I think of storytelling as three-dimensional communication. Promotion is one-way - we talk at people. Modern marketing approaches two-dimensions because when done well, it is a conversation. Stories are 3D - they include the story teller and the audience both in the experience and transport them together to a third place, a shared experience. In fact, there's brain science to support this premise. When you experience a story, the neurons in your brainfire the same way they would if you were engaged in story yourself. Stories not only spark attention, they inspire empathy.
Storytelling packs such power that every other form of communication is flat and feeble by comparison. And yet, as Flannery O’Connor said it so well, “Most people know what a story is, until they sit down to write one.” A cracking good story could change everything, if only we could tell it.
I know the struggle first hand. Here are three ways I've found to address the work of storytelling in order to put storytelling to work for me. Try them out. It's worth the effort. A good story can be the key to landing a job, lighting your team's way or launching a movement. As a former foreign correspondent, I can also attest a good story makes even the most remote and complex situations instantly relatable.
3. Keep your stories simple. You want to leave people with a vivid snapshot, not a litany of details. More information doesn't make you more convincing. You want a sharp narrative that bears repeating, not a shaggy dog tale. Swoop into your tale, make people care, then stop talking.