My Approach | Learning Untangled

Bad presentations hide good science. Good science deserves to be understood.

Too often, important findings are buried under dense slides, disconnected charts, or narratives that never quite come together. The result is not bad science. It is missed understanding, stalled decisions, and lost impact.

My approach supports you in moving insight from abstraction to understanding by drawing from

cognitive science

adult learning principles

theater

I support you in designing data stories that align with how people process information, make meaning, and decide what to do next.

Here's how my approach incorporates cognitive science, and adult learning theory.

Cognitive science shows that when the working memory is overloaded, people cannot process and retain new information, even when the underlying science is sound.

Story structure reduces cognitive overload by organizing information into a sequence the brain can process. It directs attention, preserves mental bandwidth, and supports meaning-making over accumulation.

Adult learning theory shows that when people cannot see their work, decisions, or experience reflected in the information, learning begins to slip, even when the findings are relevant and well supported.

Story structure brings people into the data by grounding it in familiar situations and real consequences. It creates a point of connection, allowing individuals to recognize themselves in the information and understand what the data is asking of them.

Here's a walk through my theater-inspired data storytelling framework.

Step 1: Define The Shift

Every data story begins with defining the shift. The shift is the mental, emotional, and/or behavioral shift you want your audience to make because of your data.

How should the audience think, feel, and/or act differently after the presentation?

Supporting Cast

The people, groups, or institutions that influence outcomes without being at the center of the story.

They shape decisions, context, or implementation.

The Audience

The group you are speaking to and the people you want to have the shift.

They may not appear in the data, but they matter because they have the authority, influence, or responsibility to respond.

Protagonist

The person, group, population, system, or outcome most directly affected by what the data shows.

This is who or what the story is about.

Antagonist

The force, condition, trend, or system creating the problem revealed in the data.

Not a villain, but the source of pressure or contradiction.

Step 2: Cast Your Data Story

After defining the shift, you will identify your cast. Every data story has a cast. Clarity depends on intentionally defining the roles. When the cast is clear, the story becomes easier to follow, remember, and act on.

Step 3: Create Your Data Story

After you identify your cast, you will write your data story. My data storytelling framework structures information in four stages: The Hook, Act 1: The Setup, Act 2: The Struggle, and Act 3: The Shift.

Together, these stages move the story from connection to understanding to knowing what to do next.

The Hook is the attention getter and builds connection with your audience.

It begins with something the audience already recognizes:

a moment

a tension

a question

a familiar experience

This is where the audience leans in and thinks:

I’ve seen this.

I know this.

This affects me.

I want to know more.

No data yet. Just recognition.
Act 1: The Setup frames the world the data lives in. This is where you bring the audience into your data world.

Here, the audience becomes oriented:

what’s happening

who or what is affected

what assumptions are already in play

The goal is not to explain everything. It is to create enough shared context to move forward together.
Act 2: The Struggle introduces tension revealed by the data. This is where the story deepens.

It often shows up as:

a system that is not working as expected

a pattern that challenges common assumptions

a gap between belief and reality

This is the moment when the audience pauses and thinks:

Something I thought was true is not fully working.

Something here deserves closer attention.

The tension is intentional. It creates space for meaning to take shape.
Act 3: The Resolution & Shift brings the meaning of the data into focus and connects it to action. This is where the shift takes place.

The audience realizes:

what has changed

what matters now

what needs to happen next

This is the moment when the audience thinks:

I see this differently now.

I know what to do next.

The shift is intentional. It turns understanding into direction.

If you’re ready to move your data from insight to action, let’s talk.
Schedule an introductory session.

Book Now