How do you craft compelling stories that showcase your organization's values and achievements?

1 Know your purpose

Before you start writing, you need to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve with your story. What is the main message you want to convey? Who is your target audience? What do you want them to feel, think, or do after reading your story? Having a clear purpose will help you focus your story and tailor it to your audience's needs and interests.

2 Find your angle

Your story needs to have a unique and relevant angle that hooks your audience and makes them curious to learn more. Your angle should reflect your organization's values and achievements, but also connect with your audience's values and challenges. For example, if you want to showcase your organization's innovation, you could tell a story of how you solved a problem or created a new opportunity for your customers or partners.

3 Use the STAR method

A good story has a structure that follows a logical and emotional progression. One way to organize your story is to use the STAR method, which stands for Situation, Task, Action, and Result. This method helps you describe the context, the goal, the steps, and the outcome of your story in a clear and concise way. It also helps you highlight the challenges, the solutions, and the impact of your story.

4 Add details and emotions

Details and emotions are what make your story come alive and resonate with your audience. They help you show, not tell, your story and create a vivid picture in your audience's mind. You can use sensory details, anecdotes, quotes, metaphors, and other literary devices to enrich your story and make it more engaging. You can also use emotions to create contrast, suspense, humor, or empathy in your story.

5 Keep it simple and clear

While details and emotions are important, you don't want to overload your story with too much information or complexity. You want to keep your story simple and clear, so that your audience can easily follow and remember it. You can do this by using short sentences, active verbs, plain language, and transitions. You can also use headings, subheadings, bullet points, or other visual aids to break up your text and highlight the key points.

6 End with a call to action

The last part of your story should leave your audience with a clear and compelling call to action. This is where you tell them what you want them to do next, whether it is to share your story, contact you, visit your website, or take any other action that aligns with your purpose. Your call to action should be specific, urgent, and relevant to your audience and your story.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?