What is the Narrative Strength Index?

A five-part checklist for reading a vendor announcement the way a buying committee actually reads it: whether the claims are honest, the logic holds up, the whole company backs the story, the risk is manageable, and it changes the competitive picture.

How is an NSI score calculated?

Each of the five dimensions is scored on how well the announcement's own language and evidence support it, not on writing quality. The five scores combine into a single score out of 100.

Does a low NSI score mean the deal or product is bad?

No. It measures how well the announcement itself makes its case, not the underlying deal's merit. A strong deal can still score low if the release leans on buzzwords instead of evidence.

Buyers and analysts trying to cut through vendor press releases, and vendors who want to know whether their own announcements would hold up to the same test.

Introduction to the Narrative Strength Index (NSI)

Tim Banting

Feb 18

6 min read

We've all seen those press releases that just make you shrug. They're usually packed with words like "synergy" and "seamless platform"—lots of corporate buzzwords that don't actually mean anything. It's just a lot of noise without any real substance.

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