Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…
I don’t know if it’s nature or nurture that makes our ears prick up at the hint of a tale, but there’s something special about stories, something that makes us pay attention.
Great speakers and salespeople know that when they are trying to explain or sell something, the moment they relate that into a real life story, the audience or prospect will suddenly get it. For PR and marketing, a great story can capture people’s imaginations and remain with them long after the url is forgotten or the newspaper is recycled.
Finding a story that truly resonates, however, takes a bit of thought. Like those fairy tales of childhood, an absorbing story should be:
Exciting and interesting: The day to day, ‘man goes for a swim’, is boring, ‘man swims the channel’ is more interesting. Explain the man has just turned 40 and has battled a life-long fear or water, and it becomes compelling.
Emotion increases interest: Imagine the sense of fear the 40 year-old will feel as he tentatively dips his first toe into the chilly water; The physical and mental pain once the swim is underway; The triumph when he completes the swim.
Finally, as they say on the X Factor, it’s all about the journey. The swimmer above has a reason no doubt for being so scared of water, something he has overcome and a reason to want to overcome it. Add the achievement and triumph of success and we have a story.
The best stories intrigue and interest the audience enough that engage for the journey, and they don’t have to be long. Master tale teller Ernest Hemingway once managed to write a story in just six words: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.”
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