Michelangelo described sculpting as seeing an angel in rock and setting it free. Storytelling is the same.
People are hard-wired into stories. You do not need to teach children to listen to a story, they will come, sit and listen the moment you start. Stories are how we communicate about everything. A good story, well told, will enchant your audience and inspire them take action. If the story is about you, what you do and the way you do it people will want to know more and a relationship will start building between you.
Storytelling takes your audience on a journey and if you engage them, they will follow you. Not only will they follow you, they will remember what you have been saying and will seek you out when you can help them.
But remember, when you tell a story people wonder if it’s real. We know that a beanstalk did not really grow up from a magic bean, is your story true? If people are just reading it, they have longer to wonder whether they should trust you. Stories do not just get told in words, video is telling a story too and it is such a powerful way to tell a story. If they can see what you are doing and hear you telling them how it works and why they will be more convinced that you will do what you say you can do.
Follow these 5 ways to make your story work
- Who is your audience? – would you use the same voice, images, music to talk to a young child as you would an adult, probably not. Neither would you talk to your doctor in the same way as your Great Aunt (unless she is a doctor of course). Try and find the way to engage the audience most effectively you are interested in and remember there might be more than one type of person to define.
- Why are you telling the story? – you need to create different moods for different activities. If you are selling you need to be authoritative and make the audience feel comfortable on their journey with you. Aligning and convincing an audience needs you to be clear and uncluttered so that people quickly understand, and hopefully agree with, what you are saying. Building trust requires honesty as well as genuine passion so that people want to share your vision and join you in your story. And remember, there is nothing wrong with just entertaining your audience. Make them wonder about something you tell them or make them laugh, both will make them remember you and your story.
- Why do you do what you do? – people follow people because they believe in what they are doing. Thousands followed Martin Luther King because they believed in what he was doing not because he told them to. Your story needs to make clear what makes you do what you do. Making people understand why you are passionate about what you do will build trust and they will be more likely to invest their time and money in you. Make sure that this makes sense and that people can understand you.
- What do you want your audience to feel? – your audience will respond emotionally to the language, images, and content you choose to tell your story. Laughing is as important as crying but remember not to leave them worried or confused. If you paint a detailed story of a problem, they might meet remember to make it clear that you can solve that problem for them easily and safely. If you tell them a joke, make sure they can understand the punchline. You want people to respond to you emotionally, it builds trust, make sure it is the right emotion.
- What do you want your audience to do? – you have spent time identifying your audience, working out what you are trying to stay and crafting your narrative. Your audience has enjoyed your story, has begun to trust you and wants to know more. Do not leave them hanging, make it clear what you want them to do once they have finished. Tell them how to contact you, how to visit your website and what to do once they get there.
We started with Michelangelo, let us end with Aristotle. Keep an eye on his trilogy: LOGOS – Make sense, PATHOS – Engage, ETHOS – Build trust. Your storytelling will be the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship, your audience will look forward to hearing your voice, working with you and sharing your story so extending your reach.