Business Stories - Storytelling for marketing is exploding

From the website Brandanew.com comes the statistics of marketing trends for 2015.  The statistic that jumped out at me was "Storytelling has seen a 145% rise with over 142 thousand mentions in 2014."  Those are pretty powerful numbers. I can't verify them for you but I can tell you that I have noticed a jump in mentions of storytelling and the number of people who are becoming "Corporate Storytellers." 

There are all kinds of stories that will work in a business world, future, product development, customer WOWs, product as hero and so many more.  Just a couple of things to keep in mind as you develop your story.  Follow basic story outline, that means there needs to be a conflict and conclusion of some kind.  Keep characters to a minimum, keep facts accurate and the language engaging.  Good luck.  

Business Storytelling: Harvey Mackay Again

I just read an article by Harvey Mackay in the Hartford Business Journal. Once again he expressed how he uses stories to make his business point. In this article he was talking about customer service, or more accurately the lack of customer service.

He told a story of a bank that was stingy and would only validate parking if you were making a deposit. The man was making a withdrawal and the teller and manager refused to validate. So the customer, instead of withdrawing $100 withdrew 1 million dollars. The next day he returned and withdrew another million dollars to deposit in the bank across the street.

Penny wise, pound foolish? Or is it just not getting to know your customers? Or maybe it is having strict rules that really don't make a lot of sense. If you want someone's business it can't be all about you (deposits), it has to be about them.

Stories stick and are powerful for teaching the correct customer service values.

CEO Storyteller

Here is a link to an online article from Forbes about the importance of CEO's being good storytellers. I'm not talking about make believe stories but the ones that legends are built on.

http://www.forbes.com/2009/06/15/ceo-storytelling-communication-leadership-ceonetork-varghese.html

A CEO with a good story will inspire and unite his company. So what's your story?

Leading by a Tale

The title of this post is actually the title of an article from the Toastmasters Interantional monthly magazine. The article was authored by Caren Neile, Ph.D, ATMS/CL. In this article Caren talks about her experience trying to convince business professors of the importance of story to business communications. Fortunately she did not give up but recognized the numerous profitable companys who do use story with a purpose.

If you can get a copy of the magazine and the article it is worth reading. It is a quick read and covers not only numerous reference materials but also covers the many ways leaders can use stories.

One interesting point that Ms. Neile makes is that we all tell stories and it comes naturally to us, however some of us are better at it than others. I beleive it is a skill that can be learned through practice and the learning curve can be shortened by finding an accomplished storyteller to mentor you through the process. There are lots of storytellers who can help if you are serious about improving. Find one at the national storytelling site or numerous other state sites. Do a search on coporate storytellers and you will find a host of tellers ready to help hone your skills.

Carol Mon
Story Professional

Newsweek Article

The My Turn page of the February 16th Newsweek Magazine has Ann Banks, editor of "First Person America", commenting on the importance of story in a down economy. Although the artcile is really talking more about personal stories and histories then business stories it still was an uplifiting article to those of us who feel the power of story is not fully understood.

Funny how this article came across my desk as I was looking at some information of the movie industry during the Great Depression. It seems that Hollywood and movies, one way to tell stories, had a huge boom during the depression. Experts say that people would save the little money they had to go see a movie as an escape from the tough times they were facing.

Telling stories is an inexpensive and proven method of entertainment. Spend some time with the family and tell stories. You bond with those you love and it costs nothing! If you get a chance check out Ann Banks article in Newsweek.

Power Point with a story

I just finished reading a Toastmaster's International magazine article about the use of Power Point and story. The author was making stated that power point can be useful when presenting a financial topic, but telling the story of the financials is just as important. His suggestion is to figure out what it is the data is saying and then tell that story, throw out any slides or data that does not pertain to your main story. "Tell your story with simplicity and carity." Numbers can help but you can't forget the story or your audience is likely to forget the message.

Use the power of story to point out the important data in your presentation.

Business Week's Combating Complacency

Businessweek magazine for the 15th of September had an article titled "Combating Complacency". It really is a book excerpt from John P. Kotter's book "A Sense of Urgency". Mr. Kotter is making the point that business communication must engage the heart as well as the mind. He then points out that the best way to do this is by using stories.

If you get a chance check out the article; it is a short 2 page read.

www.carolmon.com