what's the right ratio of words to data?
Goldilocks and the Three Bears is an oft-invoked metaphor for the situation in which, among a range of options, the target is a zone between “too much” and “too little” of something. Finding the ideal ratio of words-to-data in our communications meets the criteria for this classic reference.
Include too many words, and we risk slowing down our audience’s comprehension and making the overall message less memorable.
Include too few words, and the key points of the communication may be lost or misinterpreted.
There’s another way in which Goldilocks and the Three Bears applies to the importance of finding the right ration of words-to-data, and it has to do with how critical it is to frame our communications explicitly.
Take a moment to think about the actual story:
While traveling through the forest, Goldilocks sees a stranger’s unlocked, empty house, and promptly invites herself in. (That’s breaking and entering, which is a felony in many states.)
While inside, she steals food from three different prepared meal settings (burglary: also a felony), breaks a chair that is obviously meant for a much smaller child (destruction of private property: felony), and samples three different beds, looking for the most comfortable one in which to nap (oh, let’s be generous and call this trespassing: a gross misdemeanor).
When the homeowners return and confront the surprise visitor, Goldilocks offers no apology or explanation for her behavior, instead choosing simply to flee.
As a result of this boorish behavior, Goldilocks suffers exactly zero consequences.
Depending on whose perspective we want to take, the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears can come across very differently. Is it the story of an innocent girl, lost in the forest, who just wanted to find food and shelter that would give her the comfort to go on? Or is it the tale of a picky and self-involved home invader who commits multiple felonies but suffers no repercussions?
Often, a rich data set can legitimately support a variety of stories. In business communications—as in childhood stories—there are facts, and then there are narratives that bring context to those facts. If we don’t take care to put explicit words around our data when we communicate, our audiences won’t always make similar interpretations or draw the same conclusions. In the absence of context and a strong, coherent story, they will likely draw on their own personal and professional experiences to make some assumptions about how to interpret the data they’re seeing.
In your presentations, don’t risk leaving anyone’s understanding of your message to chance. Instead, develop and deliver a well-crafted, objectively reasonable narrative that is supported by your data. That way, your communication’s important insights and messages will be seen, heard, and remembered exactly as you intended.