Recently I came across an article on MediaPost by Vanessa Horwell, titled Storytelling is an Art. It was written from a PR perspective, but the author touched on “the art of communicating and storytelling, whether it’s oral, aural, visual or in words,” and it’s a theme that extends far beyond just the PR realm:
Good storytelling can incite emotions, can make us buy triple-stack hamburgers when we’re not hungry or cause our minds to create fantastic what-if scenarios. Good stories can make us cry, laugh or feel sick. Even better, good stories can make journalists pick up the phone or hit the reply button to our emails, saying, “Tell me more, I want to know.” They are the reactions that good storytelling can invoke, and I don’t think that’s something we can do with a micro-tweet or pushing a one-size-fits-all template that’s been approved by corporate because it’s safe and sounds good to the CEO.
Our clients demand more results from us than ever before. As consumers, we’ve become more demanding and less forgiving. So as communicators, we really should know better. We don’t want to be sold to or have stuff pushed in our faces. We want stories that make us “feel,” which is exactly what our communications to media should also do.
Take some time to read the entire article. Then, ask yourself this question: How good is the story that you are telling for your clients?