Queen Elizabeth II, Harry Potter, Bill Gates & The Power of Storytelling

As the world recognized the death and extraordinary life of Queen Elizabeth II, it was fun to see the many facts and figures of her life discussed and revealed:

• She held the crown in Britain for 70 years as its longest reigning monarch
• She was served by 15 different UK Prime Ministers
• She loved Corgis! And, among her hobbies was pigeon racing?!
• And the list goes on ...

Yet as a marketing and advertising professional, my mind kept going back to a memory I had about a TEDx at Columbia College given by entrepreneur and author Shane Snow back in 2014. In that talk, Shane explained that he wanted to understand trust, so he surveyed 3,000 people and asked who they trusted more — Queen Elizabeth or J.K. Rowling. Astoundingly, 63% of the respondents chose the Harry Potter author over the world-famous monarch who spent her entire life in leadership. Which begs the question, why?

Ancient Wisdom

I've been immersed in content my entire career and have always recognized the role each medium plays between consumers and businesses. In my decades of experience, it's clear that trust and loyalty to products and services are developed through great content. So it only makes sense that a poll about trust would favor a world-class storyteller.

"Those who tell the stories, rule the world."

-Native American Proverb

I actually discovered this TED talk and insight from Snow through our shared interest in a famous Native American proverb that says, "Those who tell the stories, rule the world." I had always believed this saying in my soul and had used it many times to justify further investment into great content. But until Snow's survey, I had no way to quantify this ancient wisdom.

Bill Gates Predicts the Internet's Impact

When you think about storytelling, probably the most famous idiom that comes to mind is "Content is king." But where did that come from? And how does this relate back to Harry Potter and the Queen?

Content is king was in fact penned by Bill Gates in an essay he wrote in 1996. To me, the interesting part is that "content" was not the prompt. Rather, the question asked of Gates was how would the emerging internet technology change our world?

His masterful mind correctly predicted that broadcast and news gatekeepers would lose their grip on controlling the narratives. Gates also outlined how each and every brand, business, and individual would leverage the distribution properties of the web to become their own direct-to-consumer publishers of content. His predictions coming true over the past 25 years are additional proof points for why we should continue to invest time and resources into content and storytelling.

The Power of Storytelling

What the trust poll, the Native American proverb, and Gates' actually reveal is what I've referred to time and again throughout my career as the incredible power of storytelling. Stories unite and connect us. They entertain. They inform. And they remind us of what it means to connect with other beings.

Through stories we see heroes and villains, vices and values. The benefits reward both the teller and the audience in ways that few things in this world can. I love learning and listening; and I respect and admire masterful storytelling like I would any work of art.

Any time I remember the life and death of Queen Elizabeth II and her many accomplishments, I'll be reminded of the sensational power of storytelling.

What do you think? What makes a story great? How can we become better at engaging our audiences? I would love to hear your thoughts.