What’s the difference between data and a story?

About 432 tiny plastic bricks and a bruised heel. 🧱👣

I came across this image that explains it better than most consultants ever could (and with fewer slides):

• DATA – Legos scattered across the floor. Chaotic. Painful. Confusing.
• SORTED – Same legos, now grouped by color. Slightly better.
• ARRANGED – Stacked by type or size. Looks nice, still meaningless.
• PRESENTED VISUALLY – Impressive. Still no context.
• EXPLAINED WITH A STORY – Boom. It’s a house. With purpose. With function. With meaning.

That’s the power of storytelling.

Too many people stop at “ARRANGED” or “PRESENTED VISUALLY” and wonder why nobody’s listening.

But until your message builds a house (a story people can step into) you’re just making pretty piles.

So here’s the question:

Are you handing your audience a bucket of data…

…or are you showing them the dream home they could build with it?