Routledge Narrative by Numbers: How to Tell Powerful and Purposeful Stories with Data (Using Data Better)

Shortlisted for the Business Book of the Year Awards in the Sales and Marketing category. As jobs become increasingly similar, there are two skills that everyone needs if they’re going to thrive. These are the ability to interrogate and make sense of data, and the ability to use insights extracted from data to persuade others to act. Analytics + storytelling = influence. Humans are hardwired to respond to stories and story structure. Stories are how we make sense of and navigate the world. We respond best to stories that are based on evidence. But storytellers need to use data as the foundation of stories, not as the actual stories themselves. To be truly impactful, rational facts need to be presented with a veneer of emotion. The Big Data revolution means more data is available than ever. The trouble is, most people aren’t very numerate or good at statistics. Many find it hard to look at data and extract insights. Meanwhile, those for whom numbers hold no fear don’t always make the best storytellers. They mistakenly believe they need to prove their point by showing their workings. There are some simple and effective rules of data-driven storytelling that help everyone tell more compelling, evidence-based stories, whoever they need to convince. Narrative by Numbers shows you how. Review "Narrative by Numbers shows readers how to do what its title promises: tell powerful and purposeful stories by using data and statistics as the foundations…. Overall, it provides the tools, permission, and confidence to use data with more impact when crafting stories, and shows how powerful the combination can be." Admap, July/August 2018 "We need this book! Evidence and numbers help us to make sense of the world, to transcend how things appear, and find out how they really are. But this is not a technical journey – it’s a human one, of meanings and relationships, and Sam Knowles shows why we need to grasp that first. With an armful of words, a poem crafts meaning or passion or action. But what do we do with an armful of statistics? Sam Knowles has the answers.” Tracey Brown, Director, Sense About Science “Numbers aren’t the enemy of narrative – quite the opposite. Relevant data should be the foundation stones of stories with impact. This approach is clearly relevant for the research and insights business, but also today for every kind of organisation: public, private, and third sector. Sam Knowles makes the case for storytelling by numbers powerfully and persuasively, while at the same time offering a clear how-to guide. To be recommended." Lord Cooper of Windrush, Founder, Populus "We live in a world of uncertainty. What and who can we trust – and how will we know? Sam Knowles helps to unravel today’s biggest question. His thesis – that data is a trusted friend which provides life's 'True North' and the certainty we yearn for – is compelling." Michael Greenlees, 'Godfather of London advertising', Founder, Chairman & CEO of Gold Greenlees Trott "John Naisbitt, author of Megatrends, said: 'We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.' Today, we are drowning in data and starving for wisdom. In this book, Sam Knowles teaches us skills that are practical and easily applied to make sense of data that every marketer needs." Bharat Avalani, Former Unilever marketer; storyteller and memory collector “People who are good with words are seldom good with numbers and vice versa – or so conventional wisdom has it. Sam Knowles appears to be very good at both. His book is a persuasive case for why combining narrative and numbers is essential in an age of big data and short messages. I will be recommending it to my students.” Professor Trevor Morris, Richmond University “Sam’s book is the perfect embodiment of the principles he uncovers and outlines. He looks at and makes sense of the data, and weaves it into a story that is both convincing and inspiring. He ably demonstrates his central premise: analytics plus storyt