How to tell your story with impact - Part 1
Today alone, you and I will each be exposed to something like 5000 messages as we go about our daily grind. Therefore, it is no surprise that “story telling” continues to be such a hot topic of discussion as organisations, brands, not for profits, political groups and individuals all hunt out ways to make sure their message is seen and heard through the clutter.
Good communication continues to sit at the heart of great leadership and for good reason. Even looking ahead to the top job skills likely to be required in 2030, emotional intelligence and the ability to connect with diverse groups of people will always be key so in this 6-part series, we are going to look at a few tips and tools that I use with clients to help them and their organizations to establish more meaningful connections with their stakeholders.
Part 1 – Who & Why, not What
Unlike the novel beside you bed at home, the purpose of business stories isn't purely entertainment although this is increasingly a factor. Rather, they have a specific goal or desired outcome. In a business sense, storytelling is the art of using tales, sharing anecdotes and using research and information to take people from a current state to an ideal state
So, what do we mean by this?
In the Current State, it is common place for organizations to use facts and figure based communication to ‘tell’ their audience something about themselves – who you are and what you do. The likely outcome is that your audience knows you exist, but that might be the extent of it. There is typically a very low level of connection and engagement. The communication is often off target as it is created in isolation and lacks a clear call to action. I liken this type of communication to getting a ball in the swivelling clowns mouth at the local fair - you might hit the target once and a while but it will only be by pure luck and chance when you do.
In the Ideal state however, your audience (be that customers, stakeholders, community or funding partners, or any combination of these and more) are loyal, supportive and willing to share your story with their wider audience. Imagine an army of brand ambassadors actively doing the work for you – this is what we should be striving for in our communications.
Sounds good but how do you get to this ideal state?
Well, you bridge the gap between the current and the ideal by sharing your key messages and initiatives via the effective, meaningful use of story. Done well, you will not only communicate, you connect with your employees, customers, suppliers, partners, and anyone else involved with your organization, you will enhance your reputation and grow the value of your brand because as we know - people often forget facts, but they never forget a great story.
A big advocate for the power of a good story is New York Times Best Sellers, Austin Kleon whose book “Show your Work ” I have talked about in the past. It is well worth a read but some of his tips for telling your story in a more meaningful way are:
Be findable
Take chances -put yourself out there.
Share something small, often
Make sure your stories are good!
We will explore these and more throughout this series but for now, it is important to remember that you want people to know who you are and why you are here not just what you do. That is how you will tell your story with IMPACT. That is how you will start to stand out in the crowd.
If you want help to tell your organisations tale with impact - Let’s Talk