As someone who tells stories for a living (a filmmaker), I\u2019ve taken minor offense that the idea of \u201cstorytelling\u201d has been co-opted into the lexicon of meaningless business words. It\u2019s often used as a millennial-approved way to say \u201cinformation dump\u201d.<\/p>\n
But storytelling actually has the power to facilitate so much more than just information transfer<\/i>, which is why I\u2019ve begun a (perhaps quixotic) crusade to rescue the idea from the jowls of bad business lingo.<\/p>\n
I recently presented a Lunch & Learn on this topic at all three WeWork DC locations, and was asked to give a few takeaway points for anyone who is looking to tell better stories about their business, brand, organization, company, or self. A story holds tremendous potential to captivate your audience and get them emotionally involved with the characters and struggles in your tale.<\/p>\n
What follows is (hopefully) a pretty easy step-by-step guide to help you build your own stories that will work for everything from 30-second ads to 30-minute speeches.<\/p>\n
You may remember from high school that the protagonist <\/i>is the good guy in a story. More accurately, the protagonist is whom your audience roots for; <\/i>who the audience is down in the trenches with and will want to see struggle through to the end.<\/p>\n
Now, your business may have very easy-to identify protagonist \u2013 like a CEO, or the Executive Director of your NGO. These types of people are great to build stories around. However, sometimes you need to tell other stories, so think about perhaps telling a story about an average employee in your company, a user of your product, or someone who your organization has helped. You can even use abstract ideas as protagonists.<\/p>\n
If we have a character, Chris CEO, who has developed a great product, we don\u2019t have a story. But if we have Chris CEO who wants <\/i>to develop a great product, then our ears perk up. It\u2019s even better if Chris CEO wants to develop a product but is having trouble overcoming a problem! <\/i>Then you have an engaging story to tell.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s something about the human experience that makes us empathize with those who have spurned dreams and desires.\u00a0 That vulnerability creates trust and empathy, and so showing your protagonist with a need or want creates an emotional investment.<\/p>\n
Even if your protagonist is you, your organization, or your company, that might mean showing your company without \u201ceverything all together\u201d at the beginning of your story. No one wants to hear about how your company set out to do X amazing thing and then immediately did it. It\u2019s not interesting and it makes you sound like an asshole because there\u2019s no struggle. <\/i>Struggle is the sort of thing that makes people lean in and ask \u201cwhat will happen next?<\/i><\/p>\n<\/i>3. Show your protagonist working towards what they want.<\/h2>\n
This is the Rocky \u201cEye of the Tiger\u201d montage of your story. What is your process? What does your protagonist have to get better at? This is your story in-action, building towards the final resolution.<\/p>\n
In most stories about businesses or brands, your story will end with a victory \u2013 the problem solved, the product developed, the business built. However, it\u2019s also possible (and unexpected!) to use failure to get across a point as well.<\/p>\n
Here are some videos that I think are particularly great examples of this, and I\u2019ll identify how some of these four steps work on each.<\/p>\n