Need funding for your business? Need to increase your customer engagement? Need to motivate your team? Statistics show that people are 22x more likely to remember messages that are delivered through stories. Story telling encourages empathy, it should help your audience understand who you are and what drives you. It is important to understand that whilst data is needed to support your message, it is the story telling element that will fire the imagination and stir the soul, ultimately inspiring action. Thus creating the need to perfect the art of communication and master storytelling
So, what are the key elements of a powerful storytelling?
1. Structure
We live in an era of instant satisfaction, if you are not plunging your audience directly into the heart of the story you will lose their interest –
- We live in an era of instant satisfaction, if you are not plunging your audience directly into the heart of the story you will lose their interest –
- Start with the problem you are trying to fix, e.g. lack of affordable sanitary napkins for sale in your area.
- Talk your audience through why that problem ignited you to find a solution e.g. you saw how daughters were kept home from school during that time of month.
- Conclude with what your solution and therefore brand mission is e.g. ensure that no female child’s education is hindered by lack of access to such a basic need.
2. Clear message/takeaway
Ensure that you are clear on what you want your audience to take away from your story. What is the ultimate message you are trying to convey? In the above example the takeaway is that our product will support gender equality, particularly in regards to education. Ensure that every part of your storytelling lends itself to this message. Keep your story simple and do not add too many details that will distract your audience from the key takeaway.
3. Make it personal
By telling a personal story, particularly one of struggle you show vulnerability which makes you more relatable. Imagine you are in front of a group of angel investors trying to convince them to invest their hard-earned money into your business idea. Yes, they want to know the facts and figures but they also want to know YOU, what drives you WHY have you chosen this path and how well do you truly understand your target audience. An emotive story that shows that you have been in your target audience’s shoes gives more confidence to the investor.
This is a feature article written by Lalindri Paranagama for Diriya.lk. Lalindri is a Sri Lankan based in Hong Kong. She is an active member of Toastmasters International.
Image by Thomas Ulrich from Pixabay