I have always liked telling stories.
In second grade, I told a story and the teacher made me stay after school for it. After that, I switched to nonfiction. Story telling stayed with me. I majored in it in college and then I became a journalist.
I remember my days as a newspaper reporter and editor with great joy colored by nostalgia. What slowly strangled the love, was that being a reporter required a vow of poverty. I have never found great virtue in poverty and I did not like it.
So I became a PR guy. This provided me with some level of affluence, at times, but it really threatened by dedication to nonfiction story telling. It also put me into a culture that loved bullet points far more than stories.
Then social media came along. More than half a lifetime had passed, but finally I found a venue that is made for story telling. Stories work so much better in most social media venues than do “three key points,” or “six steps to a more perfect complexion.”
The thing that you need to realize is the power of storytelling is in the simplicity of the tale.
In business, we very often have a tendency to try to sound as smart as we can. We try to show how much complexity goes into whatever it is we are selling. People want to know how easy it is to drive that car far more than they wish to understand the principals of torque.
Complexity is not memorable and it is rarely fun.Audiences often doze more and retain less.
But a story, ah, a story. I bet you can tell me a story you learned from your childhood and I bet you smiled when you recollected it. You can probably tell me who told or read it to you and where you were.
Can you do that with a recent business diagram, or PowerPoint bullets?
I didn’t think so.
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Hi Shel -
Thanks for sharing this important message about the power of storytelling. Certainly a lot of how we approach social media needs to be reframed from more of a narrative perspective.
Check out this video I recorded on the topic, you might find it a useful platform for seeing the broader links between storytelling and social media. http://www.vimeo.com/13146099
Hi Shel,
Couldn’t agree with you more on this. There are simply too many things to remember in life. All the 7 habits, 7 steps or 10 commandmants are bound to be stashed into oblivion in our memory where we could never quite recall. But when it comes to a good story, people are just wired to remember it even years after hearing it.
Great post! Thanks Walter for pointing me to this post.
Michael Aaron
Hi Shel!
I agree. This is a terrific post!
Not only for making a point about storytelling, in general, but for the way you deliver your story. As you know, I see you as a master of the craft. Yet, this post, in presenting who you are, and what you’re about, is personal, powerful, and engaging! In sharing your passions – why story matters to you – you invite others into your world and allow them to entertain the possibilities of story for enriching their lives.
This post is an extra special gift, Shel!
Warm regards,
Walter
Good stuff as always, Shel.
Some of my favorite posts to write — and not surprisingly, the ones that seem to generate traffic — are the posts where I scrap the “7 Tips for…Whatever” format and just spin a yarn.
Thanks for an glimpse into your world. I enjoyed your recent post telling us of your shift from author/speaker back to consultant. Once a storyteller, always a storyteller, no matter your job title. Weave on, my friend.
That was a pretty moving post! I concur, social media, or writing in general is essentially passing down stories. The more talented you are in wielding words, the better it will come across to your readers.
Amen, Shel.
I wish that we could convince execs to invest more money into storytelling than into crafting perfect-sounding corporate messages to be blasted at “targets” (aka customers). On one hand, these same people will spend $10 to sit in a darkened movie theater with strangers for an hour and a half, yet on the other, not understand that the same power of storytelling can be harnessed to keep people interested in what they have to say.
Shel,
Enjoyed this post.
It’s amazing to me that even in today’s world with the rise of social media so many companies still devote considerable energy to “the message.” Devoting that same energy to stories would make such a difference.
As a student of storytelling, there’s science that supports your point “that the human animal is hot wired to tell.” One of the better pieces on the topic appeared in Scientific America in 2008 and can be found at http://pragmasynesi.wordpress.com/2008/09/24/the-secrets-of-storytelling-why-we-love-a-good-yarn/
Also, we put together a SlideShare deck at http://www.slideshare.net/thehoffmanagency/aligning-pr-with-storytelling-by-the-hoffman-agency-4478327 that looks at how storytelling techniques can be applied to business communications.
Good post Shel! I agree, the power of the story ours and others can do wonders to build relationship and connect. I think it is very obvious these days that relationship building is key to great business. Each of us are born with unique talents that we will hopefully use to benefit those around us. Our story is our experiences. It’s amazing how our story shares similarities with other people and how others will learn from you and you from them. Our life stories weave us together…
Great post Shel – I also believe stories are more compelling in social media, but not all stories need to be epic and handed down from generation to generation. Each touchpoint that people have is an opportunity to create an experience. If companies manage each and every touchpoint (regardless of social, in-store, online, etc) as an opportunity to create a memorable experience, people will share the story – even if it’s a small one.
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