Nancy Duarte - DataStory: Explain Data and Inspire Action Through Story

Copyright 2019 by Nancy Duarte

All rights reserved.

Published in the United States of America by IdeaPress Publishing.

IdeaPress Publishing | www.ideapresspublishing.com

All trademarks are the property of their respective companies.

Design by Duarte, Inc.

Cataloging in publication data is on file with the Library of Congress.

ISBN: 978-1-940858982

Proudly printed in the USA

Special Sales

IdeaPress Books are available at a special discount for bulk purchases, for sales promotions and premiums, or for use in corporate training programs. Special editions, including personalized covers, a custom foreword, corporate imprints, and bonus content are also available.

Much of the disruption today is driven by data. By combining storytelling with data, youll be better equipped to lead.

Charlene Li, author of The Disruption Mindset and the New York Times best seller, Open Leadership

DataStory is a roadmap for anyone who works with data and struggles to bridge the precarious chasm between exploring data and explaining data.

Zach Gemignani, CEO, Juice Analytics, author of Data Fluency

Duarte recognizes and taps into our real, human desire for storytelling, even when youre dealing with data. In DataStory , as always, Duarte inspires while shes teaching in her inimitable way.

Scott Berinato, author of Good Charts and the Good Charts Workbook

As usual, I watched Nancy throw everything she had into writing this book. DataStory is probably the best work shes done so far. Whats most amazing to me, though, is where she finds the time to be an incredible wife, run a firm, and write. A truly remarkable work from an equally remarkable woman.

Mark Duarte, doting husband and father of her children

INTRODUCTION

Stories Engage Our Senses

Stories engage the brain at all levels: intuitive, emotional, rational, and somatic. When we hear stories, our brains respond by making sense of information more completely. Once engaged, the limbic system (the emotional part of the brain) releases chemicals that stimulate feelings of reward and connection. Stories trigger Brocas area (language processing) and Wernickes area (language comprehension). The trigger travels until it has made its way through the motor cortex, auditory cortex, olfactory cortex, visual cortex, shared memory, and amygdala.

When we find ourselves hooked to a particular storyline, that resonance begins in our brains. This is the first trigger to enabling a physical and emotional response.

Stories Bring us Closer Together

Spoken narrative creates a powerful connection between the storyteller and the listener. Thoughts, brain activations, and behaviors become synchronized, causing our brains to literally tick together. When we exchange stories, we build a common ground of experience. The emotion infused into the spoken word is a mighty tool that melds our minds and brings our emotions into greater alignment.

If youve ever felt a wave of emotion while listening to a story, thats because our brains are naturally activated and eager to physically process the emotion associated with oral description.

Stories Move us to Feel

Stories have the magical ability to fully immerse listeners, making them feel like they have been transported into the narrative. When we are mentally stimulated by stories, our attention shifts away from critical thinking and becomes distracted by positive feelings. On the other hand, when we process things analytically, we are prone to more critical thoughts and fewer positive feelings. Product ads that use stories allow consumers to imagine themselves using the product and getting its benefits, which persuades them that they want it.

Giving your audience a vicarious thrill puts them at the center of your story, making them feel like they are the hero themselves.

Stories move us to act

The responses enacted by our brains can elicit a sense of empathy, urgency, or even great affliction. In a study that had people listen to a story about a fathers relationship with his young, dying son, the neural responses of participants were measured, and two emotions were found to have been felt strongly amongst them: distress and empathy. Participants were monitored before and after they heard the story, and the result showed spikes in cortisol, which focuses our attention, and oxytocin, which is connected with empathy. The most astounding finding was that narratives can compel us into action by physically altering the chemistry in our brains.

Stories that capture our attention cause us to emotionally connect with others and feel motivated to embark on a course of action.

Empathy is the DNA of our work at Duarte, Inc., and story is the method used to engage hearts and spur action. In these pages, I share techniques for communicating data in the form of a story. Data doesnt speak for itself; it needs a storyteller.

With prolific digital devices and technological advancements, every person, place, thing, or idea can be measured and tracked in some way. But without identifying the story emerging from the data, its of little to no value. Why is storytelling so important? Because the human brain is wired to process stories. By transforming your data into vivid scenes and structuring your delivery in the shape of a story, you will make your audience care about what your data says.

In the book Made to Stick , Chip and Dan Heath cite an experiment Chip conducted with his Stanford class that tested the memorability of facts versus stories. Students had to give a one-minute speech about crime using statistics he provided. In the average one-minute speech, the authors share, the typical student used 2.5 statistics. Only one student in ten told a story. In the next part of the study, students were asked to recall the speeches. While a mere five percent of them could remember a specific statistic, 63 percent remembered the stories. Students could recall the stories because their emotions were activated.

In a book about communicating data, how do I define story? Ill start by stating what its not. Were not asking you to embrace fairy tales or incorporate any sort of creative fiction into your data process. Instead, youll utilize stories with a structure so inherently powerful, others can recall and retell it. Story also has the ability to help the listener embrace how they may need to change, because the message transfers into their heart and mind.