The Importance of Storytelling

“After nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” ― Philip Pullman

We tell stories all the time. From the moment of our birth, we begin our own story and we continuously work upon it until we create the novel we were meant to publish: the novel of our life - be it drama, comedy, historical. We tell stories each day, either to ourselves or to our friends and family and colleagues... we tell stories so that we would "sell" a skill, an action. We do it without thinking as this is how humans are born: with the desire to give, to make connections and share a part of ourselves. “We are programmed through our evolutionary biology to be both consumers and creators of story,” says Jonah Sachs, CEO of Free Range Studios and author of Winning the Story Wars.

The extended hand must tell a story

This is why the business leaders “won’t be heard unless they’re telling stories,” says Nick Morgan, author of Power Cues and president and founder of Public Words, a communications consulting firm. Facts and figures are all good, but if they are bland and they don't tell a story nobody will buy what you are selling! Stories create a pull towards the product, they create a connection. There is a Romanian movie ( #Filantropica ) that was quite fair in its portrayal of the Gipsy mafia. The quote was "The extended hand that does not tell a story does not get things for free. Be professional, what the hell!" (RO: “Mâna întinsă care nu spune o poveste nu primește pomană. Fii profesionist, ce dracu'!”). When you pass by the beggars on the street, and one simply has its hand extended VS one that shares the story of his lifetime, his struggles and his hopes... whom will you give the money to? Of course to the one that shares its story, especially if that story connects to you on a personal level (in some way).

How to tell a great story?

Great stories always come from the heart and have a lot of the soul of the owner put into it! You need to start with a good message that you wish to share. Settle on the ultimate message and how you wish to convey it. Also, in relationship to the message you wish to share, think of your own experiences connected to it. By showing your own vulnerabilities you become real and tangible to them. People will start relating to you.

1. Grab their attention - Who is your target audience for your story? Make sure they can relate to your story and they are interested in the topic.
2. Get them in the mood - Use keywords desirable for them to get them ready for the story you are about to tell. Set the mood and get them comfortably connected with you/your product/your story.
3. Make people imagine - Getting people to put themselves inside the story, imagining they are there, is key! Empower them by making them part of the story! You don' have to be the hero of the story - they should be!
4. Use words/expressions that your audience will understand - Don't use words too high or too low for your audience to understand. Don't use jargon/archaisms if you are not sure they won't catch the meaning!

National "Tell a story" Day - April 27

"Tell a Story Day" is celebrated in the USA, Scotland and the United Kingdom. The aim of the day (April 27th) is to get participants telling, sharing and listening to each other's stories. It is a celebration of the art of oral storytelling in all of its many forms, whether it be fiction or non-fiction, a tall tale, or folklore. The stories may be told from memory or from a book. The origin of the celebration is unknown but I do wish this day would be celebrated and understood throughout the world. Everyone has a story to tell, everyone tells stories daily - recognizing that will help us learn more of the way we do our storytelling and how we can make our stories more attractive.

#tellastory #storytelling #everyonehasastory #importanceofstorytelling #tellstories