We’ve been evangelizing the wonders of storytelling for some time.
For the most part, our profession has come a long way when it comes to creating content, though you can still find those “pithy” quotes in news releases “We are delighted to announce that …”
What hasn’t changed is the challenge of getting those with sign-off power on the storytelling bandwagon.
This issue comes up again and again after conducting our storytelling workshop. By the close of the workshop, people buy into the concepts. They jump back into their jobs with renewed determination to communicate with conversational language and a “show-don’t-tell” attitude, only to run into a force called stakeholder approval.
We continually hear back from participants that they try to write with the techniques of storytelling — they really do — but by the time their content goes through the corporate meat grinder, it looks nothing like the original form.
There’s no easy answer for this challenge. Business executives often perceive safety in sameness. Anything that makes a company stand out can be frightening. And many senior marketers and communicators have also been grounded in “me marketing.” They believe corporate narratives should espouse only the virtues of the company.
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This is where courage enters the room.
As a profession, we need the strength of conviction to secure approval to take our stories, not corporate drivel, to the outside world.
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THE STORY IS ALWAYS THERE
I believe this is true not because I’m an optimistic soul (though I am), but because every time I conduct a client excavation, fodder for storytelling surfaces.
Going back to the subhead, “the story is always there” sounds so much better than saying “interesting stuff is always there.”
Yet, that’s really what we mean.
Given a choice between dull and interesting, people will gravitate to interesting every time.
That’s the basis for our book on storytelling which you can access for free.
We also printed a limited supply of hardcopy books for those who would value a tactile experience.