The Importance of Empathy

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Data works best when it validates lived experience.

Stories make information emotionally relevant, which helps turn understanding into action.

Impact reports work better when stakeholders are heroes and data maps their progress.

If you've worked in a company setting, you have likely sat in a room where someone presents a slide deck loaded with charts, numbers, and bullet points. The presenter seems prepared, and everyone nods politely. But do you really remember what is shared, and do you really care about the data or act on it? Often, that answer is no.

But picture another scenario, where that same data is introduced through the life of one person, such as someone with an obstacle, an underdog position, a turning point, and a victorious outcome. Suddenly, those same dry numbers have a human pulse. You find yourself remembering, caring about, and acting on what you learned.

The difference between those two scenarios is captured and demystified in this interview. Drawing from her work helping others to tell stories with data, Sienna Jackson shows us what organizations can learn from entertainment, and how teaching these arts can make complex or uncomfortable data easier for audiences to face. Jackson's answers follow each question below.

Jenny........

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