Narrative by Numbers

Sam Knowles addresses the Levitt Group and takes the pain out of numbers.

This is a really interesting subject for those of us who are challenged by statistics, yet find themselves using them, or expected to use them, every day.

So in listening to Sam Knowles brilliant presentation, I was keen to learn how best to employ my limited skills in this area to best effect, whilst not running out of interest in the subject at the same time.

Big data is a massive topic in marketing, but it has almost been buried by the issues surrounding GDPR. So it’s all the more important to be able to see a way through these to what is really going on, and how the data can be used.

Sam Knowles talk was fascinating and very educational. I also subsequently read his book, which took me much deeper into the area, and gave me lots of ‘take-aways’. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Narrative-Numbers-Sam-Knowles/dp/0815353146

I think the key point is to be able to understand the stats, and then to make stories out of them, so others can understand them too. I drew out six ‘rules’ that can be applied to this:

1. KISS – Keep It Simple, Stupid! Sounds easy, huh, but it’s not as easy as it looks! Rather like with words, it’s tempting to bang on about every aspect of a subject, but in reality all you’re doing is complicating the issues by adding layers of complexity; most of the time this is unnecessary to demonstrate a point.
2. Find and use only relevant data – understanding is too small and attention spans too short, to go presenting data that really is peripheral to the point under discussion. Why is this important? So that you don’t send your head ‘down a rabbit-hole’ in pursuit of something that has no relevance.
3. Avoid ‘false positives’. What are they? Well, there is so much data out there, that you can use it to prove whatever you want. It’s mad, I know, because this is exactly what data is supposed to overcome. But for an example, look no further than politics – data is being used to prove whatever you want to prove, and we are the ones to pay the price of these lies! Or for a more amusing take, check out ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’, a novel by Umberto Eco; a thumping good read, it’ll also educate you in the idiocy and relationships of numbers (as well as a novelist, he was also Professor of Mathematics at Milan University).
4. Beware of the curse of knowledge. Don’t overthink things. We go back to KISS…
5. Know your audience. Customise your data – ie stories – to the people to whom you are presenting: it’s all very well knowing the % uptake due to an online promotion for your product, but it’s not much interest to the HR department!
6. Talk human! No-one likes listen to geeks – they’re earnest but dull. Use stories, illustrated with figures. Make it real to the listeners, otherwise you’ll have lost them after the first minute/page/slide.

Knowles also spends some time on what he calls the ‘last mile’ problem – ie the difficulty in explaining ‘stuff’ to decision makers. There’s an old saying – ‘you can take a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’ – which is reflected in datasets: you can make the arguments, illustrate the position and forecasts, but you can’t guarantee an outcome. I’d refer you to Professor Malcolm MacDonald’s work on ‘Value Propositions’ to get your head around that one.

In summary:

Analytics + storytelling = influence!

Get that right, and you’ll rule the Boardroom!