What happens when you have solid data, a proven solution—and no one is listening?

[SLIDE] That’s exactly what happened to Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis in 1847.

He was a doctor at a hospital in Vienna. He noticed that pregnant patients treated by doctors had a significantly higher mortality rate than those cared for by midwives.

When he investigated the problem, he discovered that doctors were going straight from performing autopsies to delivering babies without washing their hands. He developed a hand-washing protocol and tested it. The result? Deaths fell from 18% to 2%.

 

He presented his data to his colleagues and the hospital and expected them to adopt his protocol.

However, they did not.

Why? Not because the facts were wrong, but because the story his data told was wrong for the audience. [SLIDE]

The data said, “Doctors are killing their patients, and hospitals are complicit.” And that was a story no one wanted to hear.

Why am I telling you this story from 1847? Good question.

You’ve been thinking about the future, innovation, and strategy all day, and I didn’t want to repeat that.

Instead, I wanted to explore what happens next: How do you share your innovation, your research, your ideas beyond your bubble and reach your important audience in a way that helps people understand and take action?

 

This is where the story comes in, and Semmelweis is a good example of what we’re going to look at today.

Semmelweis didn’t get support for his ideas and protocol, not because the data was wrong, but because the story people saw in his data and the story he told was wrong.

 

This is often a problem for scientists, technical experts, and innovators who want to take their work out of the lab and into the world.

Perhaps you have experienced this before:

 

You present clear data, logical arguments, a solid method, maybe even a working prototype—and still, the spark doesn’t ignite.

 

Management says, “Interesting,” and moves on.

Funding agencies say, “Come back when you have more evidence.”

The public barely reacts.

Based on my experience in both communication and working with scientists in the field of foresight, I believe that stories are a powerful tool that we should use more often.

 

Your data, results, innovations, or prototypes are already full of stories. But sometimes we don’t know how to structure or shape a story so that it resonates with the audience.

That’s exactly what we’re going to look at today.

We’ll take a quick look at three things:

• Why stories work.
• Why we need to translate or reframe our work for our audience.
• And what kinds of stories can help us reframe our innovation stories.

So what is a story?

In short, a story consists of four components:

• Situation – what we know about the world at the beginning.
• Complication – the problem, gap, or opportunity that disrupts this world.
• Action – our response to it – the research, experiment, or activity.
• Resolution – the new world that emerges – what has changed as a result.

 

[SLIDE]

This structure can be represented as follows:

• We know this about the world AND we know this about current research/the current topic.
• BUT what we don’t know is that there is a problem.
• THAT’S WHY we did the following in response.
• NOW we have what we know.

 

We need a complication. It creates tension and curiosity and ensures that we remember. Without complication, it’s not a story.

And in the end, there has to be a change. The change can be small – a new way of thinking, a small step forward or backward in our research.

It can also be big: the innovation of the iPhone, which has led to a change in the way we communicate. Both are fine. But there has to be a change.

 

We humans are storytelling creatures, and we have been telling stories for thousands of years using this structure. We know from research that stories [SLIDE]:

• are easier to understand
• more interesting
• easier to remember
• easier to follow
• more convincing and motivating
• and easier to understand

than pure facts.

 

The right story can be very powerful.

 

It can align you with your audience. It will make people nod, participate, understand, and take action.

 

As we saw with Semmelweis, the wrong story can also be powerful, but instead of aligning your audience with your research, it can also scare people away.

 

So why do we end up with the wrong story?

 

Sometimes it’s because we don’t craft a story at all and simply let people find their own story in our data. And sometimes it’s because we don’t know how to frame the story for our audience.

 

Think about Semelweis for a moment: what if he had told the story of his data in a different frame?

What if he had used the same facts and the same innovation and told the story of a forward-thinking institute tackling one of the challenges of its time? A story about doctors, nurses, and the institution as heroes saving lives.

 

[SLIDE] The original story is a story of shame.

 

The re-framed version is a story of action.

 

If he had phrased his story differently, would it have been easier for the hospital to adopt his research? Perhaps.

 

What does this have to do with us?

 

It shows how we can use the same facts and the same innovations to reshape our story and meet the needs of our audience.

 

I would say that for a successful narrative, it is important to know how we can present our data story or innovation with a new frame.

 

How can we use frames to tell the right story for our audience? [SLIDE]

 

I would like to offer you a shortcut.

I have three types of stories that I think are particularly useful for communicating innovation, research findings, and change. I want to show you how they can be used—and why.

There are many ways to tell stories—

but these three are, in my experience, the most effective

when it comes to communicating change and creating meaning.

 

All three make the case for change –

but each one focuses on a different aspect

and appeals to a different audience.

To make this tangible, let’s take a simple example

that everyone can understand, regardless of their field of expertise:

[SLIDE]

Researchers are converting streetlights

so that they can serve as inexpensive charging points for electric cars.

They use AI to determine the best locations,

test the concept in a city –

and find that these lamppost charging points are faster, cheaper

and more sustainable than conventional charging stations.

Story 1 – The problem story [SLIDE]

Cities are investing billions to expand charging infrastructure,

reduce emissions and improve air quality.

But many densely built-up areas remain without charging options –

and those who live in multi-unit buildings cannot charge at home.

If we don’t close this “last mile,”

it will slow down e-mobility, traffic jams will remain, and emissions will continue to rise.

Our simple but innovative solution can help change that.

 

Here, the focus is on the problem, the urgency, and what is at stake.

This is the problem story –

ideal for investors and financiers.

It generates attention.

 

Story 2 – The “Pathway Forward” story [SLIDE]

 

Cities around the world are working to expand their charging infrastructure –

but the path from pilot projects to actual implementation often takes years.

Our approach builds on what already exists:

streetlights, power lines, city teams.

The steps we took:

Step 1: Retrofitting.

Step 2: Using AI to find the best locations.

Step 3: Scale using an open-source model that any city can use.

Fast, cost-effective, ready to deploy.

The focus here is on the path to the solution, not just the solution itself.

That’s the Pathway Forward Story –

it builds trust and demonstrates feasibility.

Perfect for stakeholders who need to know that it works.

 

Story 3 – The Human Story [SLIDE]

Maria lives in an apartment building.

She has wanted to switch to an electric car for years –

for cleaner air, lower costs,

but she doesn’t have her own charging station.

For her, electric mobility is not a free choice –

but a privilege she cannot afford.

 

This is exactly the problem that the innovation aims to solve:

By turning streetlights into smart charging points,

the city brings energy right to her doorstep.

Now Maria can plug in her car overnight and

drive off in the morning fully charged –

quieter, cheaper, cleaner.

Here, the focus is on the human effect,

on the person, not on the prototype.

This is the human story –

it creates empathy.

Ideal for citizens, communities, and their advocates.

Three stories – one innovation.

All follow the same structure,

but the focus changes the effect.

[SLIDE]

 

Each story addresses a different need –

attention, trust, empathy – and is aimed at a different audience.

 

At its core, it’s about alignment:

How do we bring audience and purpose together? [SLIDE]

How do we tell a story in a way

that makes it easier for people

to understand or do what we want them to?

The goal is not to tell just any story –

but the right one for the people you want to reach.

There are several ways we can use these stories in addition.

 

First, in organizations and teams.

When teams use these three stories together—

the problem story for funders,

the pathway story for stakeholders,

and the human story for the public—

they aren’t just telling stories.

They are navigating uncertainty as an organization.

Everyone knows which story needs to be told when and why.

 

Second, when we talk to different target groups.

Ideally, there would only ever be one type of audience in the room. However, this is often not the case.

 

When speaking to a mixed audience, you can weave all three types of stories into one long story or into points in a presentation – first the attention, then the trust, and finally the heart.

 

This gives you a message that gets people – and plans – moving.

 

So these are the key stories you should use to communicate innovation.

You can tell them individually or together.

And since you’re interested in futures studies and foresight, you may also want to apply a foresight perspective to them.

 

At Futures & Foresight, we often use different future scenarios:

For example

future scenarios of threat, opportunity, and change, to name just three.

 

To help your audience feel more emotionally connected to your story and your innovation, I recommend

painting a picture of a future

that you believe

is meaningful to your audience.

 

Use it before you tell your problem story, your pathway forward story, or your human story.

 

If you portray the future as a threat, draw attention to the question: “What happens if we do nothing—it will be bad!”

 

If you portray the future as an opportunity, you encourage people to think about: “What do we gain if we act now?” – ideal for mobilizing investment.

 

And if you portray the future as transformation, you inspire creativity and ask: “What can we create together?”

 

[SLIDE]

 

Threat + Opportunity + Transformation,

combined with Problem + Pathway + Human –

this opens up many possibilities. [SLIDE]

This offers you another level of interaction. You’re not just telling a story, you’re also influencing how people think about the future in which that story takes place.

You don’t need them all.

You need the right one – for your audience.

And that’s where strategic storytelling for foresight and innovation begins.

 

You can apply this future perspective to something relevant to your work or innovation: the future of climate change, the future of autonomous vehicles, the future of surgery. What you use depends on your research.

 

And if you get stuck, there’s always Steeple, the framework we often use at Foresight.

[SLIDE]

 

 

We’ve covered a lot today.

 

And if you take away just one thing, maybe it’s this:

[SLIDE] Stories aren’t just decoration.

They are the tool that makes research and innovation understandable, tangible, and connectable.

The art is not in inventing new stories,

but in shaping the stories that already exist in your work—

so that others can see the future you want to create.

 

If you tell these stories with the right framing and future glasses—

that is, with your audience and your goal in mind—

then you will inspire action.

A good story can trigger decisions, trust, and motivation.

And if the story is missing or incorrectly framed?

Then innovation sometimes simply gets stuck—in the lab, in the department, in the idea.

 

Let’s return briefly to Ignaz Semmelweis one last time.

He had the data, the evidence, the solution—

but the wrong story for his audience.

He was rejected, marginalized,

and ultimately died in an institution.

His findings remained unused for decades—

and during that time, women continued to die in childbirth.

 

It is unlikely that you will face such a fate today.

But even today, a story can make the difference

between an innovation that has an impact

and one that never sees the light of day.

That is why I invite you tomorrow –

when you are working on a presentation, a proposal, a pitch, or a conversation –

to ask yourself: [SLIDE]

What story does my research, my data, my innovation already tell?

And how can I shape it so

that my audience understands, engages –

and perhaps even takes action?

Thank you very much.