Person A says – ‘Five ways to use a fire extinguisher’ while Person B says, ‘How to burn down your apartment’.
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You certainly know what it means to burn down your apartment, but you are prompt to listen to Person B.
Why? Because storytelling births curiosity and Person B did just that.
Storytelling is an act that is as old as time itself. People write stories to take them on a journey such that they see themselves in the picture. The attention span for
social media content is often minimal, so the
content delivery model is changing too.
Great storytelling is a differentiator. Telling stories has become a new skill to leverage because of how effective it is with gaining attention.
Telling a ‘good’ or ‘bad’ story is relative. It depends on the audience and the teller but to make stories stand out, they need to be entertaining, organized, and memorable.
Storytelling helps bring the abstract into life, we get more clarity as stories help simplify processes, and we connect deeply with people and circumstances alike.
The Process Of Storytelling
Just like any other thing, storytelling also follows a set process. It is not so rigid, but it helps give structure.
Stories involve characters (people, objects, etc.), a conflict, and then a resolution. The process your story will follow falls under pillars.
Person B from the example above has its first conflict statement – ‘How to burn down your apartment’ that elicits emotions and connects with the audience, the characters they decide to add to the story as it progresses, and lastly, the resolution from the story to wrap it up and give it a closing.
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Your audience defines value, so define your ideal customer and create that one piece that speaks to them.
Sometimes, we get caught up in the journey or process of a story that we forget to pass the message for which it is crafted appropriately.
A story without a message has no purpose. Define your message and make sure not to lose it in your story.
Different types of stories exist and produce different actions per time. What do you want your audience to feel, how do you want them to react?
These questions inform your mode of delivery and the tone you want your story to take. To have a happy ending or to incite fear, to build controversy or to develop insight, to educate or to enlighten. Whatever type of story you wish to tell, make sure it suits your mode of delivery.
There are written stories, spoken stories, audio-visual stories, etc.
Will your content do well in video format? Or as a blog form content?
Choose your format, so you create a suitable script for your telling process.
Write it, record it and be creative.
It is not so long a process and is also not linear. We all tell stories; everybody is capable of telling a story. There is no perfect story out there, so if you wish to start telling stories, the magic is in mastering the process.
In almost every industry, storytelling is needed to grab customers’ attention. Think of all the ads you see on television; you pay attention as they take you on a journey with the stories they tell. When it resonates with you, you can tell. When it does not, you shrug it off, but it remains in your memory. That is the power of telling stories.
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