On 11th March 2020, FlexMR’s Chief Marketing Officer, Chris Martin, will be speaking at the MRS Impact conference in Hilton London, Bankside. His presentation, Dungeons, Dragons and How to Tell Impactful Stories, will explore new realms of storytelling and the creative skills insight professionals can learn from a Dungeon Master.
The old ways of reporting insights aren’t holding the attention of senior stakeholders and decision makers in the way that they used to, and while storytelling techniques have gained a lot of popularity in recent years, aside from the basics they haven’t been adopted by researchers in the way that we need if our insights are going to be listened to. But inspiration for change can come from the most obscure of sources; in this session, Chris will explore the extensive story-crafting skills of a D&D Dungeon Master and the impacts that these skills can have in the research industry.
Netflix hit Stranger Things popularised Dungeons & Dragons for a new generation. But the skills of the Dungeon Master – building expansive narratives that actively adapt to events and decisions – aren’t just a nostalgic hobby, they also hold a lot of relevance for MR teams who need to explain customers, markets and whole industries.
For those of us who aren’t storytelling geniuses, it can be hard to put the story into words and make it real enough for others to believe in. Well Chris is here to share the not-so-forbidden secrets of the D&D world to help us conjure new realms with creative insights. With typical D&D sessions spanning a few hours at the very least and years at the very most, having to power through continuous intricate interactive storylines that bridge that gap between plot and audience (and keeping the story on track when the players inevitably go off on a wild tangent), it’s very clear we have a lot to learn from the Dungeon Masters who can create this world in vivid detail and engage the players until the very end. So, bring your dice, roll a d20 and join Chris for a journey into adventure.
With a new decade arriving against a backdrop of global, regional and national uncertainty, the business of insight is facing the most radical set of challenges it has ever seen. Changing buying habits, a febrile economy, digital disruption and geopolitical realignments are having a major effect on how we seek to understand consumers and citizens, and how we organise and perform our valuable work. Impact 2020 will face these challenges head on, setting a new agenda for the research world to do more than just survive, but capitalize, and prove that in an era of uncertainty, evidence still matters.