Unleash the Power of Storytelling: A Practical Guide

People have a limited capacity to remember data, but an enormous capacity to remember stories. Neuroscience has shown that our brains are wired to remember and enjoy stories. And if neuroscience isn't enough to explain why stories have become so important, especially in business contexts, answer this question: When was the last time you needed an Excel spreadsheet or a graph to remember a story?

Good stories capture attention, simplify complex situations, help the audience remember messages, and encourage them to repeat those messages to others. These advantages are why storytelling has gained so much prominence in recent years.

What is storytelling

• Multinational corporations have become experts in storytelling: corporate storytelling (example) and brand storytelling (example) to convey the values of brands and companies. Product storytelling (example) to sell more, and, of course, social storytelling rooted in social media.

• Storytelling is everywhere. Hollywood screenwriters are finding new roles in companies - unthinkable roles a few years ago - to create stories and scripts that work and help increase revenues.

  
  

In this article, I won't discuss this type of storytelling (more marketing-oriented) but how to tell stories that help us be more effective when we present.

We can define this type of storytelling as the telling of an experience (personal or someone else's) connected to a business message. The goal is to influence the audience and persuade them to take action. This type of storytelling has unique characteristics compared to marketing storytelling:

Truth. In presentations, stories must be true; inventing them reduces their effectiveness and credibility. Marketing stories are often created specifically for a particular purpose.

Context. In presentations, the context may be unrelated to the business or the audience: you can tell a personal story (which is often the case) and derive a moral from it. When the goal is branding or a product, the context is always linked to the brand or the product itself.

The story's end. All successful stories share three common elements: the beginning, the complication, and the resolution. But in stories told during presentations, an additional essential step is necessary: the connection to the business context. We will explore this at the end of the article (a bit of suspense).

Now, let's look at the three common elements of a good story in detail:

Elements of storytelling

The Beginning

This is a fundamental part of capturing the audience's attention. It describes the story's starting point, the context. It can be close to the audience (telling a story about events that happened in a bank to a bank audience) or it can have a more distant context, such as a personal story.

To provide a precise idea of the context, you can begin by defining a timeframe. This strengthens the story's credibility and situates it in a specific moment. For example:

"On February 4, 2016, I was in an important meeting when..."

"This morning, as I was on my way to work..."

"When I was a child, I hated broccoli..."

If you're not the story's protagonist, describe the main character precisely but succinctly. Avoid dwelling on unnecessary details that can weigh down the story. For example: "In 2012, John was the production manager of a prominent Italian food company..."

Once you've established the temporal context and described the protagonist (if it's not you), you need to recount the initial situation and what happens in everyday life (the status quo) before the second element arrives: the conflict.

The Conflict/Obstacle

After describing the context, you need to introduce a complication because there's no story without difficulty. Imagine how dull the movie Titanic would be if the story were: "Jack is a globetrotter, boards the Titanic, meets Rose on the deck, they fall in love, and get married" (no shootings, no antagonists, no car sex scenes).

Complications (or problems) make stories interesting. Moreover, the closer the story is to the audience (either emotionally or contextually), the more the problem will hold their attention. The listeners stay curious because the problem is one they face every day, and they want to know how the story will develop and what solution will emerge. Or if the story is personal, curiosity will keep them glued to your voice.

The Resolution

The ending of every story should offer a resolution, creating a new state of equilibrium. The conclusion demonstrates that the problem was solvable. The finale allows the audience's emotional release and eases the tension.

Remember, the ending doesn't have to be positive, though that's desirable (happy endings appeal to everyone). It can be a sad ending; the crucial thing is that it aligns with the message you want to convey and the purpose of the presentation. There's no point in telling a story just because it's entertaining or sad or because you're attached to it. The story must always serve your goal.

The Connection to Business

In marketing storytelling examples (or in classic stories like Little Red Riding Hood), it's not essential to derive an explicit lesson. You can tell a story just for the sake of it (an amusing anecdote that happened to you, etc.) or to captivate the audience.

However, in presentations, it's crucial to emphasize (1) why you've told that specific story and (2) why it should be relevant to the audience. You can't afford to have your message misunderstood.

You can do this in two steps:

In the first step, you can say, "I've told you this story because..." or "When I think of this story, it reminds me of what we're doing here..."

The second step is vital for moving the audience to take action: "Imagine what we could achieve if..." It's a way to make your goal evident and get your audience to think about that topic. You can't afford to have your message misunderstood, and this is the moment to clarify it unequivocally.

The business connection is the crucial step to make storytelling effective. The ultimate purpose of the story is to persuade people to do something (change, purchase, modify behavior) and encourage them to share the story with others, making it go viral so the story (and the message) reaches as many people as possible.

This is storytelling made easy. When used effectively, it's a powerful persuasion tool. The next time you present, don't just focus on numbers and tables; think about what story could be compelling for your goal.

An Example

Now, let's look at an example from my experience.

Situation: Meeting with the customer care team of a multinational company.

Objective: To encourage them to listen more to customer complaints to suggest improvements to our service.

The Story

[Beginning] In 2013, my son was five years old and was in love with a children's TV series called Octonauts. The toys from this series were unavailable in Italy, but he wanted them so much that he included them in his letter to Santa Claus. After some research, I found a seller on eBay selling the toys from the UK. I made the purchase and waited a few days for the delivery.

[The Obstacle] Imagine my horror when the toys arrived without original boxes, wrapped in ordinary tape and packed in used bubble wrap. How could I justify such a thing to my son when we traditionally think that Santa Claus places intact and beautifully packaged gifts under the tree?

I contacted the seller, who told me that in the product description, it was specified that there would be no box because shipping costs would have been higher with the package. I revisited the eBay listing and pointed out to the seller that this information needed to be specified more clearly in the description and required to be clarified.

[The Resolution] Do you know what the seller did? He changed the eBay description, clearly specifying which items were available with or without a box and why the prices differed. Moreover, he sent me the toy box at his own expense with a speedy shipment. My son was overjoyed on Christmas morning, and you can imagine my happiness in seeing him so content.

[The Conclusion] I'm sharing this story with you because I want to emphasize how important it is to listen to our customers to make them feel valued and to appreciate their feedback.

Imagine the results we could achieve if we were just as skilled, if we could learn from them how to serve them better and be considered a leading company in managing our customers. If we could make them say: "I called to complain, and I ended the call happy to be one of their customers. And I'm here to tell you about it."