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These are slides from my workshop "Turn your information into a story that resonates." It's aimed at anyone who has dry, technical, abstract, or complex information to communicate. Because humans naturally think in story, finding a story to help to communicate your information will help to capture attention, help your audience understand what you are trying to say, and help to influence both hearts and minds. I first presented this workshop at the eResearch Australasia 2014 conference in Melbourne.
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T U R N Y O U R I N F O R M AT I O N I N T O A S T O R Y T H AT R E S O N AT E S
PA T R I C I A M C M I L L A N
– G E O R G E B E R N A R D S H A W
“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place.”
W H AT W E ' L L C O V E R
• Why stories
• What makes a story resonate
• Turning your information into a story
• Delivering the story
N A R R AT I V E A N D E V O L U T I O N
Telling stories
Logical narrative
Reading and writing
Years
0 25000 50000 75000 100000
WE ARE ALL STORY GENERATING MACHINES. IT’S HOW WE PERCEIVE
THE WORLD.
W H Y S T O R I E S ?
ATTENTION
UNDERSTANDING
INFLUENCE
Curse of knowledge
Resistance
– H A N N A H A R E N D T
“Storytelling reveals meaning without committing the error of defining it.”
Hannah Arendt in 1969, (AP photo).
B I G S S T O R Y T E L L I N G
W H A T M A K E S A S T O R Y R E S O N A T E ?
The Fly ing Carpet , V iktor Vasnetsov (1880)
Patterns, not formula
– C Y N T H I A K U R T Z
“A story is a recounting of events during which you wonder what is going to happen, and then you
find out.”
3 T H E M E S T H AT R E S O N AT E
SURVIVAL V DEATH
EMPOWERMENT V POWERLESSNESS
CONNECTION V ISOLATION
S U R V I VA L V D E AT H
T H E I R S T R U G G L E T O S U R V I V E B E C O M E S O U R S
E M P O W E R M E N T V P O W E R L E S S N E S S
H E R F I G H T A G A I N S T I N J U S T I C E B E C O M E S O U R S
C O N N E C T I O N V I S O L AT I O N
H I S N E E D T O G O H O M E B E C O M E S O U R S
S O M E T H I N G H A S T O B E AT S TA K E
SURVIVAL V DEATH
EMPOWERMENT V POWERLESSNESS
CONNECTION V ISOLATION
Anger
Sadness
Fear
– K E N D A L L H AV E N
“Story: n.: A detailed, character-based narration of a character’s struggles to overcome obstacles
and reach an important goal.”
An example of story structure applied to The Wizard of Oz
F I N D I N G T H E S T O R Y I N Y O U R I N F O R M AT I O N
S M A L L S S T O R Y T E L L I N G
S T O R Y E L E M E N T S
• Theme: Why do we care?
• Setting: When and where?
• Character: Who is the hero?
• Something unexpected
• The character’s important goal
• What’s at stake?
• Obstacles and struggles
• Enemy? Allies? Mentor?
• Resolution: Is it a happy ending?
• A point: How has the world changed?
• Sensory details: Help the story stick
THE MORE OF THESE YOU WORK IN , THE
MORE COMPELLING THE STORY , BUT THERE ’S A TRADE-OFF IN STORY LENGTH . NOT EVERY
STORY NEEDS ALL OF THESE .
W H Y S T O R I E S ?
ATTENTION
UNDERSTANDING
INFLUENCE
Curse of knowledge
Resistance
W O R K E D E X A M P L E
• Themes: Survival v death (saving endangered creatures and habitats) + Connection v isolation (beautiful footage)
• Setting: Qld, starting 20 years ago
• Character: Richard Fitzpatrick
• Unexpected: 1 Pb of jellyfish video. Using documentary footage for science
• Important goal: Contribute to understanding and preservation of ocean creatures and animals
• Obstacles: Accessible storage solution; Richard’s time is taken up responding to requests for his footage
• At stake: Valuable footage is not accessible and at risk of being lost. The Qld Govt needs it to save turtles on Raine Island. Jamie Seymour needs it to develop anti-venom for box jellyfish. Others need it too.
• Advisers: RDSI, QCIF; Allies: Jamie Seymour
• Resolution: Accessible storage - yay!
• The point: Footage now available. Richard can spend his time on research
• Sensory details: Images, “It’s saved our butts already”
A F E W M O R E T O P I C S
The Deluge , Gustave Doré (1866)
T H E S T O R Y I N T E R V I E W
CAN YOU REMEMBER HOW IT STARTED?
HOW DID THE IDEA COME ABOUT?
WHY IS THIS WORK IMPORTANT?
WHAT PROBLEM WERE YOU FACING?
WHAT HAPPENED?
WERE THERE CHALLENGES?
HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
WHAT WAS THE OUTCOME?
D E L I V E R Y M O D E S A N D M E D I A - L O T S O F O P T I O N S
IN PERSON
VIDEO
SLIDEDOC
WRITTEN
DELIVERED VIA SOCIAL MEDIA ,
WEB , OR TRADITIONAL
MEDIA
– H E N R Y D AV I D T H O R E A U
“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify.”
T E L L T H E T R U T H
N E V E R B E FA L S E O R M I S L E A D I N G
– B R E N É B R O W N
“Maybe stories are just data with a soul.”
Photo by Andrea Scher
www.patriciamcmillan.com