Developing a Story

(After some 1200 posts I've been looking back on some of my favorites. Here's one from December 02, 2005. Enjoy.)

John Moore’s post over at Brand Autopsy entitled, Capitalizing on Conversational Marketing reminded me that with the buzz about word of mouth marketing and the importance of storytelling there is a lack of discussion on what it takes to tell a good story.

I agree that we are in the twilight of a society based on data. In the coming years, brands and companies will not thrive on the basis of their data, but on the strength and meaning of their stories, creating products and services that evoke emotion.

Products will become less important than the stories they convey and the way those stories are interpreted and shared. It is a return of the ancient form of narrative. Companies need to have stories to tell – stories that inspire action. And companies must themselves embody those stories with congruency and authenticity.

When developing a story, there are some essential qualities any narrative must have:

Context – The story must be in the context of the audience’s experience. You want the audience to think about their own experiences and stories and be able to see themselves in the story.

Simplicity –Simplicity equals power. A story must be simple and to the point.

Interest – A boring story is just that. It will do nothing to inspire action or promote understanding. A story has to be interesting enough for the audience to register it, remember it, and tell it again.

Trust – The best stories are stories that are actually true. I don’t mean true in a scientific context, but true to the audience’s experience. It’s amazing the trust that is created when you feel the audience saying that they’ve been in the same situation. True stories evoke in an audience an attitude of “I can do it, too.”

Meaning – A story must get across a strong message that inspires the audience to rethink something. The story is the structure or framework that adds support to the deeper message being conveyed. It’s easy to get lost in the story itself and forget why you are telling it. Remember that a story is not just a way to illustrate the analysis. Rather, the story’s job is to convey meaning from the analysis and act as a conduit of understanding.

Connectedness – To be successful, the story must connect the audience with the inspiration you are trying to convey and to customers with whom the audience can empathize. It is vital to get the listeners to mentally place themselves in the shoes of the customers.

Magic – A great story often violates the listener’s expectations. There is a surprise. This gift is usually an action that has resulted in laying the groundwork for profound inspiration in the story. Remember to plant the seed of the idea of the center of the story and let them invent the missing elements.

Relevance – To be successful, a story must embody the inspiration in such a way that the audience will almost intuitively know what to do with it. If the listeners are given the opportunity to co-create the story, they will believe that it is their story and will be more likely to become champions of the inspiration you are trying to share.

Immediacy – Stories are efficient. In today’s ADD society it isn’t possible to detail all of the data to scientifically prove your point. A story helps people take the leap of faith necessary to be inspired to take action.

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