Whenever I lead with a story I can tell you that my chances of a successful outcome go up 10 fold. What is it about stories that help us connect, that engage the right people, that we love so much?

Lets talk about story telling.

Why Story Telling Matters

STORY TELLING CONVEYS A PURPOSE

Your business needs to stand out from the noise – especially in this season. So it is really important to bring stories into the picture – that help your target see your purpose – see why you exist and engage in you.

CREATES A HEART CONNECTION

People always connect on emotion and then backfill with logic. Even the most pragmatic person will want to feel a certain way, connect in a certain way – their emotion may be security for example. A heart connection always leads the journey.

COMMUNICATES YOUR VALUES

Well presented stories help people identify with us through the values we convey in our stories.

Simply, stories ARE VERY ENGAGING. Whether you are using a story in a pitch, an advert etc, you are less likely to lose your audience’s attention. This is why public speakers frequently begin presentations with stories.

PEOPLE WANT TO CONNECT

Humans are designed to be in community, in fact one of our six core values is love and connection, that desire to identify, be part of something, connect with someone or an idea. Stories are a powerful way to make that connection.

MAKE BETTER DECISIONS

Flowing from connection, when people look at your business or product they want to know why they should care. Good story telling tells them why increasing the connection.

CREATES STICKABILITY

The reality is that people remember stories over data. It has been proven over that recall is way higher when we weave facts and data into our stories.

TAKES THE PRESSURE OFF THE SALE

Telling stories leads to a natural call to action, rather than a pressure to cold hard sell. A well crafted story leaves the target in no mind as to what the next steps are, and it is not always closing the deal, yet!

How Should We Tell Stories?

Here are a few imperatives I have found to be helpful in telling a good story.

1. Like everything else be clear on what you want
2. Make the story real – to you first
3. Keep it simple – and short
4. Make it relatable to your target
5. Answer the unasked question everyone is asking – who are you and why should I care?
6. Build rapport – tell it the right way to create connections.
7. Keep your story straight – consistency matters
8. Open and close your presentation or pitch with the same story – book end it, resolve it, we may not like Disney fairy tales but we are all looking for the “happily ever after”.

Where Should You Tell Your Story?

Basically everywhere!

• Great on social media
• Advertising
• Pitching
• Networking
• Key Note

Consistency is key…

A clearly articulated and well pointed story that conveys your purpose and values and leads the target to the next level is a critical tool in your communication belt.