storytelling

Looking through the lens

Illustration by Ruby Taylor ©

We need to tell the story not just of the outcome, but of the journey it took to get there. What challenges were overcome, and what progress did the individual or team make to achieve the goal? By sharing these stories, we can inspire others without creating a sense of threat or unhealthy competition. It also highlights the strategies that were most effective in reaching those outcomes and the strategies that, as a leader, you want to celebrate and promote. When we set up internal collaborative competitions, we need to be clear about the dimensions on which we are competing and how we reward and recognise success. I think this helps everyone understand the pathways to achievement in a way that fosters collaborative learning, growth, and development, showing others how they can follow suit.

Tell your story

What have you changed your mind about over the last 12 months?

We often celebrate people who stick to their beliefs and are eventually proven right, for example, leaders who resist pressure to change their approach and succeed. And I think it's easy to feel validated when that happens, however, I've been wrong om many occasions in different situations, and it’s been a humbling experience. Over the last year, I become disillusioned with humanity, particularly when I think about how people behave when they believe no one is watching. It’s unsettling to imagine the choices people make when they feel they can act without consequence. I have found myself wondering, when given the option, will people choose justice? My perspective has changed and I’m no longer as cynical as I used to be. I’ve become more hopeful, hopeful that when good people come together and work with other good people, they can truly make a difference and create positive change.

Find your passion

I think it’s all about connecting your passion with something that’s bigger than yourself. It’s important to figure out what that mission is for you, and for me I do it through storytelling. Storytelling is the oldest and most valuable way we have of passing on our values, echoing from ancient campfires to Homer's narratives in the Odyssey. I really think there is a role in society for storytellers who try and make us better, and as an entrepreneur, I've wholeheartedly embraced this path by mixing my love for coaching to enhance people's lives.

““When we work hard for something we don’t believe in, it’s called stress. When we work hard for something we love, it’s called passion.” ”
— Simon Sinek

Positive light stories

What people say and what they do are often separate things. Human beings have the tendency to show or tell stories to depict ourselves in a more favourable light. A person’s guiding principles can often be seen and felt by their body languages, interactions, and most importantly they are influenced consciously or subconsciously by their own background. I think empathy is a skill, a mindset we need to practice and sharpen. We can develop and apply empathy not just for what we design, but also at work, and in relationships with others.

Tell them your story

c/o LinkedIn

What events in your life reinforce your belief in the story you're sharing?

Our personal experiences play a crucial role in storytelling because they allow us to tell stories from the heart, and when we do this, the audience can easily connect with and value our stories. The goal of storytelling is to make the audience care or even momentarily forget their own concerns. Personal experiences are vital for achieving this because they make you relatable and enable others to immerse themselves in your narrative. In my experience, the best storytellers often draw from their own memories and life experiences to convey their message. I think the whole world is built on stories - religions, political parties, companies, and various social groups are all using storytelling to promote their ideas. While there's no definitive formula for the best stories, one thing is certain: if you can't tell your own story, others will do it for you.

““Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of the world by telling stories.””
— Yuval Noah Harari

Life is never static

The essence of a great story is its ability not only to make you care, but also to make people care about its characters and plot but also to transport them away from their worries and pain. This happens because the story taps into our imaginative capabilities, allowing us to immerse ourselves in the storyteller’s world. When we share a story, we can effectively plant ideas, thoughts, and emotions in the minds of the listeners, recreating the experiences and emotions we've had and activating similar areas in their brains. I think this process is what makes storytelling so powerful and captivating.

““Drama is anticipation mingled with uncertainty.” ”
— William Archer

The basics

The neo-cortex is the largest part of the human brain and is associated with various higher-order cognitive functions, including memory, language, and complex thinking. Emotions are closely tied to the limbic system, but they also influence the neo-cortex. I think that when telling stories in a business context, appealing to emotions can make your story more engaging and relatable, as emotions often drive decision-making. Emotionally resonant stories are more likely to be remembered and can influence customer behaviour.

Good, better, best

Image © Maria Hergueta for Harvard Business Review

I think in the age of mass marketing, well-promoted average products or services consistently outperform their counterparts that lack extensive promotion. The key lies in crafting a compelling story that resonates with our target audience in an inspiring and persuasive manner which will encourage them to share it with others. If we can achieve this then we have done a good job of effective marketing.

““It’s not the story that you tell, it’s the story that you sell that really makes all the difference.””
— Burrellism

Mastering the elements

Here are five important components of a business story:

1.    A sequence of related events

The narrative should unfold in a logical sequence of interconnected events, and this structure keeps the audience engaged and allows them to follow the story with ease.


2.    A time and place marker
Clearly specifying when and where the story unfolds is crucial, as this provides context and also helps to establish a connection with the audience, making them more receptive to the story.


3.    A central character

A well-defined central character serves as the anchor of the story, and this character should be relatable and engaging, helping the audience connect with the narrative on a personal level.


4.    A surprise 

To maintain audience interest, introduce an unexpected twist or unpredictable event, as this element adds an element of intrigue and keeps the audience eager to know what happens next.


5.    A business point

Every business story should convey a clear and relevant message or lesson, and this could be a strategic insight, a moral, or a takeaway that aligns with the objectives of the narrative. The business point is what makes the story not just entertaining but also instructive and valuable.

 

I think by weaving these five components together effectively, you can create a business story that captivates your audience, making your message more memorable and impactful. Contact me via e-mail to arrange a meeting about your business storytelling sequence.

Learn how to tell a story

I think you should always enter client meetings with a clear understanding of your desired outcomes. Advance preparation, including the formulation of your preferred questions, is essential. What questions do you find most effective? Customise them to align with your personal questioning style, and ensure they remain open-ended. It's crucial to avoid the common practice of extracting information solely to manipulate the client. Instead, aim to have the client do the majority of the talking, encouraging them to share anecdotes and stories. This approach maximises their willingness to unveil their underlying challenges.

Breaking promises

The size of the commitments we keep to ourselves correlates to the size of the rewards we receive at the other end. For example, if we keep big commitments to ourselves their influence on our self-esteem and the narrative we tell ourselves can be used as evidence about who we really are. Conversely, I think if you break small promises to yourself then you’ll sow the seeds of doubt and weaken your resolve when it come to the larger ones.

Dear marketing leaders

You have often heard the advice to "build your brand" and "tell your story.” What if your customers simply don't care? The truth is, what truly matters to them is themselves – their problems, their needs, and their aspirations. In reality, they aren't as invested in your brand or your story as you might think. So, instead of solely focusing on pushing your brand and narrative, it's essential to shift your approach. How? By understanding your customers' perspectives and catering to their specific needs and concerns is crucial. By empathising with their challenges and offering solutions that genuinely resonate with them, you can create meaningful connections and foster brand loyalty.

At the end of the day, I think successful marketing is about putting the customer first, addressing their pain points, and demonstrating how your product or service can improve their lives. So it makes sense to redirect your marketing effort towards delivering real value to customers and building lasting relationships based on trust and understanding.

Knowledge sharing

Good communication is essential for conveying expectations, providing feedback, resolving conflicts, and fostering a positive work environment. Leaders and managers should be able to communicate clearly, actively listen, and adapt their communication style to different individuals. I think the biggest communication problem is we don't listen to understand we listen to reply. Contact me via e-mail for an evaluation of your interpersonal communication skills.

““The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.””
— Steve Jobs

The oldest tool of influence

When you believe that something is worthwhile, you not only commit to pursuing that goal but also become driven to effectively communicate and persuade others to join you in your endeavours. I think this holds true in both personal and professional scenarios. The art of communication and storytelling, often referred to as sales, becomes essential when pursuing a partner, inspiring employees, attracting investors, building a personal brand, or engaging with customers. The ability to convey your vision, values, and aspirations in a compelling manner is crucial for capturing the attention and support of others.

Stories of change

c/o Harvard Business Review

What kind of stories should we be telling to help people rekindle hope as we come out of the war in Ukraine, and is connectedness the route to achieve this?

All marketers tell stories and as individuals we tell ourselves stories as this is what guides our behaviours, decisions, and choices. So many of the big stories people believe in have crumbled away, stories of progress that tomorrow will be better than yesterday. We have lost so much that we don’t have the stories that provide the scaffolding we can use to climb out of all our difficulties. We must decide personally and as a community about where we are going as we are looking at a world that is making new rules, new connections and new decisions. Change is happening and as marketers this is what we do - We make change!

Forget football

How do you tell the right story to the right people?

The best way to learn marketing is to do marketing, and you can do marketing in lots and lots of different ways. This is because you don’t need a budget anymore as marketing is not advertising. This is the decade of change, and we must figure out the narratives that we want to tell to bring connection and possibility to people. It’s a fact that making people feel bad for drinking water out of plastic bottles isn’t going to solve the environmental crisis. I think we must weave things together to make things better, not just to make profit because we can’t shrink ourselves to greatness. Why are people not shouting from the rooftops that solar power is cheaper than coal?

Stories are timeless

Stories have been around for thousands of years, way before humans had anything we had stories and that’s how we continue to see the world. Stories are the basic human technology which are shared through colours, feelings, and emotions. A story is not only a fairy tale. Ultimately stories are also about life and death, joy, suffering and status, and the way to get good at telling stories is by practicing. I think that storytelling connects the past to the present, allowing humans to conceptualise about historical and contemporary events.

Marketing for kind

Getty Images ©

I think that there are only two kinds of marketers:
1) Market chasers, and
2) Category creators


Which one are you?
Not all marketing is marketing for good. I belong to a community of marketers and change makers who believe that as most of the world’s problems depend for their resolution on forms of human cooperation, so we have a responsibility to better use marketing to create positive change. We partly do this by stepping out of our day jobs and upcycling our marketing skills in support of inspiring charities and social enterprises. We coach each other into becoming more purposeful and impactful marketers in the digital fireside. And we recognise that the systems that which we are a part of are themselves shaped by stories that we tell each other across society.

The Universal Story Structure

Gustav Freytag was a 19th Century German novelist and playwright who developed a visual representation of the five-act structure common in classic plays and novels. This structure is known as Freytag’s Pyramid or triangle, or “the "dramatic arc," and  this a straightforward way of organising a tragic narrative into a beginning, middle, and ending, and is comprised of five distinct parts: introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

 

I think stories are powerful because they transport us into other people’s world and in doing that, they change the way our brain works and potentially change our brain chemistry. This is what it means to be a social creature and connect with others, to care about others even complete strangers and its so interesting that dramatic stories cause us to do this. The same thing can happen when we watch movies or listen to music, we feel uplifted, we feel motivated, or we feel connected to others around us.

Louis Vuitton in Paris

How can you tell better stories about your products?
Stories speak to emotions, and it will result in a higher response. Facts and data can be leveraged but it’s the narrative that helps us to make sense of that data. I think that when you find a common ground and your audience can nod in agreement, then you will be in a better place to sell them something. All storytellers use contrast whether intuitively or consciously and it’s one of the most powerful devices in storytelling, for example, day and night, heroes and villains, good and bad, etc. When selling new products, I have found that we operate in the realm of what is versus what can be, and this is a powerful contrast. Don’t limit yourself to the story about the problem and the solution, see beyond and see what you can do in terms of contrast.

““My way of life is very simple, even though nowadays, success tends to be linked to fame, high life, and luxury.””
— Burrellism