Stories are the most powerful form of human communication, according to Peg Neuhauser, author of “Corporate Legends and Lore.”
So how can you tell a great story?
- When to tell stories
The late, great speaker and author Og Mandino said that stories were so powerful, that his rule of thumb was: “If you have a point, find a story.”
- Is your point that you help your clients solve big business problems? Find a story.
- Is your point that your employees give back to the community? Find a story.
- Is your point that your new product will let customers do in 30 seconds what previously took them 30 days? Find a story.
But Mandino had a corollary to his rule. Stories are so powerful, he said. “If you have a story, find a point.”
- How to find stories
So how can you find the stories to make your points? Here are three ways:
- Adapt existing stories. Find stories in history, movies or the news. I once used a tale from “I Love Lucy” to explain cost accounting for an internal comms channel I managed.
- Post an RFS. Add a request for stories on your website, point of purchase or product itself.
- Create a scenario. Don’t have a case study yet? Walk readers through a scenario of how your whatsit or whosit works. To clarify that this is a scenario and not a real story, call the subject of the scenario “you.”
- Interview for story.
When you’re interviewing, ask “when” questions. “When” questions take subject-matter experts back in time to a specific moment and, we hope, a specific story. Focus on questions that go to:
- Moments of pain
- Moments of change
- Moments of crisis
- Moments of decision
Because that’s where the stories are.
I once interviewed a brilliant architect whose public building was bringing him his 15 minutes of fame.
“When,” I asked, “did you know you were destined to be an architect?” (Moment of decision.)
“I remember the exact second I decided to be an architect,” he said. “I was 7 years old. Dad and I had built a treehouse in the front yard. It had a Victorian roofline and a sign that said, ‘No girls aloud.’ The Kansas City Star had a photographer in the neighborhood, and the next day, my treehouse was on the front page of the newspaper. I knew then that I was destined to be an architect.”
Have a point? Tell a story.
Add stories to your messages and campaigns. Remember, they’re the most powerful form of human communication.
Ann Wylie works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. Don’t miss a single tip: Sign up for Ann’s email newsletter here.
Copyright © 2024 Ann Wylie. All rights reserved.
Illustration credit: psykromia
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