midair 2013 keynote - lighting the path to action: realizing the power of storytelling
Post on 23-Sep-2014
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Invited talk presented at the Mid-America Association for Institutional Research's 2013 conference in Kansas City, Missouri. This talk focused upon using storytelling techniques as a means to present data and gain consensus among constituents.TRANSCRIPT
Lighting the Path to Action:
Realizing the Power of
Storytelling
Matthew HendricksonNovember 7, 2013
“Begin at the beginning…and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”– Lewis Carroll
Make me care!What is storytelling?
Can you be a storyteller?How do you do storytelling?
Make me care!What is storytelling?
Storyn.A narrative,commonly untrue.–A. Bierce
Storytelling, relating to a series of events–E. Miller
Storytelling, relating to a series of events–E. Miller
Template
Worldview
Frame
Story
Live
Authentic
Shortcuts
Change
Value
“Stories are shortcuts we use because we’re too overwhelmed by data to discover all the details.”– S. Godin
“Curiosity is the intellectual need to answer questions and close open patterns. Story plays to this universal desire by doing the opposite, posing questions and opening situations.”–R. McKee
“This is the role that stories play – putting knowledge into a framework that is more lifelike, more true to our day-to-day existence.” – Heath & Heath
Rule #
“You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.”
Miller’s Framework
• Characters• Place• Time• Storyline• Sensory Elements• Objects
• Character’s Gestures/Attitudes
• Emotions• Narrator’s POV• Narrator’s Tone• Theme
McKee’s Framework
• Character Development
• Quest/Mission/Desire• Objectives• Hook/Inciting
Incident• Problem
• Conflict• Set-up/Pay-off• Pivotal Event/Turning
Point• Reversals/Twists• Subplots• Ending
Storytelling Elements
• Quest / Hook / Inciting Incident• Conflict• Progressive
Complications
• Pivotal Event• Twists• Set-up• Pay-off• Ending
“The story will adapt to the environment.”-S. McCloud
Storytelling is an art – not a set formula!
Make me care!Can you be a storyteller?
Memorable & Engaging
Sticky Ideas
Simplicity
Unexpectedness
Concreteness Credibility
Emotions
Stories
CONVEY THE
Rule #
“Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.”
Value
≠ Object
Value
≠ Object
= Meaning of the object
“A good analogy is priceless – it helps us understand the new by connecting it to the familiar.”–Z. Gemignani
Data Visualizations
ExplorationAnalysis
Presentation
Make me care!How do you do storytelling?
Your presentation isNOT
your handout
Nobody cares about your
2 + 2 = 4
2 + 2 ≠ 4
“Stories are, of course, how numbers talk to people.”
-T. Davenport
I have actually made this mistake…
Again…
And again…
And again …
Good, Bad, Ugly
Ugly, Bad, Good
Ugly
Better
Got it!
LeadsProspectsApplicants
AdmitsEnrolls
RetainedConferred
“What is truer than true? The Story.”- Jewish Saying
“Those who tell the stories rule the world.”
- Hopi American Indian Proverb
We control the scope
Storytelling is an art, not a science…
practice to get it right
Thank you
Lighting the Path to Action:Realizing the Power of Storytelling
Matthew HendricksonAssociate Director – Strategic Enrollment ResearchNortheastern University – College of Professional [email protected]
References• Bierce, A. (2003). The Devil’s Dictionary.• Carroll, L. (1886). Alice in Wonderland.• Coats, E. (2012). Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling (via Twitter). http://imgur.com/a/fPLnM• Davenport, T.H. & Kim, J. (2013). Keeping up with the Quants. Harvard Business Review.• Gemignani, Z. (2012). Data Visualization as Storytelling: A Stretched Analogy. Juice Analytics.
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/data-visualization-as-storytelling-a-stretched-analogy/• Gemignani, Z. (2013). Data Storytelling: The Ultimate Collection of Resources.
http://www.juiceanalytics.com/writing/the-ultimate-collection-of-data-storytelling-resources/• Godin, S. (2005). All Marketers are Liars.• Heath, C. & Heath D. (2007). Made to Stick.• Kosara, R. (2013). Paper: Storytelling, The Next Step for Visualization.
http://eagereyes.org/papers/paper-storytelling-step-visualization• McCloud, S. (2005). The Visual Magic of Comics. TED Talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/scott_mccloud_on_comics.html• McKee, R. (1997). Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting.• Miller, E. (2011). Theories of Story and Storytelling.
http://www.storytellingandvideoconferencing.com/67.pdf• Montague, T. (2013). If You Want to Raise Prices, Tell a Better Story.
http://blogs.hbr.org/2013/07/want-to-raise-prices-tell-a-be/• Stanton, A. (2012). The Clues to a Great Story. Ted Talk.
http://www.ted.com/talks/andrew_stanton_the_clues_to_a_great_story.html• Warshaw, D. (2013). Nate Silver, Data, and Storytelling.
http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2013/07/24/nate-silver-data-and-storytelling/