Storytelling… without the waffle!
In a recent workshop for MD2MD, former BBC broadcaster, John Young, explained the formula journalists use to make complex or boring things interesting and compelling.
You may be astonished to discover how straightforward it can be. And once you’ve grasped it, you’ll find it easier to win new clients and customers, or retain the loyalty of staff.
Read on to find out John’s top three tips on storytelling.
How do I make my case studies engaging?
Remember the four Ps.
All memorable stories are about people. They all have a sense of place. They all have vivid pictures and for the best stories, there’s always a sense of peril.
Let’s say you are trying to tell a story internally, to your staff, attempting to get a message across. Think about who is an example of a person who best illustrates how the idea/process/policy you are trying to get across is solving a problem.
Flip that into selling a product, let’s find an example of a person who has really benefitted from your product. Show a picture of that person – not just some stock photo you found. Take that picture in their real environment so they look authentic and let’s fish out the peril – what problem did you solve for this person.
Where do I find stories?
You need to go and find them. You have to fish them out – just like journalists do. You have to be persuasive, they won’t come to you.
Where should I share these stories?
Don’t bury these case studies at the back of your website. Put them front and centre to be seen. When you are telling the story, don’t say “I want to tell you a story about our new product… I want to tell you the details of our new product… By the way, here’s the story…”
Do it the other way round.
“I want to tell you a story about this person who has had such a fantastic experience because of this product. By the way, here are the details…”
You can watch John’s top tips video yourself here.
