Remember that catchphrase?
For those of a certain age, Max Bygraves, famous comedian and storyteller of the ‘70s was the man behind the words.
He knew the power of a good story.
We all love a story, especially if it has a bit of everything chucked in:
- Suspense
- Conflict
- Humour
- Unexpected setbacks
- A satisfying ending
It’s no different in business.
People will easily tune out of an advert, but a good story can hook them in and keep them reading.
Plus, if it has a crisis or two, they will hang on in there to find out how it all ends.
Storytelling for business can focus on different things:
- A product
- An employee’s inspiring rise through the ranks
- The business itself
- A customer
- The founder
Making the story memorable will help position your company/product/brand in your reader’s memory.
You want to be front and centre in their mind when they next need whatever it is you do, so that they call you rather than Jo Bloggs down the road.
One technique I sometimes use is called in medias res Latin for ‘in the midst of things’.
It’s a great way to grab your audience’s attention right at the beginning.
Start with a powerful comment from the central character or jump into the middle of your story with the opening paragraph.
Then you move on with your tale, filling out the background as you go, giving the story interest, impact, and colour.
But beware, long preambles are disastrous.
Better to have a brief introduction to set the scene and pique interest. Yes, you want to warm up to your central point but writing endless paragraphs that take aeons to get there will see your reader scrolling away, never to return.
Will it be of value to your reader?
Storytelling is all well and good, but it must have a point and be of value to your reader.
- Does it offer a solution to a problem?
- Does it subtly showcase the benefits of your product/business?
- Does it answer a question?
- Is your story relevant/relatable to your reader?
Different audiences mean different writing styles, so mix it up a bit.
Chatty language sprinkled with the odd alliteration and metaphor is great for some audiences, while more formal, stylised writing will work for others.
Whoever you are writing for, a great story must have pace and keep the reader alongside. No plodding donkeys or runaway racehorses, please!
And if you write with the reader in mind, as if you are having a chat with them, they’re more likely to lean in and listen, the same way they would if you were sitting next to them sharing a cuppa.
These are just a few points to remember as you write and when you come to review it.
And if you can do this while taking your reader along for the ride, then they’ll feel a teensy bit rewarded for having given their time to read your story.
Remember the basics!
Finally, you don’t have to be a Pulitzer Prize winner to produce good stories, but you do need to remember the basics — grammar, spelling, credibility, relevance, and readability.
Keep these in mind and your readers will keep coming back for more!
