Why storytelling matters in award entries

“Are you at home at the moment then?” said my son’s reception teacher.

“Err, yes?” I was confused, I was dropping my son at school – as I had for the last few weeks since term had started, along with picking him up at the end of the day.

Further investigation revealed that my then-four year old, one of the smallest in school, had been using his big brown eyes, cheeky smile and lone dimple to his advantage and had convinced his teacher that I was in the army. The question about whether or not I was at home was referencing whether I might be deployed elsewhere sometime soon!

If you’ve met me, I suspect you will laugh at the idea that I might be in the forces. It is about as far away from something I could do as it’s possible to imagine. But my son had painted such a vivid picture of mummy the soldier that his teacher had believed him.

That’s not the only time he has told stories about his parents. On sports camp two summers ago, the coaches were starry-eyed as my husband arrived to collect my son and his sister, having been convinced he had played for Leeds United (but apparently only in mid-week matches).

And that’s the power of stories. They draw you in. They paint a picture. Done right, they allow you to remember things in ways that recounting statistics never will.

Since we were able to draw pictures on the walls of caves humans have used stories. They bind social groups together and create lasting memories. Researchers tell us they activate additional parts of the brain which form connections with what we are hearing or reading.

Last week was National Storytelling Week, the perfect opportunity to highlight that storytelling is as much an intrinsic part of the awards entry process as gathering the right evidence.

Having offered a dedicated awards writing service since 2012, what we know is that combining storytelling with top-notch data, plus a healthy dose of luck, is the perfect equation to get you on the shortlist.

We are as curious as my four-year old son was (and still is: This week’s question to ponder: “Why does high-fiving sound loud when the fleshy bits of your hand get in the way?”) and we play critical friend, exploring the parts of your story you didn’t think to explain so that we uncover the golden threads that will tie it all together. 

So if you need support to put together your next business award entry, you know where to come.