We are all storytellers

We tell stories about how a meeting went, what we did this weekend, or why we think we are perfect for a particular job. 

We tell stories to make a point, sell an idea, or just connect with friends. But some stories are better than others.

A perfect story turns customers into converts. It transforms employees into evangelists. Executives into leaders.

Storytelling is one of the most powerful business-building tools in existence. Stories create lasting impacts because we remember them. Stories are what stick.

You must master attention, influence and transformation. 

Great stories capture attention, compel the audience to take the action you desire, and then create a lasting impact leaving the audience changed.

We often focus on just one of the elements, maybe two, but rarely three. We talk at people instead of engaging with them.

So what do you find in a great story?

  • Identifiable characters. Someone we care about and connect to.

  • Authentic emotion. Felt by the identifiable character. It is through that emotion that the receiver experiences empathy with the story. This is essential to make it more relatable, compelling, and sticky.

  • A significant moment. A specific point in space, time or circumstance that sets the story aside from the rest. Instead of going big and broad, we need to go small and detailed. Don't stay too vague, too high level, too broad and too general.

  • Specific details. Involve use of specific, descriptive, sometimes unexpected details and imagery that are relevant to the intended audience in an effort to create and draw the listeners into a world that sounds familiar to their own. The finer the detail, the better. This is how you tell the audience that you know them.

Why don't we tell more stories? The biggest barrier to not telling your story is assuming you don't have a story in the first place.

It isn't a lack of stories that keeps you from being able to find yours but rather the ineffective questions we use to get them. Getting better stories requires asking better questions. 

Our stories attach themselves to the nouns in our lives. The people, the places, the things, the events. A memory can be turned into a story.

Pick a story that fits your needs, your business and your audience. 

You are not telling a story for the story's sake. Who are you telling this story to? What do you want them to think, feel, know or do?

Start with a story next time! It eases the natural tension that sometimes exists between audience and speaker. Starting with a story helps to break down barriers and makes you a person just like them instead of the expert in front of the room they are forced to listen to.

"Stories that Stick" by Kindra Hall

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