Tapping into the power of story

It is true – storytelling is one of those words marketers pull out of their back pockets when feeling threatened or struggling to define the value of what they do. When you ask the auto mechanic to explain why it will cost $3,000 to repair your one-year-old car, nine times out of ten (or maybe a little less often) they will say, “It’s the differential” – and suddenly all discussion stops. Because the differential is a metaphysical concept turned into a physical object that sits somewhere in your car and makes all the difference in the world.

Storytelling is like that, too.

The term storytelling has a kind of aura around it; we all loved stories when we were kids – and now, by the magic of trends and influencers, storytelling has become a cool business concept. What more could we ask for? 

We may not be Conan Doyle or García Márquez or Baldwin – but now anyone can think of themselves as storytellers when giving presentations in dimly lit conference rooms or talking about LLM on LI Live.

When we think about what are the hallmarks of storytelling, some common terms or themes tend to come up:

• Engagement – stories generally hold our attention (at least the good ones)

• Inspiration – stories make us want to take action

• Escapism – stories (again, the good ones) can help us forget that we are in a dimly lit conference room, drinking our third cup of coffee at 8AM

How do we get there?

None of these are inaccurate as descriptions of storytelling – but they are mainly about the effects, not the ingredients. They will not help you in the slightest if you are trying to create something that will take your audience beyond the mundane and impact them in unexpected ways. 

What does it take to turn the ordinary deck or white paper or webinar into something extra-ordinary?

The first thing to note is that what makes a good story usually cannot be added after the fact – and, if it is, the effect may be awkward. You can pause in the middle of a dry statistics presentation to tell a story about your freshman sociology professor; but it would be better if you wove the professor into your narrative from the start.  

What else does it take to tell a really crisp story that will linger with your audiences in all the right ways? Here are a few ingredients to consider; not all are required in every story, and some can be more or less pronounced – but they point in the direction of what makes a successful story tick.

• Self-awareness – a storyteller addresses a listener and is constantly aware of how that audience may be responding. (But this doesn’t mean you always give the listener what they want or expect – keep reading to learn more.)  

• Voice – stories are told, not just written down; see how your story sounds when you read it aloud

• Pace – stories have momentum and direction; you can feel them pulling you forward, unfolding and gaining power. 

• Intuition – at some point, stories need to depart from pure logic and be guided by the intangible. 

• Experience & revelation – bringing a bit of your world and personal story into the mix can instantly amp up your impact

• Surprise – stories that are completely predictable are cliches; surprise magnifies your opportunity for real impact and resonance. 

• Meaning – stories resonate with bigger themes, becoming more than the sum of their parts.

• Community – a story draws strength and relevance from its contexts – the people who created it, the intended audience; and even the place where it was presented or published.

• Hope – some would disagree, but I feel a story needs to resolve its tension and provide solutions.

The truth is that storytelling as a concept is such a wonderful and powerful thing that even its overuse as business jargon cannot spoil it. My list of ingredients is probably slightly different from yours – but I think we agree that the destination is worthy. 

What are your secret storytelling ingredients? I’d love to know.

David Stanton is Founder and CEO of The Marketing Solver. You can write to him at this address.