How do we tell better stories?
Jun 2017
Storytelling exists in everything we do, we tell stories to ourselves and others every day. Stories allow us to retain information more easily, to communicate abstract concepts and make sense of things; to explore subconscious thoughts therefore access raw sources of creativity.
Storytelling is extremely effective because it connects to our emotions, making it easy to relate and to remember. But how do we tell better stories?
Among many techniques and advice on how to create good content and how to best deliver it, I’ll focus on 5 pillars that I believe are essential to craft a memorable story.
Do your research
You should be able to understand and speak the language of your audience. Research about the people you’re pitching to and tap into their motivations.
Andy Raskin’s article, on Elon Musk’s announcement of Tesla Powerwall, has a very good point when he advises to paint a picture of how your customer is struggling and why, and then tell a story from their perspective, explaining how you can address their pain points by “showing the promised land”.
If the people you’re talking to feel you understand their struggles they’re more likely to empathise and hear what you have to say.
Give up your power
“The best story is the one you don’t need to tell”.
Like in art, when it comes to fruition, the audience has the freedom to draw their own conclusions. Let the listener tell themselves their own story. That’s how we experience the real world.
Treat it as a co-creation exercise, limiting yourself to exposing the facts and letting the audience be the character of their own narrative. Don’t tell them what to think, challenge them instead. This will make the experience more emotional because it’s more real.
In Virtual Reality the notion of space and the visuals speak louder than the narrative, which becomes the experience in itself (Adriana Vecchioli explains how paradigms are shifting on her insightful article about “How Virtual Reality is Changing Storytelling Forever”).
In VR nobody tells you where to look at or move anymore, you can explore the canvas at your own will and pace, and become the main hero of the story.
Connect
You need to be convinced of what you’re saying and believe in your own story. If you’re somehow dishonest people may not know how to express it but they will certainly feel it.
That’s why it is so important to show genuine vulnerability, you can’t get more real than that.
Listeners are interested in the human side of the narrative, which is closer to their heart. Good advertising makes use of it by only showing the product it’s trying to sell at the end, once the story was communicated.
Scientific studies prove that we retain and learn better if someone’s story has genuine meaning to them, and that is communicated through emotion.
Ethical persuasion is based in authenticity, which equals to real connection.
Captivate
A good story is more powerful than facts and figures and the surprise element adds to it, it should be inspiring, create awareness and trigger questioning.
An element of emotion can be achieved through playfulness and humour, pain or drama, energy and joy. The theatrics and the way a story starts are as important as how it ends because your listener doesn’t know your story, so you might as well take them through an exciting journey.
The teaser can be done by an intriguing statement, a controversial question that sparks discussion or an unexpected “why” you’re telling your story. Once you’ve earned your audience’s attention they’ll be willing to listen till the end.
If you can, make sure you leave the people in the room in a better place than when you found them.
Be radically minimal
Synthesise as much as possible, it’s easier to communicate and much easier to retain. Avoid unimportant tangents and focus solely on the relevant points for the message you want to get across.
If you break the story into small chunks and keep asking yourself if those are clear enough, it will make your point of view stronger.
Being succinct helps you dissect and organise your own thoughts and structure your speech. Good stories are able to turn abstract ideas into easy-to-understand concepts without trying to communicate too much in one go, and that’s how they’re remembered and shared.
That’s why they remain relevant.
This article was originally posted on Medium — Muzli publication, June 2017. Also featured on Storytelling.design.