--- title: "Dungeons, Dragons & Impactful Stories (MRS IMPACT Summary #2)" description: Table top RPGs have seen huge resurgance in popularity since Netflix hit Stranger Things hit our screens. But did you know these games can also teach us how to tell more impactful stories and better engage stakeholders? image: https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/20-03%20Dungeons%20Dragons%20Stories.jpg --- close ## Ready to level up your insights? Get ready to streamline, scale and supercharge your research. Fill out this form to request a demo of the InsightHub platform and discover the difference insights empowerment can make. A member of our team will reach out within two working days. close ## Cost effective insights that scale Quality insight doesn't need to cost the earth. Our flexible approach helps you make the most of research budgets and build an agile solution that works for you. 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[Listen Now](https://resources.flexmr.net/mrx-lab-podcast) - ### Featured Stories - [Specsavers Informs Key Marketing Decisions with InsightHub](https://resources.flexmr.net/specsavers) - [The Coventry Panel Helps Maintain Award Winning CX](https://resources.flexmr.net/coventry-building-society) - [Isagenix Customer Community Steers New Product Launch](https://resources.flexmr.net/isa-insights) - [Curo Engage Residents with InsightHub Community](https://resources.flexmr.net/curo) - [Tech & Trends](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/tech-trends) / - [Research Methods](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/research-methods) / - [Practical Application](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/practical-application) / 9 MIN READ ## Dungeons, Dragons & Impactful Stories (MRS IMPACT Summary #2) #### Chris Martin # [Workshops and Beacons: A Guide to Building Custome...](https://blog.flexmr.net/workshops-beacons-customer-salience) Most organisations are not short of data, insight or decks.Their biggest challenge is not whether cu... [Read more](https://blog.flexmr.net/workshops-beacons-customer-salience) 9 MIN READ #### Ed Hill - [Events (1)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/events) - [Insights Empowerment (38)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/insights-empowerment) - [Practical Application (178)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/practical-application) - [Research Methods (285)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/research-methods) - [Strategic Thinking (232)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/strategic-thinking) - [Survey Templates (7)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/survey-templates) - [Tech & Trends (397)](https://blog.flexmr.net/topic/tech-trends) Recently, I was fortunate enough to be a part of the [MRS Impact 2020](https://www.mrs.org.uk/event/conferences/impact-2020) conference. In a new venue and new format, this year’s annual gathering of insight industry professional included two stages – one of which was entirely dedicated to practical, interactive sessions. It was on this stage that I spoke about how table top RPGs can teach us tell more impactful, more engaging stories. Anyone who attended will know that one of my key pieces of storytelling advice is to recap events across multiple mediums. And, in the spirit of that advice, here’s my written summary of [the presentation](https://resources.flexmr.net/events/mrs-impact-2020). ### What is a TTRPG? Before we get into the detail, it’s worth first understanding exactly what a table top RPG (TTRPG) is. So, here’s a primer. The form of gaming, was created in 1974 by merging traditional role playing with rule-based character representation. By role playing, I mean acting and making decisions as a fictional character. And by rule-based representation, I mean using a system of numbers and dice rolls to determine the success and failure of various actions. Today, table top RPGs are played by an estimated 25 million people worldwide, and cover a number of settings. Popular variants include Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Call of Cthulhu – in addition to sci-fi, wild west and other genres. The basic setup of a game involves a single Dungeon Master (DM), who controls the story of the game and the obstacles placed in the players’ way, in addition to 2+ players. Each player controls a single character, which has: a race, a class, an alignment, ability scores and equipment. With this in place, the game can start. Though game structure is largely controlled by the DM, rounds usually consist of four steps. 1. The DM describes the scene to players 2. Players decide how to interact with the scene or each other 3. Any skill checks and dice rolls to determine success & failure of actions take place 4. The DM describes how the actions affect the scene And that’s it. While the nuances and detail of each setting can become much more complex, these are all the basic rules required to start playing. ### Why Look to TTRPGs for Storytelling Advice? Now, it might seem odd to look to this type of game for real-world inspiration. But, if we look at TTRPGs from the perspective of the Dungeon Master, the challenges they face on a regular basis mirror those faced by researchers when presenting to stakeholders and attempting to engage decision makers with data. Often, we draw inspiration from journalism, TV and books. But their length pales in comparison to the stories told in TTRPGs, which take a staggering 48 hours (across multiple months) to complete. And it’s this setup – one where people need to remain engaged across long timespans and multiple sessions – where I believe the comparison is most apt. This is summed up well by Edward Miller, Founder of Edward Elementary, who says, “Stories are our primary tools of learning and teaching, the repositories of our lore and legends. They bring order into our confusing world.” It is the last half of this quote that captures the essence of the shared challenges researchers and Dungeon Masters face. Both groups operate in large, confusing and complex worlds; but stories help us condense those complexities down and communicate them effectively. ### 10 Steps to Telling Impactful, Engaging Stories Here’s where things start to get exciting. The following are 10 observations that I’ve made over my time as a Dungeon Master that engage players, and translate to the world of insights activation. | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [Memorable stories start before the first word is spoken or read. If you want stakeholders to engage, make sure the environment is right first.](https://ctt.ac/LROqT) | | | ![Tweet from FlexMR](https://www.flexmr.net/images/webpage-images/45-tweet-this-from-flexmr.png) | ***Tweet This*** | | --- | --- | | [Recurring characters, whether real participants or fictional personas, can help researchers tell of changes of the world in an evocative, engaging manner.](https://ctt.ac/1fAgY) | | 1. **Give important moments additional flavour.** There’s a subtle art to signposting in stories when something important is happening, and when something warrants greater attention. An easy way to communicate this is to slow down and give more in-depth descriptions of these moments. The change in tone and pacing signifies that the moment in question has a higher priority in the hierarchy of narrative elements. 2. **Embrace the messiness of complexity.** The real world is messy. Not everything marries up neatly. When crafting narratives, it’s tempting to give everything a place – to fit everything together and tell an inter-linking story. Unfortunately, that’s often not representative of the truth. In campaigns I’ve run, tying every plot point together breaks the suspension of disbelief. Messiness, complexity and loose ends provide an important grounding that help audiences believe. 3. **Remember to use goals, loss and intimacy as hooks of engagement.** I remember vividly the end of a campaign in which my players had defeated an opposing empire hellbent on destroying society… and yet they still reserved their most vicious anger for the husband of a local shopkeeper who had cheated on his marriage with her. And on that day, I learnt just how powerful goals, loss and familiarity are as drivers of emotion. Use them wisely in the stories you tell. 4. **Leave threads of mystery for future exploration.** Mysteries are the cliff-hangers that will bring audiences back for more. As Dungeon Masters and researchers alike will testify, holding attention for a few hours is one challenge, but convincing audiences to come back for more is quite another. So always leave threads unexplored, and highlight that these mysteries will be discussed next time. A clear reason to return that plays off our need to know the unknown is a strong motivator for continued engagement. 5. **Recap everything, in multiple formats.** Hopefully the benefit of this is self-evident. But a realisation I came to quickly as a new Dungeon Master was that a lot of information can be delivered verbally in the space of a few hours. And it’s difficult to remember it all. Written, audio or other summaries are a great way to enhance engagement and help audience members remember key points long after the information was initially presented. That brings me to the end. While there are many more small tips and hints that Dungeon Mastering has helped me pick up – these are the most prominent. And it goes to show that sometimes, storytelling inspiration can be found in the strangest of places. If you know of an unusual medium that’s helped improve your skills in this domain, I’d love to hear about it. Let me know in the comments below. [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1682149/a07b9b9f-fee9-447c-a050-1e3fa9d77f53.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1682149/a07b9b9f-fee9-447c-a050-1e3fa9d77f53) #### About FlexMR We are The Insights Empowerment Company. We help research, product and marketing teams drive informed decisions with efficient, scalable & impactful insight. #### About Chris Martin Chris is an experienced executive and marketing strategist in the insight and technology sectors. He also hosts our MRX Lab podcast. #### Stay up to date ## You might also like... ![Blog Featured Image Header](https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/retaining_human_touch_customer_salience_cx_ai.png) ### [Retaining a Human Touch with Custom...](https://blog.flexmr.net/customer-salience-cx-ai) In recent years, companies have embraced artificial intelligence (AI) at pace, swept up in a technological momentum that promises efficiency and cost savings. However, in their rush to pursue quickly ... [Continue reading](https://blog.flexmr.net/customer-salience-cx-ai) 5 MIN READ ![Blog Featured Image Header](https://blog.flexmr.net/hubfs/Marketing_Files/Blogs/Headers/casual_conversation_iosetta_santini.png) ### [A Casual Conversation... with Ioset...](https://blog.flexmr.net/casual-conversation-iosetta-santini) Most research projects still currently end with a powerpoint report and a debrief. 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