Stories That Stick

What's a story? There are so many definitions that I won't even try to define it here. But I do know one thing—good communicators are good storytellers, and good storytelling is memorable. I'm still fairly new to public speaking and so I try to weave in short stories to my presentations mainly because I can't present something effectively unless I can relate a personal story to it.  A story that means something to me.  It's why I brought Randy Paush into my micro-interactions presentation. It's why, when I'll talk about "personal brands"—I'll probably pepper it with stories I've heard before or maybe something I've experienced myself.

Being an effective storyteller isn't easy—but it's much easier to tell a story that matters to you. Stories that stick can influence decisions, inspire people to take action and persuade people to see things in a different light. Next week I'll have two opportunities to tell a story. Hopefully, they stick.

Comments

[mike walsh]

Dave,

The difference between a great story and a mediocre story is tenfold. I like the post and wish you luck next week. I will likely see you in Chicago - if not, best of luck!

mike
ps - Made to Stick is a great read on this topic

[David Armano]

Mike,

Made to Stick is one of my favorite biz books. Hopefully I can put some of what's in it to practice. Look forward to meeting you.

[Roland Thomas Gilbert]

I "third" the nod at Made To Stick by the brothers Heath. It's remained at the top of my list, too. As a church communications and ministry marketing professional, an admittedly highly specialized field, telling compelling stories is what we're all about.

Thanks for your contributions to helping people communicate more effectively.

[Clay Parker Jones]

Storytelling, like any skill, is improved by practice. The more times you tell a story, the better you get at telling it. And the more times you tell stories, the better you get at telling any story. And I think if you look around at the "good communicators" in your midst, you'll notice that the best communicators communicate a *lot* more than average communicators. Just like with social media... the more you use it, the better you get at using it. I guess.

[Johnathan]

Your post coincided with my second reading of "Team of Rivals". It spawned this thought, "Storytelling isn't something that you can be read about or simply 'switch on', but rather is something that has to be learned and experienced". Some people just really have a hard time telling stories. They deliver the punch lines wrong, they don't engage the audience, and you begin to feel their sense of discomfort and awkwardness as they bumble along. So what makes a good story teller? I have found that some of our greatest story tellers,such as Lincoln, Churchill,etc., had one common denominator: they were around great story tellers when they were younger. You may disagree with this at first, but begin to think about your mother, father, brother or anyone else you spent a great deal of time around when you were younger. Lincoln spent the majority of his evenings when he was younger at his father's side, listening to him recount tales to engaged audiences.

If you are already a bad story teller now, it means you weren't able to be influenced by good story tellers when you were younger. So how do you become a better one now? If I new, I would already be one, but I am sure amercing yourself in the presence of good story tellers, and getting a chance to "practice" is definitely one of them.

[csven]

I personally avoid calling it "storytelling". That word has strong associations - most of them limiting, imo - for too many people. I prefer "narrative". And it's something in which I've taken a significant interest (example ref: http://blog.rebang.com/?p=1390).

For what it's worth, I'm currently working on a rather large narrative I've unofficially dubbed "Narrative for a Mop", an extensible, transmedia, transreality, open source (D)esign project. It's in progress but it'll take a few years to build up enough critical mass. It came about as a result of tying storytelling to product design, advertising, videogames, true reverse product placement, filmmaking, rapid manufacturing, etc etc etc. Hopefully I'll be able to pull it off.

[csven]

By the way, I hope you'll be playing SuperStruct - http://www.superstructgame.org . It's an example of using "storytelling" with the Design process. Look for me in the "Power Struggle" superthreat.

[Forrest Wright]

I agree that storytelling/narrative is key. It's a simple matter of using narrative to attract attention, transfer information, encourage memory. MarComm 101. And you are right, David, good stories can accomplish all of those things.

No one knows this better than Hollywood and they have built a formula for stories that taps into the collective psyche of humans. There are a lot of tools of the trade in film that can be overlaid with marketing to create better stories, brands and messaging.

[Tom Asacker]

Your first choice should always be to let the product, service or experience convey its own inherent value. Can't figure out how to pull that off? Then, and only then, turn to the art of narrative.

[Jennifer Aiden]

David, storytelling that sticks is a very interesting concept. I came across a similar idea in the book Conversational Capital. The book is all about how the stories we tell are integral in the identity formation process. Conversational Capital provides a framework for brands to harness the power of conversations and storytelling so that people will want to speak about your product. I guess storytelling that sticks is another way to talk about Conversational Capital since your acumen as a storyteller informs how you're perceived and the library of stories you have to tell work to build your image of yourself.

[Leah]

Great stories always have a beginning, a middle and an end!