Every one of us has been in a meeting where financial statements were presented. It was valuable information but, assuming you were even able to concentrate on what was being shown, did it make sense to you? Did it move you emotionally? What did those numbers mean to the business? How were you supposed to interpret what you were seeing?
Numbers are truly just numbers until they are given context and meaning.
But if the audience understands the story behind the numbers, then the data comes to life and generates far more dynamic and profitable discussions. It instills more confidence in those who will be using the financial statements and creates emotions around the numbers that can be powerful aids in making decisions.
The psychological power of storytelling
People have been telling stories since we learned to communicate with each other. The ways stories are told have changed over the years, but the brain’s preference for stories over cold data remains.
We are exposed to literally thousands of pieces of information every day and our brains can only catch some of it. There is only so much room for grasping, understanding, and storing data. That’s why stories can be so powerful in helping us choose to remember what we’re hearing or reading.