Less data, more impact: The art of bold storytelling

A CFO dreads opening research reports.

Grant Feller's friend, a chief financial officer at a major brand, told him over tennis that if he could stop those huge PowerPoint decks from landing in his inbox, it would genuinely help him do his job better. Here was someone at the top of a company actively avoiding the work meant to help him make decisions.

Grant spent nearly three decades as a journalist before stumbling into the insights world. As a narrative advisor and founder of Every Rung, he now helps brands build narratives from research reports, and he immediately saw the disconnect. Journalism takes massive amounts of data and repackages it so people take notice and care. Research teams excel at finding emotional insights, but often forget that second part: making people care enough to act.

During a recent Insightful Inspiration conversation with Isabelle Landreville, Grant and Isabelle explored why this gap exists and how to close it. Both fields solve the same challenge: turning information into something people use.

"You love the data too much"

Grant identified a pattern that shows up everywhere. Research teams fall so deeply in love with their findings that they present everything, convinced comprehensive equals valuable. Decision-makers disagree.

They want direction and clarity rather than extensive reports. A massive disconnect exists between how the industry supplies fantastic material and how people consume it.

Isabelle has watched this tension throughout her career in qualitative research. At a conference presentation about report writing, someone from the audience said she loved all her stories equally, like loving all your kids the same.

Isabelle challenged that thinking directly. You cannot love all the stories equally. Clients need researchers to make those hard choices because they're too close to their challenges to see what deserves attention.

Choosing what matters requires courage, and journalists have a practice that builds that instinct.

Start with the headline

Newsrooms begin with the headline rather than working toward it. They sit down knowing exactly what story they're telling before diving into details.

Grant explained that without a clear thread, facts and data and bullet points fly everywhere. Your audience loses the thread entirely.

Isabelle has built this principle into how Sylvestre & Co. approaches every project. Before opening PowerPoint, her senior team identifies the story they need to tell. That thread connects every element of their research.

She warns her storytellers not to design a slide until they know it will serve their story. Teams fall in love with slides and retrofit them where they don't belong.

Starting with the headline forces uncomfortable questions: What deserves focus? Why should anyone pay attention to this finding over others? If you can capture your story in ten words, you have something worth sharing.

Most teams work backward. They finish their analysis and then try to summarize. By that point, they're too close to see clearly. This is how important findings get buried under less relevant details.

Emotion drives action

When emotional insights land authentically, they stick. Purely rational research disappears into forgotten slide decks.

Grant noted that headlines force you to connect with the emotional side of storytelling, which is exactly how Isabelle approaches her work. She keeps the research rigorous and unbiased while building narratives that need emotional resonance to inspire action.

Isabelle watches for physical responses during presentations. When a story connects emotionally, clients lean forward. That shift signals the insight has moved beyond informing into changing how they think.

This happens most powerfully when she gives people language for something they've been sensing but couldn't articulate. That recognition feels like relief, and relief is memorable.

Cultural context shapes everything. A story that resonates powerfully in English Canada may miss the mark entirely in Quebec. Understanding these nuances before crafting your narrative prevents costly missteps.

Understanding emotional insights also requires courage, especially when the truths are uncomfortable to hear.

When truth requires courage

Grant shared a story about a UK insights agency whose client's sales were plummeting. The company insisted their researchers use "softening" in reports instead of acknowledging reality. Everyone knew the truth, but the word choice let them avoid saying it out loud.

This avoidance fails everyone. Businesses can't fix challenges they won't name honestly.

Isabelle frames this as critical thinking, not bias. Good storytelling cuts through noise by pointing at what deserves attention. It's about focus, not fabrication.

Isabelle has built trust over decades by presenting difficult truths as opportunities rather than disasters. Saying "this deserves your attention" becomes especially important when the story challenges what people want to believe.

That willingness to prioritize uncomfortable truth over comfortable fiction determines whether research influences decisions or fills filing cabinets.

At Sylvestre & Co., emotion meets clarity

For 50 years, Sylvestre & Co. has practiced turning human truths into stories that resonate. Senior researchers lead every project, bringing decades of expertise to understanding what clients need to accomplish.

Cultural intelligence adds depth because emotion works differently depending on language and context. Understanding these differences helps emotional insights land authentically.

The work evolves, but the foundation stays consistent. Help people feel something meaningful. Start by knowing what deserves attention. Find the courage to point clearly toward what will change how they approach their challenge.

Emotion, clarity, and courage make research impossible to ignore. That's where insights become an influence.

Contact Sylvestre & Co. to explore how we help turn research into action.

Insightful Inspiration is brought to you by Sylvestre & Co., where 50 years of qualitative excellence meets the art of making insights resonate.

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