A Short Story on Researching and Data
Here’s a very short story on how freelancers can read between the lines during researching for their topic…
Burro was interviewing for a sales position.
The hiring manager Tuco was kind of impressed with Burro.
But before making the final offer, Tuco wanted to make sure Burro was reliable.
So he asked Burro, “Anything you’re ashamed of in your career so far?”
Burro was silent for a few moments.
Then he said, “Yes, I have lied sometimes while trying to close a sale.”
Tuco shrugged, “Uh-huh, not good. But then, how often?”
Burro took out 2 red crayons and $497.
“Every time I lie, I buy a red crayon. That’s to remind myself not to lie again.” Burro explained.
Tuco was a little relieved. “Twice? I see you’ve been selling for 10 years now! So that’s not really bad.”
Then Tuco asked”But what’s with the $497?”
Burro pursed his lips and said, “I sold the rest of the crayons at two a dime.”
***
Lessons for writers while they research.
Lesson 1: Don’t just read numbers; interrogate their history.
‘67% of the students of our stock-market seminar made $5k last month.’
What if these students used to make $6k per month?
It means their incomes actually dropped!
Lesson 2: Peel off the rest of the story too.
‘The new drug Contilypihantorisin kills 95% bacteria, so it’s safe.’
What if these 95% were harmless bacteria and the 5% that survived were deadly?
Lesson 3: Check for selection bias.
‘94% of the project managers we surveyed voted our project management tool as the best.’
What if they surveyed only those managers whom they knew would speak favorably about the tool?
Note: Burro is a fictional character I have written about on, mainly, LinkedIn to make a point (Entirely fictional. Any resemblance is coincidental and unintended).
Almost always, my Burro stories are based on jokes that I have heard/read. I try to learn and share the lessons behind the humour. My favorite number is three, so I create three lessons.
Originally published on LinkedIn
Previous Burro Stories
- What Content Writers Can Learn From The Wedding Suit
- What Being Mugged Taught Burro
- A Short Story on Content
- A Very Short Story About SEO
- A Very Short Story About Client Context
- A Very Short Story About Plagiarism
(Story source: Traditional joke. Image Undraw)
