Advocacy Storytelling with Data—Harness the Power of Data-Driven Storytelling
Used right, the power of advocacy storytelling with data can help move your issue forward in a compelling way; used wrong, it can make your issue more complex than it is and put your issue at the back of the pack. Learn how to effectively incorporate data into your advocacy storytelling and bring clarity and impact to your message.
Depending on how you use it, storytelling with data can provide words to your music or just more noise. Data is an important part of storytelling, but it’s often seen as a hindrance rather than the useful tool that it is. Storytellers get tripped up by being forced to use data in an inauthentic way and get stuck in jargon that feels inauthentic. However, when used correctly, storytelling with data can get you out of the weeds and help you effectively communicate your message. In this post, we will talk about how we overcome the challenges often associated with data-driven narratives and ways you can use data to enhance your advocacy message without distracting from it.
Data-driven stories make for more compelling advocacy: Data-driven stories engage your audience because they are grounded in both fact and feeling. Using key data points, as well as visualization of that data, helps keep your audience engaged.
Data works well with storytelling frameworks: In previous posts about communication, we talked about using Monroe’s motivated sequence to tell your story. We are big fans of it, and data plays a key role in using it effectively. Data can be used in any of the steps, but we think it is particularly important in the second sequence, which is defining the need.
Show credibility: Data allows you to show your audience the details that matter and keep them focused, and it provides credibility and clarity around complex issues.
Show diversity: Data allows you to show how diverse a problem is and how it affects specific groups. This can be very helpful in a legislative fight when you are tailoring messages to specific legislators.
Balance emotional appeal with data-driven arguments: Data should enhance your emotional appeal while being careful not to overload the reader with superfluous facts. The data should help make the appeal stronger, not detract from it.
Use data to counter opposition arguments: Good data can be a big part of creating a contrast. Use data in any message box exercises you complete to define and support what you will say and what they will say.
Identify which data points will resonate most with your target audience: Using survey data about what jumps out to your audience can help you link to them. Lay your points out in a message box so that you can understand what key messages you need and the arguments your opponents will make.
Make complex statistics accessible to non-expert audiences: By linking statistics to stories and vice versa, you bring data to life. Show credibility, show diversity, and make the statistics part of the story.
Use visualization tools for advocacy campaigns: When it comes to data visualization, you have a variety of options, such as Looker Studio, Tableau, Visme, Canva, and even Google Sheets or Excel.
Use survey data: Surveys are a great way to tell a story about how a group of people (e.g., a community) compare on an issue.
Expert opinion data: Experts bring credibility and data to the party. Using quotes from experts enhances your story and credibility. Make sure you take the time to add voices that bring credibility to the data you use.
Use graphics to add to your story: Make your data jump out. A great story is enhanced by great visuals, and the cleaner and clearer you make your visuals, the better your point will stand out.
Use video: You can and should use data in video. Whether it is a graph on screen or visuals that illustrate the data point, video can bring data to life.
Learn to overcome challenges in data-driven storytelling: Using data in storytelling is not always easy, and we see some common mistakes, but you don’t have to make them.
Avoid data overload: Don’t use too much data when crafting your story. There is the usual message challenge of not overwhelming your audience and making your point clear, but data should enhance the message—not be a set of ankle weights that drag your message down. Your job is to curate data, and using too much data is a problem. Pick your best points and share those as clearly as possible.
Random data: Using data without grounding it around the message you are trying to deliver can hurt your presentation and confuse your audience, so make sure you curate and focus your presentation with the clearest and most salient data.
Cherry-picked data: If your data does not support your position, you may need to find better, clearer data or pick a different conclusion. Picking out a piece of outlying data (also known as cherry-picking) is problematic and can backfire. Make sure you are curating salient trends and not an outlier.
So, how do you prevent these data problems? Plan and build out what you need, not what you have.
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