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Everyone was an influencer, then they were a creator and now they're a storyteller. And you're getting the fear once again that you're being left behind.
Let's leave the titles behind and focus on what actually matters here - telling stories is fun, engaging, inclusive and imaginative.
Stories help you to tell people what matters about what you're doing and why, in a way that is easy to follow and understand and is memorable. It's the opposite to the broadcast messages you sometimes have to publish and are somewhat dry and depressing, even if this topic is actually quite brilliant.
How to tell proper good stories
I run a workshop on storytelling, either a half or full day session for teams who want to learn about storytelling techniques and work on tailored ideas specific to their business. The following is a tiny taster.
"So many ideas were sparking after the session, thank you" - recent workshop attendee.
The fundamentals of storytelling
Before you start creating amazing stories, there are a few basics that you need to have in place, here are just some that I tell people about...
What you are - keywords that describe you and your ambitions, goals, values, products and services
What you are not - things that you don't want to be known for or don't want to be associated with
What problem you solve - you do something, for a certain set of people, to solve a specific problem.
What is storytelling?
Storytelling is simply a framework for taking people on a journey and sharing knowledge, ideas and events with them. It allows you to create a narrative that is engaging and memorable. Here are just a few elements of story telling...
Taking people on a journey
Introducing characters
A challenge and a solution
A hero, villain and guide
Showing empathy, resilience, fear and other emotions
Overcoming adversity
Plot twists
Immersing people
Entertaining people
Educating people
What different formats can stories take?
So so many, and different storytelling formats suit different topics - I teach people how to match their content with the right style.
Real life stories
Journeys
Teasers
Parallel plot lines
Concept, character, conflict, context
Data and insights
Before and after
How can storytelling be used effectively?
Effectively storytelling brings together the subject, platform or channel and audience in a way that meets the goal you are setting. For example if you are a charity it might be to encourage donations.
Create a peak and an end to keep people hooked
Use situational relevance - what's important to people right now
Keep layering on tension to build intrigue
Create a familiar vs surprising dynamic to pique attention
Help the audience to place themselves in the story
Encourage an onward journey - click, enquire, download, ask a question..
Take people behind the scenes and make them feel immersed
Humanise the brand by telling people's stories
How to spot a story
Sometimes this is the biggest barrier, you're just not sure where to look for stories in your business. The fact is, they're everywhere, it's just a case of thinking about how something might be told.
A colleague tells you something and you instantly want to know more
People have enquired more than once about a topic
A situation is new or out of the ordinary
A situation is relevant to something else happening locally, nationally or even globally
You're having to adapt to change
You go home and talk about it.
Telling stories on different channels
A story that works well on a website or in an email newsletter probably won't work on Instagram or TikTok. So how do they differ?
Website stories - longer form with links to continue the journey
Email - short intros linking onwards to stories and resources
Instagram / TikTok - One liner hooks with great visuals and short storie s
Face to face - conversation starters like 'this time last year' or our next big challenge is'
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