1 of 5 Story-Telling - The Art

Neurologically we’re wired for narratives; it’s how our brains work. Stories connect people to each other because of the resonance they create – we identify with stories and think ‘yes that sounds like me too’.

Storytelling can work well to enhance the success of your business communications

Every brand needs a lapel-grabbing narrative: people react to real stories that have been fuelled by a decade of news coverage showing that all is not what it seems.

There is a dearth of trust between consumers and the corporate enterprises that sell to them. To close that trust gap businesses need to tell the real stories behind their brands.

Authentic brand stories need not only to tell the truth they must also adhere to the spirit of the truth. Consumers are inspired to hear stories such as the company’s passion for their brands, their concern for consumers’ wellbeing, their sustainability, and social responsibility initiatives.

Effective teams comprise individuals with integrated stories?Teams are made up of individuals each with their unique set of stories. At the extremes, teams can be cacophonous or harmonious and neither is ideal.

The art of storytelling can be used to identify sources of discontent and then to create a new empowering team story that aligns people.

That, in turn, builds the energy, motivation, and determination that ultimately fuels success.

Company culture reflects the harvest of stories on its grapevine?

Large scale mergers, de-mergers or other changes to business structures are commonplace.

When these occur it isn’t enough simply to integrate business systems, the people also need to be integrated. We are storytelling creatures and everyone has a story about every situation that they are in.

People’s stories are windows into their belief systems. In any organisation there are as many stories about what’s going on as there are people. When there is an aligned culture within the organisation the stories that people inside the organisation believe and tell are coherent and that creates a powerful synergy to catapult the business forward.

Storytelling is the torch that illuminates a leader’s vision?Studies have shown that a well-told story, with a traditional narrative arc, takes people on a journey, stimulates their emotions, causes the release of neurotransmitters in their brain and makes it more likely that they will take action.

The story or stories that are told might be true personal stories, anecdotes from industry or markets, traditional myths or legends that extol the message, or a myth that you craft yourself to engage and stimulate your audience.

Personal stories resonate universally?The most powerful use of storytelling by far, is to tell a personal tale with a moral or learning that communicates your message. The phenomenal popularity of the brand TED is a testament to the power of personal storytelling to spread ideas.

The more personal a story you tell the more it is likely to resonate universally. That’s because our personal stories usually tap into fundamental life themes. So while you might balk at the idea of sharing a story from your personal life it may enable you to connect with your audience and communicate in a deep and memorable way.

Every business problem has at its heart a communication conundrum. Well used, storytelling is mind-bogglingly powerful at bringing clarity to every area of business communications whether they are customer-facing, such as in branding and corporate communications, or internal such as in leadership, cultural change, team dynamics, and innovation.

Visual storytelling has been around for a long, long time. Forever, in fact. At its most basic, a visual story is a narrative that’s told with the help of visual media, such as photos, videos, or illustrations. For our ancestors, this meant cave drawings and shadow play. For us, it means a whole host of stunning, immersive experiences complete with all kinds of graphical and audio enhancements.

While the bar has certainly been raised over the years, the result of good visual storytelling has remained the same: a captive audience, fully engaged right from the start and eager to hear how the story ends. That’s why the importance of applying this technique to modern-day workflows can’t be overstated. Visual storytelling is tried and true—it’s as useful today as it was hundreds of years ago. Done right, it will continue to serve us far into the future.

The Modern Attention Span

How Do You Get Prospects To Tune In?

For starters, considering the way attention spans operate these days is vital. While many believe themselves to have the engagement abilities and memory of a goldfish, a recent study conducted by Kelton Global indicates otherwise. In the 2018 State of Attention report, business professionals claimed their ability to maintain focus has actually improved over time.

It makes sense if you think about it: we’ve become more selective about what we give our attention to, bookmark things to return to when nothing else piques our interest, and often prefer to wait for good content to find us rather than seek it out ourselves. All in all, this means that creating content that serves modern-day attention spans is a little tricky -- but not impossible.

According to the survey, content that’s worthy of engagement is that which combines a compelling narrative with stimulating visuals and dialogue.

• 55% of business professionals say a great story captures their focus and keeps them engaged with content
•  41% of business professionals say stimulating dialogue keeps them interested in the content
• 33% report visual stimulation is critical in maintaining their engagement 

In other words, visual storytelling is the golden ticket. So don’t focus on making your content more bite-sized. Instead, focus on making it more deserving. 

Visual Storytelling In Business—Where It Is, And Where It Needs To Be

You’ve already seen, and hopefully used, visual storytelling in the workplace. It can often be found in webinars, sales pitches, various presentations, and even more static occurrences, like landing pages and infographics. And while these efforts over the years have certainly been valiant, the fast-changing landscape of technology and the evolution of attention spans have created a demand for something, well, more.

An image doesn’t automatically make a presentation more engaging. A graph doesn’t automatically make data more digestible. A like button doesn’t automatically make a broadcast more interactive. Rather than simply tacking on visual media and features, marketers should consider tweaking the strategy behind what they’re already using. 

Please Like below: or If you implement one or more of these ideas, I would love to hear how it worked. Get in touch with me at any of the comment below – Thank you.