“The data speaks for itself” is a refrain I’ve heard more times than I can count. And while there are times when that is true, as a communications strategist I’ve come to realize that though the data might speak to the scientist, investor or innovator behind a study, it rarely speaks to others on its own.
In the field of healthcare and life sciences, data is critical for demonstrating efficacy, validity and need for a given solution. It matters so much that without it, many early-stage founders will be told to come back to the table once they have it in hand. But make no mistake: for founders and scientific teams, the data tells a clear story, because they know the years of work, context and conviction behind it. That is rarely the case for an outsider.
I’ve heard investors say something similar. At this point, with innovations hitting the market at breakneck speed, they’re often choosing among numerous companies that all have great data and new solutions. What tips the scale for investment is the person or team sitting before them. Are they passionate? Do they seem trustworthy and driven? Can they articulate it clearly? Do they make us feel something? Have they given us something to believe in? Could they tell their family about it at the dinner table?
I recently came across this when conducting an introductory meeting with an executive team. Still in its early stages of development, the company put together marketing materials to reference and send to investors, including a corporate one-pager. In preparation for our meeting, I reviewed the one-pager, which was covered in bullet points, stats and numbers. It lacked heart, storytelling and a narrative that gave the numbers meaning.
That document was informational but not persuasive. I read it from top to bottom, multiple times, but needed to hear them frame each bullet to appreciate what the document was trying to communicate. My areas of focus for our engagement quickly became clear. Beyond seeing what a company has accomplished, investors need to connect with the underlying mission and see the vision for what it could become.
This is especially true for companies at early stages, when they are raising funds and asking people to believe in a vision without the full body of proof a more mature company may have. Data is objective and critical, but unless it is outstanding and can, in fact, speak for itself, it rarely moves people to act. It has to be connected to a clear story: what problem the company is solving, why the moment matters, why this team is equipped to carry it forward and what changes if they succeed.
A spreadsheet doesn’t win the room. A mission that feels close to home does.
That is the power of story. Not story as spin, not story as a substitute for evidence, but story as the structure that helps evidence land. Done well, communications does not dilute the science. It gives the science context, urgency and language the right audience can understand, remember and repeat.
Investors, like the rest of us, need evidence, but to become effective advocates, they also need belief.
