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Telling Stories with Data

Part 1: Context, Content, and Lessons in Storytelling

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Agenda

Introductions
Icebreaker
Understanding your context

Explanatory Analysis (Who? What? How?)
3-minute pitch
Big Idea

Creating Content: telling a story

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CEPEG: Community Epidemiology and Program Evaluation Group

CEPEG is a trusted partner for public health and community organizations
From planning to evaluation, CEPEG helps partners identify what’s working, measure impact, and make informed decisions
Our strength lies in our cross-disciplinary and diverse team

This mix of skills and lived perspectives fosters creative thinking, allowing CEPEG to approach challenges in ways that are both rigorous and uniquely responsive to community needs.�

As I mentioned, my name is Sara Cooper. I’m the Director of CEPEG. I actually snuck out of my office this afternoon because no one let’s me do any fun stuff like this anymore. My colleague, Shannon Pray is here too, and a willing participant in these shenanigans. She’s going to monitor the chat, answer all the hard questions, and make sure we don’t spend the next 50 minutes watching funny panda videos. Shannon, Please say hi to everyone. Shannon is probably familiar to you because she leads up QPR and EDS data collection and provides technical assistance. She is also a cracker jack evaluator and a master at data visualization.

CEPEG is a research and evaluation center at CU Cancer Center and the CU School of Public Health. We’re located on the CU Anschutz campus in Aurora. CEPEG works with nonprofits, government agencies, and coalitions to plan, evaluate, and improve programs that advance community health. One of our main responsibilities is to be the external evaluators for Colorado’s A35 programs. We work closely with both STEPP and CCPD and members of our team have served on the review committees for both programs. I believe that one of our strengths is that we blend public health research, evaluation, program design, analytics, and community insight to equip organizations to better understand and improve what matters most to them.

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Show us your data!!!

How does this request make you feel?

Here is today’s ice breaker: Think about what happens in your brain when I tell you to SHOW US YOUR DATA??? In the chat share one word that describes how this makes you feel.

We’re going to spend about a minute here.

[Shannon- please start sharing names and words people share- you can start with yourself if that helps ease people into the exercise].

The point of this exercise is simply to say that Some of us come from quantitative backgrounds- we can collect and analyze data, we can build models and interpret findings, but most of us have little formal training in design. We have few tools to help us communicate our data to various audiences who may or may not have the same kind of data literacy we do.

The flip side is that equally as often, those without technical backgrounds are being asked to step into analytic shoes and communicate using data- data they may not feel comfortable enough with themselves let alone confident to interpret and explain to others.

So, when you look out at the sea of faces on zoom here today, we’re all uncomfortable with some aspect of this process. You aren’t alone.

Please ask questions. If you are curious or confused about something, Most likely someone else is too. We’re all here with open heads and open hearts.

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Exploratory vs. Explanatory Analysis

Exploratory

What you do to understand your data (testing, analysis, modeling) and figure out what is interesting or important (interpretation) to share with others

e.g., 100 different tests to find the “pearl in the oyster”

Explanatory

The specific finding (or “pearl”) you want to share or explain to your audience; a story to tell

So where do we start. When we talk about approaching data, there are really only two phases of analysis: Exploratory and Explanatory.

Exploratory is what you do to understand your data. And how you figure out what is worth sharing out to other people. It’s how you find that “pearl in the oyster.” This is a bit of a heavy-handed metaphor because you might have rich wonderful data with lots of great pearls. The question here is which pearls add to the story you are trying to tell today. The rest of today’s presentation is actually about how you answer this question.

When you are ready to build a data story, you want to be in an explanatory stage- you have a specific thing you want to share. We have moved past the space where you are showing your exploratory analyses. Now, I totally get it… You’ve done all this work, and you want to show your audience everything including how robust your analysis is. Your modeling is superb, your error is small, your linear regression line is very sexy… Resist this urge! Concentrate on the information your audience needs to know- Focus on your PEARLS!

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Explanatory Analysis: Who, What and How

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Who?

Audience…

Be specific
What do you know about them
What do they need
Tailor your message

You…

What is your relationship with your audience
How does your audience perceive you

When I say “WHO, the question I’m really asking is: Who are you talking to? Be specific! Avoid general statements like, “internal and external stakeholders.” Different audiences have different needs, desires, interests, ideas and motivations. How can you effectively communicate with all of them at one time through one channel?

You may need to create different communications for different audiences. This is OK.

The more you know about your intended audience, the better you can tailor your message so that it resonates with each of them.

The second thing to think about is What does your audience know about you? How do they feel about you?

This seminar is a good example. Have we met before? Am I a trusted partner or do I have to establish my credibility? Most of you don’t know me and may not be particularly familiar with CEPEG. I started today’s discussion with a brief introduction to CEPEG and to myself. Then we did an exercise to build relationships through shared experiences.

Ultimately, the more you know about your audience and the more you can speak to relationship building, the more you can tailor your message, and the more likely they are to believe you and act on your message.

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What?�“Lead people to understanding and action”

Action…

What do you need your audience to know
What do you want your audience to do
You are the subject matter expert…

Recommend action vs. suggest possible next steps

Accept

Agree

Begin

Believe

Change

Collaborate

Commence

Create

Defend

Desire

Differentiate

Do

Empathize

Empower

Encourage

Engage

Establish

Examine

Facilitate

Form

Implement

Include

Influence

Invest

Invigorate

Know

Learn

Persuade

Plan

Promote

Pursue

Report

Respond

Start

Support

Try

Understand

Validate

Your WHAT is the message you want to convey to your audience through your communication. What you want your audience to know or DO.

If you can’t explicitly state what this is, then maybe step back and think about the purpose of this communication- why are you doing this in the first place. A lot of times, this is actually where I start. Sometimes I think about my what in the context of why: Am I teaching? Am I providing support? Am I calling for advocacy and involvement? Do I want money? Do I want other kinds of support?

I work with a lot of brilliant people- people who are a lot smarter than I am. This one particular person loves data even more than I do. You see her face just light up- you can see it from space. The problem is that she get’s so focused on the data that she often misses the message (she also dives into the analysis before she has a hypothesis and get’s lost in the data and we have to send out rescue parties to pull her out…). My message for her is the same message I’m telling you today- you have to start with the message- the message drives everything else. The data should always be the supporting cast to your message.

Now, there may be some circumstances where it isn’t appropriate to recommend action. [does anyone have an example of when this might occur?] This is an opportunity to suggest next steps – it’s a great way to get conversation going because the audience has something to react to. That’s the key point here- something to react to, something to spark conversation, discussion, debate. You want your audience to walk away with more than, well, that was interesting…

On the side of the slide, I’ve shared some of my favorite action verbs. Some of them are pretty simple: try, start, plan, do. That doesn’t mean they aren’t just as powerful as collaborate or empower.

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How? �“How you say something matters as much as what you say”

Tone…

Celebrating a success?
Cue to action?
Is the topic lighthearted or serious

Tone has implications for design choices

Mode…

Presentation? Report? Infographic? One-pager?

Mode has implications for level of control over how audiences take in the message and the amount of detail you share

How refers to the communication method- how are you presenting your data? As well as how the data themselves support the story you are telling.

I like to think about the various components of HOW separately.

MODE refers to how the information is conveyed to the audience. With a live presentation, you have full control- you determine what the audience sees and when they see it. You control the speed and can respond to questions, pivot content in real time. With written documents, you have less control. The audience is in control of how they consume the information. Therefore You need to include a higher level of detail because you are not there to respond to audience cues. Ideally, the deliverables and communication strategy would be totally different depending on mode. And your choice of mode would depend on audience.

We’ll dive deep into tone and data in the next seminar in this series. In brief, design choices affect how audiences interpret both text and data. Can you think of an example? Well one way is the use of formal vs. informal language. Another is background/ color selection, BOLDING text, font size. What else?

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How… The Data�“What data are available that will help me make my point?”

Data are supporting evidence for the story you tell

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Working Example: Disease Management Program

You just completed an experimental pilot program to teach multi-generational families about how to adapt culturally relevant recipes using health-forward foods.

You surveyed families at the onset and end of the program to determine interest in and usefulness of program curriculum, and intentions to use skills (perceptions, attitudes and behavior change).

The data show great success, and you would like to offer the program as part of your regular disease management intervention.

Who

What

How

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White Board

[Go to white board] How do we operationalize our Who, What and How in the context of the program description I just shared.

Please click on the link to the white board because we are going to do a short exercise together. Thinking about the example we just read together, use the sticky notes to capture three things:

#1: Who are all the possible audiences who might be interested in this program/ the information you have to share…

Let’s take a minute or two to focus on the WHO. On the whiteboard, add sticky notes that call out as many possible audiences that you can think of [PAUSE FOR 1:30]

[organize sticky notes by broad categories]

#2: Next we need to consider the WHAT: your message. Thinking about the various audiences we’ve listed out here, WHAT message would you want to share with each? how might the story differ depending on the audience? Emphasis? Tone? Call to action? What data would you show various audiences?

#3: Now let’s focus on the HOW: looking over the list of WHO, how would you prefer to communicate with each of these many audiences? Tone? What data would you show various audiences? How do you want to communicate with this group?

[Talk thru some examples from the White Board.]

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Recap…

Who: Potential funder who can provide continued financial support to grow the program.

What: The program was a success. Please approve our funding request of $XX to support the program.

How: Slide deck to illustrate program need and overwhelming success; pre/post survey data and selected quotes from program participants.

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Recap (another example)…

Who: Referral partners (e.g., clinics, individual practitioners, promontoras, CHW and HNs, etc.).

What: The program can help your patients take control of their health. Partner with us and refer patients to our program.

How: Communications strategy to expand referral partnerships.

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A Pivot…

You just completed an experimental pilot program to teach multi-generational families about how to adapt culturally relevant recipes using health-forward foods…

The data show great success, and you would like to offer the program as part of your regular disease management intervention.

How do you know your program was a success?

Look to the evidence base
Identify indicators of change a priori

Select appropriate methods for assessment (quantitative and qualitative)
Understand what is reasonable to expect

Great resources for reference and practice:

(EVALCO.org)

bit.ly/CEPEGhome

Let’s pause for a message from our sponsor… How could I possibly not address the large gold text on the screen- HOW do you know your program was a success… Well, hopefully you reached out to your friendly neighborhood program evaluator at CEPEG and figured this out before you launched your program. I’ve listed two robust, reliable strategies on the slide:

If your program is modeled after an evidenced based intervention, your first step should be to look back at the literature and see what kind of impact/ results others found- and what you might expect to see, assuming some level of fidelity in implementation. Keep in mind that programs usually need some kind of adaptation, and no two participant populations are the same so you’re going to see some variation in outcomes. That being said, evidence-based programs typically have enough data behind them that you can confidently say that it works.

Now, in the world we live in, most external funders (especially national/ federal and foundations) want some outcomes data to support your assertion that your program works. When you are developing your intervention, you should be considering evaluation in parallel to program processes and components. Identifying key outcomes at the outset allows you to seamlessly integrate data collection measures at every level of program operations, test drive data collection methods, and pivot quickly when things don’t quite work out they way you want. You also avoid the dreaded… “If only we had collected X…”

You should also know what is reasonable to expect in terms of measurable outcomes- this is really important. Follow along with me here: your key indicator of change is successful quit. The evidence says your program results in a 1% quit rate… You recruit 100 people, but you know that about 15 will probably drop out or be lost to follow-up before you measure quit outcomes. There is no possible way you can find a significant quit outcome. The math doesn’t support this. So What can you expect to find? Maybe you can find 3-5 really strong (evidence-based) precursor behaviors, attitudes and beliefs associated with likelihood to achieve successful quit. Know this information going in so you can manage expectations. This is why you need a good evaluator.

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Crafting Your Message… The “So What?”

The challenge:

If you had only a limited amount of time or a single sentence to tell your audience what they needed to know…

What would you say?

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Who are you? �In 1 sentence…

I am Mother to three magnificent daughters, a committed partner, a passionate and dedicated researcher, a lover of good food, good films, good books and good company, a consumer of all things sci-fi, an aspiring equestrian… And I like to blow stuff up.

Some of you may have done an exercise like this in another setting- introducing yourself or your work in 1 sentence. I had to do this extemporaneously to introduce myself to the other tobacco researchers on the Anschutz campus at a conference and it was so hard… So of course I thought it would be fun if we did it together here.

OK. Let’s go back to the white board and I’ll ask each of you to add a sticky note with one sentence that tells us everything you want us to know about you. Here’s mine as an example.

[Go back to white board and ask people to share 1 sentence about themselves.] Would anyone like to share their one sentence?

A few things that I think about as you’re doing it: Even before you started writing about yourself, you have to choose a sticky note COLOR. What color did you pick? How did you decide? Did you think about what that color choice might convey about you to the other people on this zoom?

How did you find this exercise? Challenging? Easy? What were some tripping points? What might have made this easier? What if you had more time- say… 3 minutes…

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Mastering Your Message

3-Minute Story

Tell me everything I need to know in 3 minutes…

What’s in?
What’s out?

The Big Idea

Tell me your “so what” in 1 sentence

Articulate your unique point of view
Convey what is at stake
A complete sentence

(Nancy Duarte, Resonate, 2010)

You know you’ve mastered your WHAT or your message when you have two things: your 3-minute story and your Big Idea.

One way to think about this is the “elevator pitch…” I know this feels a little overdone but it’s a useful way to conceptualize the approach to messaging. If you have only moments to convince your audience to take action, What would you say? What are the most essential elements you must convey to your audience? What isn’t essential?

Can you boil your overall communication down to the single most important message? To a single sentence?

I mean, imagine you find yourself in an elevator with a stakeholders and you grab the opportunity to give her the run-down on your new idea/ project/ initiative.

Or your boss corners you and asks what you’re working on…

Or you are presenting to important stakeholders and other agenda items go long, and your presentation time gets cut short

What happens if your slide deck crashes and you need to speak extemporaneously to your audience

You know exactly what you need to communicate and you can make it work.

Something like this actually happened to me… It wasn’t an elevator, it was an escalator at the Sewell Ballroom. I was riding up with a state legislator who I had been trying to get 5 minutes with for months… I didn’t get 5 minutes, I got 45 seconds but she was trapped there with me. I had her undivided attention and it paid off. I had my BIG IDEA.

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3-minute story in practice

You just completed an experimental pilot program to teach multi-generational families about how to adapt culturally relevant recipes using health-forward foods.

You surveyed families at the onset and end of the program to determine interest in and usefulness of program curriculum, and intentions to use skills (perceptions, attitudes and behavior change).

The data show great success, and you would like to offer the program as part of your regular disease management intervention.

Build your story…

Humanize the narrative (make it personal)
Add details (backstory, motivation, goal, intention)
Add more details (program description, e.g., content, participants, location)
Key findings (be selective)
Finish strong (call to action)

Using the same example from earlier, let’s build out a 3-minute story together: You just wrapped a very successful experimental pilot program to teach multi-generational families about how to adapt culturally relevant recipes using health-forward foods. You have pre and post intervention survey data from participants and you are hoping to secure funding to integrate the initiative into your established disease management programming.

Where do we start: First, make sure to make your 3-minute story relatable: Is this issue/ program important to you? Why? Would one of you share a personal statement about a program or initiative that feels personal or resonates?

Then add some detail- you might consider this the background and context section.

Now add some more detail- tell us about the program- what does it do? Where is it? Who participates? What need does it meet?

Tell your audience about your key findings- this program works… Here’s the proof.

And finally, finish strong- here’s the call to action. This is where you make your ask.

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Big Idea in practice

You just completed an experimental pilot program to teach multi-generational families about how to adapt culturally relevant recipes using health-forward foods.

You surveyed families at the onset and end of the program to determine interest in and usefulness of program curriculum, and intentions to use skills (perceptions, attitudes and behavior change).

The data show great success, and you would like to offer the program as part of your regular disease management intervention.

Build your sentence…

The [program/ initiative/ policy/ activity/ event] was successful at [insert accomplishment] and because of this success, we recommend [insert call to action].

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Now… Turn your message into a compelling narrative

You’ve mastered your message… what’s next?

The rules for storytelling are the same regardless of communication mode

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Creating Content: Setting up the story �(The Introduction)

when and where does the story take place?

Setting

Describe what will happen if no action is taken

Main Character

Why is action necessary? What has happened/ changed?

The imbalance

What do you want to see happen?

The balance

(Atkinson, Beyond Bullet Points)

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Creating Content: The Middle �(The “Meat”)

Develop the “problem” or situation by covering relevant background

Develop

Describe what will happen if no action is taken

Describe

Discuss potential options to address the problem

Discuss

Illustrate the benefits of your recommended solution

Illustrate

Clearly articulate why your audience is in a unique position to drive action

Articulate

The next part of a good story is the middle- the Meat of the narrative.

Here you get to develop the problem- tell us more about the problem. This is a great place to share relevant data that reinforce the importance of your issue.

Then tell us all of the horrible things that will happen if nothing is done to address the problem- this is the starving babies image. This is the puppy in the snow. This is the sad tiger pacing in his cement cage. This is another great place for support data. Not overwhelming data- supporting, thoughtfully selected, well presented data (come in December…).

This is also where you get to tell your audience that all hope is not lost- we have solutions and let me tell you the solution I like the most… and then you tell your audience why they are in a unique position to drive action.

Think about what data will strengthen your story.

Align and your message with your audience’s motivation-

And integrate your data where it makes sense.

Your story is ultimately about your AUDIENCE, not about you.

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Creating Content: The End

Tell them what you want them to do next

Give the audience a ‘call to action’

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Guidelines for a compelling narrative

Be genuine
Keep it simple
Have the guts to cut
Sound like yourself
Say what you mean to say
Pity the reader

(Kurt Vonnegut, “How to write with style”)

Keep it simple

Edit ruthlessly

Be authentic

Let’s pause for a moment and shift from shlocky to a little more highbrow…

In an article about how to be a good writer, the author Kurt Vonnegut shared some thoughts on what he believed were the critical elements of good storytelling. He said to…

Be genuine: If you care about the subject, let that emotion come thru your narrative. We’ve talked about that already in the 3-minute story in practice. If it’s personal, share that.
Keep it simple: Perhaps the greatest example of that is Hamlet’s “To be or not to be?” Who doesn’t know that line? No word in that sentence is more than three letters but the power it convey knocks me down every time.
Vonnegut also said, Have the guts to cut: if a sentence (or slide) does not support your Big Idea in a new and useful way, get rid of it. This presentation used to be 65 slides! Now its 22 slides… Vicious cutting!
Sound like yourself
Say what you mean to say: I tell my team (and my kids) this all the time. Keep it simple. Be careful about forcing the text. You don’t need to sound smart- just be clear. If you aren’t comfortable with technical data, share something else. Use punctuation.
Pity the readers: remember to be patient and sympathetic teachers, be willing to simplify and clarify. Don’t ramble.

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Story Boarding

Scaffold the content
High tech vs. low tech
Test the message/ narrative flow

Now let’s bring this home- Once you can articulate your story clearly in one-sentence, creating content for your communication should be relatively easy. Everything you share should support your 3-minute story and your Big Idea.

A story board establishes a structure or scaffold for your communication.

Using the High tech option (powerpoint for example)- allows you to put structure to the story and cuts out a step- because you are building your slides as you go

Low tech forces you to create and refine content, and edit critically, before you put anything into a slide deck.

Consider a whiteboard, sticky notes, or just plain white paper to begin collaboratively sketching out key concepts/ ideas and details.

In my experience, it feels easier to strike thru a sticky note that doesn’t really fit the Big Idea than to delete an entire slide (especially if it is a lovely slide that I worked really hard on)

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Story Board in practice

1. ISSUE: Families enjoy cooking together, but find it hard to adapt traditional recipes to nutritional guidelines

2. Demonstrate Issue: Share selected recipes that families have brought to class

3. Ideas for overcoming issue: Multi-generational cooking classes; instructor from neighborhood (pilot program)

4. Describe Pilot: goals, content, outreach, participants location

5. Show before/ after survey data to demonstrate Pilot success

Other data?

6. RECOMMENDATION: Pilot was a success! Let’s expand it. We need $$

Back to our disease management program example. This is how I would story board my presentation.

I start with the Issue…

I make it personal- I start thinking about what data I can add here to really highlight the human impact-

I share possible solutions and focus on my favorite solution- our pilot cooking program

I describe the program- sharing colorful details about location, content, program leaders, community outreach and partnership- I expand on the impact that data can have here as well- maybe share photos of families cooking together in class. Videos of families talking about what the class has meant to them… What they learned, how it changed their behavior and the impact these changes have had on their health…

Then I hit the audience with some before and after outcomes data that hammers home the program’s success. And I end with my cue to action. Here this is at the end in the recommendation.

Putting the Big Idea at the front can also help set up the “why,” what we are communicating with them and why they should care in the first place. The nice thing about storyboarding is that… we can try leading with it so that our audience doesn’t miss the key point. Let’s move the BIG Idea up and run through it to see how it feels. Maybe we want to try sandwiching the message between Big Ideas…

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Take-Aways…

Identify your “Who,” “What” and “How”

1

Find your “So what?”

2

Write your 3-minute Story

3

Refine your Big Idea

4

Storyboard your narrative

5

Select data to enhance your message

6

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Coming up next…

Dec 9: Choosing effective visuals and how to use DV tools

Jan 20: Data Viz Workshop! Bring your thoughts and numbers and let’s design and refine your storytelling technique

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Questions? Comments?

EvaluationTA@ucdenver.edu

bit.ly/CEPEGhome - CEPEG’s virtual access point with resources and trainings