Fairly than specializing in numbers and statistics, knowledge storytelling permits you to translate numbers into insights which can be extra simply understood and might be built-in into higher decision-making.
I come from a protracted line of storytellers. Rising up, household gatherings have been at all times filled with a colourful forged of characters competing for consideration. As a toddler, I listened intently and soaked up the teachings realized over a lifetime from the experiences of my elders.
Tales have at all times performed an integral position in human historical past. Tales possess the facility to affect, to create change in addition to to show and assist others perceive complicated ideas.
Just lately, researchers on the London Faculty of Enterprise discovered that individuals solely retain 5 p.c to 10 p.c of the knowledge when offered in a statistical method. Nonetheless, when offered in story type, people remembered 65 p.c to 70 p.c of what was communicated. As a result of tales assist to create an emotional connection, they play a robust position in influencing the outcomes of our human interactions.
What’s knowledge storytelling?
Knowledge storytelling is the method of making a story from complicated datasets to speak a selected message extra successfully. Fairly than specializing in numbers and statistics, knowledge storytelling permits the communicator to translate these numbers into insights which can be extra simply understood and may then be built-in into higher decision-making.
Miro Kazakoff, an MIT Sloan lecturer who teaches communications and knowledge storytelling as a part of MIT’s Grasp of Enterprise Analytics curriculum, says, “In order for you folks to make the correct choices with knowledge, it’s important to get of their head in a manner they perceive. All through human historical past, the best way to try this has been with tales.”
Telling good tales
As with all good tales, creating the plot or setting the stage is a main important aspect. Start by creating a principle or posing a query. This sometimes begins with primary knowledge evaluation to establish an space the place additional investigation can be useful. Getting access to up-to-date and correct knowledge is useful in posing one of the best questions, thereby leading to essentially the most correct conclusions.
Knowledge visualizations assist to convey context to the numbers. By working with numerous varieties of visualizations, resembling charts, maps and tables, customers can extra successfully discover the information, monitor modifications and produce beneficial explanations to developments or modifications over time.
As an instance this, simply envision your self working with a number of spreadsheets and trying to extract that means or perception from the hundreds of numbers contained inside these spreadsheets. It’s not very simple for many of us to kind via. Now, think about that very same knowledge displayed in colourful, organized visualizations. Patterns, developments, and correlations start to organically emerge. That’s the facility of information visualization.
How can storytelling enhance agent recruitment?
Whereas there is no such thing as a doubt that actual property is a folks enterprise, rising applied sciences are being adopted at a fast tempo. Historically, corporations might depend on mushy abilities resembling empathy, problem-solving and good communication as a manner of constructing and nurturing long-lasting relationships. Whereas these abilities are nonetheless related, the panorama is evolving, and brokers are on the lookout for extra from their brokerages.
In an effort to remain aggressive, many corporations have began providing extra aggressive fee splits, entry to the newest tech options in addition to numerous different incentives. Whereas appreciated, brokers are additionally anticipating leaders to know their enterprise wants and to supply an setting the place they are often coached and supported to the following degree of their careers.
Approaching agent recruiting conferences outfitted with manufacturing knowledge is an efficient preliminary begin. Nonetheless, going past historically utilized metrics resembling annual manufacturing and year-over-year modifications helps to make interactions extra significant and related. Contemplate the impression in your interplay with an agent when approaching them with a deep understanding of their struggles, challenges and areas of alternative.
Anthony Lamacchia, broker-owner of Lamacchia Corporations, Inc., stated, “Creating knowledge factors and monitoring key efficiency indicators is one thing we’ve got been doing in our enterprise for a number of years. We’re nice at doing that on an organization degree, however we lately started to do it even higher on an agent-to-agent foundation.” Letting brokers know that you simply’ve executed your homework and that you simply perceive their wants helps them really feel assured when contemplating a brokerage change.
Whereas one doesn’t have to earn a level in knowledge analytics to interact in productive data-based conversations, having a working information of the assorted knowledge visualization strategies obtainable in addition to a primary understanding of information interpretation, will go a great distance in constructing confidence and nurturing relationships for a very long time to return.
Diana Zaya is the vp of gross sales and advertising and marketing and one of many founding staff members of Relitix, a knowledge analytics firm specializing in the usage of knowledge science purposes resembling machine studying, large knowledge analytics, and knowledge visualization for agent recruitment and retention. Join along with her on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.