We remember stories better than data

Our mind loves stories. We are addicted to storytelling. The danger is that a well-crafted narrative can give weight to dubious claims. The opportunity is that creating a (factual) narrative out of raw data could help us understand, learn, and remember better.

Most of the advice I have read comes from advertising agencies—list of tips, empty buzzwords. Are there any logical mechanisms one could apply to facts and data so they can be more easily understood and remembered?

Some starting points:

• Start with a question
• Show connections
• Give data a personality
• Use relevant visuals
• Make it interactive

More ideas:

The method of loci dates back to the days of ancient Greece. More recently, memory champions use storytelling to remember long sequences of words, numbers, or cards. Research shows this process actually reshapes the neuronal connections in their brain.

But these words, numbers, and cards are empty bits without any intrinsic meaning. Is there a storytelling-based method to better remember complex information?