ABSTRACT
Many people, including experts and decision makers, are simply not capable of sifting through the evidence of a risk assessment, for example, and figuring out what happened. They need the aid of a good story. Stories are at the heart of how people think, learn, exchange ideas, and struggle to understand the world around them. Reports can convince people, stories motivate them. The nature and need for stories are explored in some detail. Situations where stories are needed are identified and the elements of a good story are described. Advice for writing an effective story is provided. This includes the riskography, news stories, and general guidance for storytelling. Special attention is devoted to how to tell stories with data where the story is more likely to be in the big picture than in the data. That means narrative stories with visual analytics may be needed. Numerous data visualization formats are considered. The use of probability words is a special topic because probability is often an important part of the story. Alternative story media including personal communications, digital stories, and social media are considered.
