10:11.677 --> 00:10:13.687 "especially by these two measures." 251 00:10:13.687 --> 00:10:15.937 "But," transition word, 252 00:10:15.937 --> 00:10:17.160 "Over time, that changed." 253 00:10:17.160 --> 00:10:19.110 Okay, now I see how I got from the first idea 254 00:10:19.110 --> 00:10:20.437 to the second idea. 255 00:10:20.437 --> 00:10:21.637 "Over time, things changed. 256 00:10:21.637 --> 00:10:22.897 "It got better. 257 00:10:22.897 --> 00:10:25.417 "Ethiopia is an example of that improvement. 258 00:10:25.417 --> 00:10:27.000 "Now, let me tell you more about Ethiopia." 259 00:10:27.000 --> 00:10:29.670 Boom, nice transition from this thing that happened 260 00:10:29.670 --> 00:10:31.860 to talking about this specific example. 261 00:10:31.860 --> 00:10:34.260 Blah, blah, blah, Ethiopia, Ethiopia, Ethiopia. 262 00:10:34.260 --> 00:10:36.870 By the way, decent transition, 263 00:10:36.870 --> 00:10:38.340 If things keep going the way they've been going, 264 00:10:38.340 --> 00:10:40.890 it'll be all better in a few more years. 265 00:10:40.890 --> 00:10:41.940 That's it. 266 00:10:41.940 --> 00:10:43.590 It's truly that simple. 267 00:10:43.590 --> 00:10:46.530 Now, it sounds like I'm saying 268 00:10:46.530 --> 00:10:48.750 you could tell a story any which way you like 269 00:10:48.750 --> 00:10:50.823 as long as you work on those transitions. 270 00:10:52.354 --> 00:10:54.360 Shh, don't tell anybody! 271 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:57.330 Yeah, there's literally no right or wrong way 272 00:10:57.330 --> 00:10:58.500 to tell a story. 273 00:10:58.500 --> 00:11:01.980 As long as you can make it flow, it's gonna work. 274 00:11:01.980 --> 00:11:03.090 In some contexts, 275 00:11:03.090 --> 00:11:05.400 sometimes is it better to build a little anticipation 276 00:11:05.400 --> 00:11:06.600 and then build up to a climax? 277 00:11:06.600 --> 00:11:07.530 Yeah, sure. 278 00:11:07.530 --> 00:11:08.580 Sometimes you get off, 279 00:11:08.580 --> 00:11:09.900 get into the good stuff first 280 00:11:09.900 --> 00:11:11.490 and then explain the details later? 281 00:11:11.490 --> 00:11:12.990 Yeah, maybe. 282 00:11:12.990 --> 00:11:14.940 But as long as you're comfortable doing it 283 00:11:14.940 --> 00:11:16.380 the way you're doing it, 284 00:11:16.380 --> 00:11:17.820 that's the most important thing, 285 00:11:17.820 --> 00:11:20.340 'cause you'll tell the story more convincingly 286 00:11:20.340 --> 00:11:22.620 if it feels comfortable to you. 287 00:11:22.620 --> 00:11:25.920 Now, part of that is gut-checking your words 288 00:11:25.920 --> 00:11:28.170 against that outline that you created. 289 00:11:28.170 --> 00:11:31.560 Because, as an example, using Hans Rosling, 290 00:11:31.560 --> 00:11:33.570 if you find yourself talking about Ethiopia 291 00:11:33.570 --> 00:11:34.680 at the very beginning of the story 292 00:11:34.680 --> 00:11:35.610 and you're not supposed to be doing that 293 00:11:35.610 --> 00:11:38.490 until two-thirds or three-quarters of the way through, 294 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:40.890 maybe you've gotten confused, maybe not. 295 00:11:40.890 --> 00:11:43.080 Maybe you're gonna tease Ethiopia and then come back to it. 296 00:11:43.080 --> 00:11:44.610 That's cool, too, right? 297 00:11:44.610 --> 00:11:46.140 But if you find yourself spending 10 minutes 298 00:11:46.140 --> 00:11:48.120 talking about Ethiopia at the beginning, 299 00:11:48.120 --> 00:11:49.530 maybe your outline has changed. 300 00:11:49.530 --> 00:11:52.290 Maybe you've decided to start with Ethiopia, that's cool. 301 00:11:52.290 --> 00:11:56.400 Just rejigger your outline so you don't confuse yourself. 302 00:11:56.400 --> 00:11:57.720 That's all I'm saying. 303 00:11:57.720 --> 00:11:58.860 Know what you're doing, 304 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:00.750 'cause then when you go to attach all your slides 305 00:12:00.750 --> 00:12:01.583 to this presentation 306 00:12:01.583 --> 00:12:03.600 when you do the full-blown version of it, 307 00:12:03.600 --> 00:12:04.980 you don't wanna stick your Ethiopia slides 308 00:12:04.980 --> 00:12:05.813 where they don't belong. 309 00:12:05.813 --> 00:12:08.940 Put them in the part of the story where they make sense. 310 00:12:08.940 --> 00:12:10.830 So, like I was just talking about, 311 00:12:10.830 --> 00:12:12.780 there are a lot of different ways to tell stories, 312 00:12:12.780 --> 00:12:14.670 different storytelling frameworks. 313 00:12:14.670 --> 00:12:17.580 None is better than any others. 314 00:12:17.580 --> 00:12:20.850 Use whatever feels most comfortable to you. 315 00:12:20.850 --> 00:12:22.710 Hans Rosling even merged a couple of them together. 316 00:12:22.710 --> 00:12:24.750 He used what I call a Make it Human story, 317 00:12:24.750 --> 00:12:26.100 tell a general story 318 00:12:26.100 --> 00:12:28.650 and then hone in on a specific or vice-a-versa. 319 00:12:28.650 --> 00:12:31.440 He did that with Ethiopia, specific example, right? 320 00:12:31.440 --> 00:12:33.450 But he also told a chronological story. 321 00:12:33.450 --> 00:12:35.460 That's also a fine way to tell a story. 322 00:12:35.460 --> 00:12:37.440 You can mush them together, great. 323 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:42.060 Point is, tell a story in a way that feels right to you, 324 00:12:42.060 --> 00:12:43.310 which is a good reminder. 325 00:12:44.220 --> 00:12:47.433 Data stories are stories. 326 00:12:49.080 --> 00:12:51.870 Yes, we have the data. 327 00:12:51.870 --> 00:12:53.730 The data is the core ingredient. 328 00:12:53.730 --> 00:12:56.790 It is critical to this story. 329 00:12:56.790 --> 00:13:00.600 But you don't wanna get so hung up on the data 330 00:13:00.600 --> 00:13:04.500 that you forget to step back and find that flow. 331 00:13:04.500 --> 00:13:05.400 That is the difference 332 00:13:05.400 --> 00:13:07.920 between a story and a collection of facts. 333 00:13:07.920 --> 00:13:11.100 So, when you're in this phase, all right, 334 00:13:11.100 --> 00:13:12.630 you've already analyzed your data. 335 00:13:12.630 --> 00:13:14.040 That's all about the data. 336 00:13:14.040 --> 00:13:15.690 You've already discovered your So Whats, 337 00:13:15.690 --> 00:13:17.700 which is starting to lean into story. 338 00:13:17.700 --> 00:13:19.380 When you hit this moment where you're trying to figure out 339 00:13:19.380 --> 00:13:21.300 how to put that narrative together, 340 00:13:21.300 --> 00:13:24.150 you really have to step back from your data 341 00:13:24.150 --> 00:13:25.860 and find that flow. 342 00:13:25.860 --> 00:13:27.720 Once you've found the flow, 343 00:13:27.720 --> 00:13:29.790 then you can go back to attaching all the details 344 00:13:29.790 --> 00:13:32.040 and getting into the weeds again. 345 00:13:32.040 --> 00:13:35.010 Also, when you're storytelling, 346 00:13:35.010 --> 00:13:37.260 you should strive to disambiguate 347 00:13:37.260 --> 00:13:39.690 the abstruse concepts you're espousing 348 00:13:39.690 --> 00:13:42.183 even if your proclivity is to obfuscate. 349 00:13:43.020 --> 00:13:47.370 Yes, you want to use simple words, okay? 350 00:13:47.370 --> 00:13:49.950 We don't need to impress people with how smart we are. 351 00:13:49.950 --> 00:13:52.230 We don't need to use tons of jargon. 352 00:13:52.230 --> 00:13:54.210 Now, you may use more jargon 353 00:13:54.210 --> 00:13:57.690 and more sophisticated terminology with an academic audience 354 00:13:57.690 --> 00:13:59.970 versus a general audience, sure, 355 00:13:59.970 --> 00:14:01.770 but only if it's gonna help them, 356 00:14:01.770 --> 00:14:04.290 only if it's required to do what we need to do, 357 00:14:04.290 --> 00:14:06.270 not just to feel smart, okay? 358 00:14:06.270 --> 00:14:08.490 You also don't wanna suffer from the curse of knowledge. 359 00:14:08.490 --> 00:14:10.560 That's when, as a communicator, 360 00:14:10.560 --> 00:14:11.820 you forget what your audience 361 00:14:11.820 --> 00:14:13.950 does or does not know about a subject, 362 00:14:13.950 --> 00:14:15.420 so you tend to use too much jargon, 363 00:14:15.420 --> 00:14:16.650 too much complexity, et cetera. 364 00:14:16.650 --> 00:14:20.100 So, use the appropriate level of complexity 365 00:14:20.100 --> 00:14:21.750 for your audience. 366 00:14:21.750 --> 00:14:22.770 Now, as a quick example, 367 00:14:22.770 --> 00:14:24.630 I just wanna show you a great data story 368 00:14:24.630 --> 00:14:27.037 to illustrate all this together. 369 00:14:27.037 --> 00:14:28.860 "The Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals" 370 00:14:28.860 --> 00:14:30.450 from the World Bank 371 00:14:30.450 --> 00:14:32.670 is a collection of data stories, 17 of them, 372 00:14:32.670 --> 00:14:36.030 one for each of the Sustainable Development Goals. 373 00:14:36.030 --> 00:14:37.470 So, I'm gonna click into this first one here, 374 00:14:37.470 --> 00:14:38.850 No Poverty. 375 00:14:38.850 --> 00:14:40.387 It starts off with a good title, 376 00:14:40.387 --> 00:14:43.770 "The near future of global poverty". 377 00:14:43.770 --> 00:14:45.570 So, I'm enticed to read this 378 00:14:45.570 --> 00:14:47.340 because it's not just saying No Poverty, 379 00:14:47.340 --> 00:14:48.990 which is the name of the SDG. 380 00:14:48.990 --> 00:14:50.400 It's telling me why I should care. 381 00:14:50.400 --> 00:14:51.480 Oh, I'm gonna learn about something 382 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:53.520 that's happening soon-ish, okay? 383 00:14:53.520 --> 00:14:54.600 I'm curious. 384 00:14:54.600 --> 00:14:56.310 Starts off with setting a little bit of context. 385 00:14:56.310 --> 00:14:58.417 By the way, great opening line. 386 00:14:58.417 --> 00:15:02.940 "SDG 1 aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere." 387 00:15:02.940 --> 00:15:04.290 Period. 388 00:15:04.290 --> 00:15:06.750 Very confident opening line. 389 00:15:06.750 --> 00:15:09.090 Okay, so, little bit of context setting, 390 00:15:09.090 --> 00:15:12.247 and then boom, we get to the first bucket of content. 391 00:15:12.247 --> 00:15:15.600 "Extreme poverty has declined over the past decades." 392 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:17.730 So, this is gonna be looking back. 393 00:15:17.730 --> 00:15:19.260 Poverty has gone down. 394 00:15:19.260 --> 00:15:20.550 That's the first bucket. 395 00:15:20.550 --> 00:15:24.000 And so, the point that I'm trying to make here is this. 396 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:27.060 This is a great data story for a variety of reasons, 397 00:15:27.060 --> 00:15:27.900 one of which, 398 00:15:27.900 --> 00:15:30.960 it is clearly very thoughtfully outlined. 399 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:34.980 Bucket number one is about what has happened in the past, 400 00:15:34.980 --> 00:15:36.720 poverty has gone down, 401 00:15:36.720 --> 00:15:39.060 and I'll describe the other buckets as we get to them. 402 00:15:39.060 --> 00:15:41.280 The second part is that these stories are very well-written. 403 00:15:41.280 --> 00:15:43.560 They're nice, journalistic stories. 404 00:15:43.560 --> 00:15:46.530 The ideas flow beautifully from one to the next to the next. 405 00:15:46.530 --> 00:15:48.990 So, I'm not gonna really read through this entire story. 406 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:50.610 I'm just gonna quickly show a couple things. 407 00:15:50.610 --> 00:15:53.430 So, first of all, poverty's declined over the past decades. 408 00:15:53.430 --> 00:15:54.780 World's population has grown. 409 00:15:54.780 --> 00:15:56.820 Many fewer people living in extreme poverty. 410 00:15:56.820 --> 00:15:59.460 Chart title, by the way, that actually says something. 411 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:02.430 Research has shown if your titles, 412 00:16:02.430 --> 00:16:04.470 slide titles and/or chart titles, 413 00:16:04.470 --> 00:16:07.230 actually say something about your data, 414 00:16:07.230 --> 00:16:08.280 your audience is more likely 415 00:16:08.280 --> 00:16:10.200 to accurately remember your data. 416 00:16:10.200 --> 00:16:11.760 So, say something. 417 00:16:11.760 --> 00:16:13.020 Never again have a chart title 418 00:16:13.020 --> 00:16:15.840 that just says "Survey results", 419 00:16:15.840 --> 00:16:17.377 or like this one could have been, 420 00:16:17.377 --> 00:16:18.990 "Population over time". 421 00:16:18.990 --> 00:16:20.220 That's useless. 422 00:16:20.220 --> 00:16:21.570 I can see it's population over time. 423 00:16:21.570 --> 00:16:22.403 All right. 424 00:16:23.400 --> 00:16:25.620 So, global population grew 425 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:28.140 from whatever, whatever over this time period. 426 00:16:28.140 --> 00:16:31.650 At the same time, people in extreme poverty went down. 427 00:16:31.650 --> 00:16:34.560 So, nice visualization, nice scrollytelling experience. 428 00:16:34.560 --> 00:16:35.760 That's all nicely done. 429 00:16:35.760 --> 00:16:40.410 But the point of this is the story for this example. 430 00:16:40.410 --> 00:16:42.990 Bucket number two, distribution, 431 00:16:42.990 --> 00:16:46.470 is uneven of extreme poverty. 432 00:16:46.470 --> 00:16:48.030 So, I can see that there's a lot more 433 00:16:48.030 --> 00:16:50.850 sub-Saharan African countries with more poverty 434 00:16:50.850 --> 00:16:52.650 and a lot fewer of them over here, 435 00:16:52.650 --> 00:16:53.520 and vice-versa, 436 00:16:53.520 --> 00:16:56.430 certain regions depicted by color 437 00:16:56.430 --> 00:16:58.470 are concentrated over here, not over here. 438 00:16:58.470 --> 00:16:59.940 And this bucket continues 439 00:16:59.940 --> 00:17:02.670 where they also say the concentration has shifted 440 00:17:02.670 --> 00:17:03.570 from Asia to Africa. 441 00:17:03.570 --> 00:17:05.640 So, they're making two primary points here. 442 00:17:05.640 --> 00:17:10.410 The distribution is different or is clear, 443 00:17:10.410 --> 00:17:13.230 and specifically, it went from Asia to Africa over time. 444 00:17:13.230 --> 00:17:14.220 Nice visualizations, 445 00:17:14.220 --> 00:17:16.290 but we're not here to talk about the visualizations. 446 00:17:16.290 --> 00:17:17.520 The story continues, 447 00:17:17.520 --> 00:17:19.500 and eventually we get to the next bucket, 448 00:17:19.500 --> 00:17:21.690 which is about what it's gonna look like in the future. 449 00:17:21.690 --> 00:17:24.600 And we get this brief thing about looking, 450 00:17:24.600 --> 00:17:28.230 eliminating it by 2030 looks unlikely, but, 451 00:17:28.230 --> 00:17:30.180 and then they go through different scenarios 452 00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:32.820 and what it might look like, et cetera, et cetera. 453 00:17:32.820 --> 00:17:37.440 So, long story short, good data storytelling. 454 00:17:37.440 --> 00:17:42.420 Solid structure, clearly thoughtfully outlined, 455 00:17:42.420 --> 00:17:44.880 and then, yes, flow. 456 00:17:44.880 --> 00:17:46.230 This story flows. 457 00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:47.063 Part of the flow, 458 00:17:47.063 --> 00:17:49.020 part of the overall user experience is, 459 00:17:49.020 --> 00:17:50.100 yes, the visualizations, 460 00:17:50.100 --> 00:17:52.140 which are also beautifully done. 461 00:17:52.140 --> 00:17:54.990 We'll talk more about that in a later module. 462 00:17:54.990 --> 00:17:57.960 And I'll show another one of these SDG websites 463 00:17:57.960 --> 00:17:58.960 as an example of it.