Building your marketing campaigns around stories helps you stand out from others. As humans we love emotions, feelings and stories. Good stories will help you grab the attention of fans and potential customers.
Here are some of the reasons why storytelling is so effective:
- Stories reflect your brand’s human side and people connect with people, not logos
- People love drama! and good stories are compelling when they include conflict & resolution
- It’s easier to teach a lesson with a story. People remember stories more than data, facts and figures
- It’s natural. Storytelling is human nature
Now here are some simple tactics to get better at storytelling.
1 – Practice a lot
Like everything else in life, you get better at storytelling with practice. Don’t feel bad practicing your pitch in front of the mirror.
2 – Share the “WHY”
Instead of sharing the WHAT and HOW, maybe try sharing the WHY?
Remember when Simon said this in one of his famous TED talks.. (and I totally agree with him)
Here is an example for you
Instead of saying “Download my eBook with 75% off coupon…..”
Try this “It took me 6mo to lose 15lbs & I put all of my lessons in this eBook……”
I can come up with several more examples, but you get the point.
3 – Practice storytelling with kids
Kids are the perfect audience to practice your storytelling with. If you can keep a kid’s attention for more than 8seconds, you are on the right path. (I learned this tactic from Steli & Hiten on one of their recent podcasts)
4 – Just start
I know it’s hard to know when you have mastered the art of storytelling. IMHO we are always learning and getting better with practice. So here is a challenge for you. Don’t wait for the perfect moment and just start your next presentation or pitch like this…
- Let me share something interesting with you….
- First let me tell you why I started this business…
- Let me tell you a story about….
Over the years, I have created a simple strategy that helps me tell better stories on social media. You can check my strategy and tools on visual storytelling right here!
Now over to you. How do you practice storytelling?