Unlocking GenAI’s potential for storytelling
The Insight250 spotlights and celebrates 250 of the world’s premier leaders and innovators in market research, consumer insights, and data-driven marketing. The awards have created renewed excitement across the industry whilst strengthening the connectivity of the market research community. Winners of the 2025 Insight250 were announced this past September – you can see the full list of Winners at Insight250.com. […]
Embedding storytelling into ways of working
Over the years, one thing has become very clear – embedding data storytelling practices that drive insight activation and decision-making takes more than capability building. Skills matter, but they’re only part of the equation. Alongside training, I am passionate about helping teams build a sustainable culture where insight and storytelling consistently contributes to business decisions […]
Unleashing GenAI as a creative partner
When I completed my chapter on the future of data storytelling in January 2024, I explored how AI, synthetic data, augmented reality, and transmedia storytelling were beginning to reshape the field. Fast forward nearly two years, and that future has well and truly arrived.GenAI’s influence on data storytelling is no longer a prediction, it’s a daily reality. […]
How visual thinking unlocks cognitive superpowers
Why Draw? The Cognitive Case Human cognition is powerful, but not limitless. When faced with large volumes of information, our working memory quickly becomes overwhelmed. In our previous blog post “5 Steps To Ruthless Data Distillation” we referred to George Miller’s classic 1956 paper “The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our […]
Why great data stories start with better questions
A well-crafted question is like a compass. It doesn’t just tell you where to start. It also keeps you on track, guiding the entire analysis, shaping the narrative, and helping you decide what to leave out. A great question: But here’s the catch: stakeholders rarely arrive with great questions. Requests are often rushed, vague, or […]
4 ways to turn insight into action
If you’re fortunate enough to have direct time with key stakeholders and decision-makers, don’t waste it walking through slides. A meeting is a powerful opportunity to use your story as a catalyst for reflection, discussion, debate, and action planning—but only if you allow enough time and space for that to happen. My golden rule for […]
5 mindset shifts for a storytelling culture
Behavioural change theory tells us that lasting transformation requires reshaping attitudes, not just new processes or skills. “Talk regularly about insights. Find a story or surprising insight to discuss for five minutes regularly. It doesn’t have to be from within your organisation. Make it part of your ongoing team conversations.” Charlotte Neal, Head of Marketing at […]
4 tips to nail your micro-content
Socialising insights isn’t a one-off event. It’s a brand-building exercise for ideas, where consistency, clarity, and repetition turns data into decisions. You need a campaign mindset: multiple content pieces that reinforce your key messages, tailored to different audiences, and delivered over time. Micro Content, Macro Impact Here’s how we helped a global automotive company enhance the […]
4 tried and tested hooks for your data story
Your story hook should be both audience-centric and in service of your data story. This is not about being gimmicky for the sake of attracting attention, it is about leveraging a hook to ensure that the audience connects with the data story and considers the key insight messages and recommendations. A good hook piques interest […]
4 key transformations for your data story
If stories are about transformation, as the creator of a data story, you need to be clear about what that transformation your data storytelling needs to spark. By tailoring your data story to target this transformation you make the insight: – Accessible – Relevant – Actionable. In this blog post, we will explore five key transformations that effective data storytelling can help achieve. […]
4 ways to determine the ‘so what?’ in your story
If stories are about transformation, as the creator of a data story, you need to be clear about what that transformation your data storytelling needs to spark. By tailoring your data story to target this transformation you make the insight: – Accessible – Relevant – Actionable. In this blog post, we will explore five key transformations that effective data storytelling can help achieve. […]
5 Steps To Ruthless Data Distillation
If stories are about transformation, as the creator of a data story, you need to be clear about what that transformation your data storytelling needs to spark. By tailoring your data story to target this transformation you make the insight: – Accessible – Relevant – Actionable. In this blog post, we will explore five key transformations that effective data storytelling can help achieve. […]
How to create insights that cannot be ignored
In this article for Luminate, I argue that generating impactful insights requires critical sense-making skills to transform data into clear, compelling narratives that drive action and avoid overwhelming audiences with excessive information. […]