The Power of Storytelling in Communication

When I was pursuing my undergraduate studies, I identified a serious problem in oral and written communication. I wished I could do something to solve this problem but at that time, I did not know how to go about the entire situation. I already had a LinkedIn account which was very dormant because I did not have a well-developed strategy to create valuable content. One day, it just dawned on me to use that platform to solve the problem I have identified so I devised a plan. Any time I read or heard a mistake, I wrote it in my little notebook. After about two months, I realised I had identified some common mistakes and errors we commit anytime we write or speak English. In 2021, I started creating posts on my LinkedIn page where I correct some of these mistakes and errors. I was amazed by the feedback I was receiving from people concerning what I was doing. Some people do not even know that some structures and spellings they frequently use in their communication are inappropriate. I also had other people reaching out to me seeking advice on how to improve their communication skills. As a means to solve this problem, I created Communicate Effectively Newsletter. I am so glad you have subscribed to this newsletter and I am confident that your application of the knowledge gained from these articles will help you communicate effectively.?

One of the best ways I love to communicate is through storytelling. Yes, what you just read is an example of storytelling.?

Whenever you are communicating, it is important to let your audience experience what you are talking about. This means that your communication should go beyond giving facts and figures. You need to strike a chord in your audience that will keep them glued to you from the beginning to the end if you want to achieve the aim of your communication. It does not matter whether you are pitching your products or services to prospective clients, you are a teacher delivering lessons to your students or a business consultant explaining strategies to people. There is one thing that is common among all these audiences; human beings are naturally attracted to storytelling.?

Storytelling allows your audience to feel a part of the experience you are sharing. They can situate themselves in your experience and this gives them a better understanding of what you are presenting. In essence, they appreciate the information better because they can easily relate to what you are saying. Gradually, they build trust. Imagine your company has started providing proofreading services and you have been asked to advertise this service to existing and prospective clients. Do you really believe that clients will be interested in patronising your services if you tell them that you identify and correct grammatical errors, punctuation errors, spelling mistakes, ambiguous structures, formatting inconsistencies and errors in references? I do not believe so. They would like to know how these errors and mistakes can negatively influence their communication and how necessary it is to rid their documents of all these. This is how you can communicate with clients.

Imagine you write in your application letter, ‘I look forward to hear from you concerning my application’ instead of the appropriate sentence, ‘I look forward to hearing from you concerning my application’. Your potential employer will conclude that you are not a good communicator. This can lead to you being disqualified.?

What about an author whose manuscript is replete with mistakes and errors? Trust me, no journal or publisher would want to publish such a work because it reduces their credibility.

It would be so disheartening if you are not able to gain admission to that university you love so much just because of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in your statement of purpose and sample academic essays.

This is why you need to pay particular attention to proofreading all your documents to be certain that you are communicating your intended message to your audience and not otherwise. Finding efficient and effective proofreaders can be quite challenging but this problem has been solved by our detail-oriented proofreaders at The Writing Clinic. Your documents will be perused thoroughly, paying critical attention to grammar, spelling, punctuation, formatting, references and ambiguous structures. Be rest assured that your document will be irresistible after we work on it.?

The act of storytelling is not one that can be mastered. As human beings, we are always telling stories. How then can we use storytelling to communicate with our audience?

From the scenario above, you realise that I started the problem first. You need to state the problem of your audience clearly, painting a picture of how this problem can affect them in diverse ways if not solved. Afterwards, tell them how you intend to help them solve the problem. Just stating a problem without having a well-thought-out strategy to solve it is nothing at all. Finally, provide them with a solution. Tell them how this solution is going to change their situation for the better.?

Storytelling is one of the most powerful techniques to use if you want to communicate effectively. You can consciously develop this art and employ it in various forms of communication to drive your message in a more relatable manner.?