Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations

The Six Key Tests

Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.

Thomas A. Edison, prolific inventor and entrepreneur

When we designed this book, we deliberately included a checklist at the end of most chapters to help keep you focused on the key activities. If you've been following those, you may realize that this chapter is not about the content from any specific step in the CAST process, but about ensuring that the whole visual story comes together successfully.

A lot of effort can go into a good visual story, effort that's not always apparent to the audience, because if you've done it well, you will have removed everything that could confuse or lead to a wrong decision. Your audience may even say a visual story looks simple.

Getting to simple is hard work, but to help you out, we've identified six key tests that ensure you have the necessary focus.

Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing left to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.

Antoine de Saint Exupery, French writer, poet, and aviator

You need to ensure that no one in your audience can credibly dispute any of the data behind your story. If they can, then you have a big problem, especially with the analytically minded in your audience who will rapidly lose confidence in a story with poor data.

If you're using anecdotal evidence, make that clear. If you derive your data ...