Storytelling for CIOs: From niche to bestseller

“Think of your traditional PowerPoint,” says Porter Thorndike, principal product manager at data management and intelligence company ibi, which helps customers craft interactive reports for their audiences. “The worst are the ones with tons of text, slightly better are the ones with bullets, and the best are in a visual story format. Think about the rise in popularity of Tableau or Power BI. Visual interactivity helps people make sense of their data, consume it, and communicate it back as a data story. That’s what data storytelling is: visualisation plus narrative plus context.”

Miguel Traquina, CIO of biometric authentication company iProov, agrees.

“Everybody loves a good story,” he says. “It’s powerful to inspire and motivate teams, and it frequently helps me emotionally connect individuals with set goals and objectives, fostering a sense of purpose. Ultimately, a balance of facts and humor can make your story even more engaging. It helps to maintain interest while ensuring the core message isn’t lost.”

The heart of an effective story

So what are some best practices in storytelling?

“Storytelling is one of our oldest skills, used to both relate experience and lessons, and shape the path forward,” says Jon Collins of analyst firm GigaOm. “Look no further than Aesop’s Fables for the former, and think of any heroic speech for the latter. Using storytelling has several facets. First, the structure and narrative arc of a story is core to make a case for change. Start with context, follow with the challenge, set out the steps of the journey. Second, detail the story characters and how they interact, with examples. And third, the way the story is told is no different for children or weary executives. Excite the audience and if you can, make them a hero or heroine in their own story. Make the story worth telling and tell it in a way worthy of the story. Ultimately, if technology strategy is about transformation, this means selling a vision with charisma and charm. These are, fundamentally, storytelling skills.”

Markerstudy’s Miller adds that a skilled storyteller can be captivating, leaving the listener hanging off every word. “I find you always remember those who tell a story you can personally relate to,” he says. “You need to think about your audience with a story just like you would with any big presentation, and a well-crafted story will help land the message.”

Comedy, drama, tragedy: know your audience

Leaders also stress the importance of planting the right message, tone, and format for each audience.

“There are two things that are crucial in storytelling: understanding your audience and the point you’re trying to get across,” says Carruthers. “Everything else must be tailored depending on those two things, as different styles will be appropriate in different contexts. If I was in a serious meeting, I wouldn’t use humor as it could belittle the situation, whereas if I’m telling a data story on stage, humor can be an incredibly effective way to make a dry topic relatable and, ultimately, ensure people remember what you’re telling them.”

Miller adds: “It’s not easy to get the balance right when communicating technical topics. Sometimes you can come up with something where you think, ‘I’ve nailed that,’ but then see blank faces after the delivery since you’ve misread the level of technical understanding of the audience. I’ve had success taking people on a platform consolidation journey and telling a story around this. Equally I’ve struggled with explaining the journey from an old three-tier data-center configuration to hybrid multi-cloud and hyper-converged infrastructure – it was just too technical for the audience.”

Is this the promis’d end?

So, what happens next? Unsurprisingly, generative AI intervenes here. Thorndike of ibi says he expects to see more machine-generated storytelling to create a range of narratives on an epic scale.

Traquina at iProov foresees AI, AR, and VR making stories more immersive and engaging.

“AI can certainly help you tell better stories,” says Miller. “However, nothing hits like a personal story, and that takes a human touch. Storytelling is an artform, and those who master it can be hugely impactful.”

Carruthers argues that perhaps storytelling as a term has had its day, though.

“The word conjures up scenes of reading a book to your kids before bed, whereas, in reality, storytelling in the context of data and technology is a critical business function,” she says. “What we’re actually doing is engaging, so I think we need to evolve the terminology so people understand the value of making dry topics relatable.”

But for an alternative view, trenchant critic of technological groupthink, James Woudhuysen says the appeal of stories is greatest in childhood. “The notion that people can only understand complexity when a narrative is spun around it is patronizing, glib, and infantile,” he says. “Everyone would like to tell stories like Thackeray but they’re not for management meetings or Post-it notes-on-a-wall feedback sessions. It’s foolish and very American but it appears to be stronger than ever.”