A story is like a photo: why (good) storytelling is so important for communications

You’ve heard 1000 times that storytelling is important for communication and marketing, but what does that actually mean? What counts as a “story” for these purposes?

There are lots of things that happen that don’t make for useful stories, and there are isolated moments in time - or even abstract concepts - that do. And any given event can either come alive in the hands of a skilled storyteller, or fall apart and feel pointless when delivered by someone who doesn’t really know how to roll it out.

The point of storytelling is usually to convey a specific idea and to get the audience to attach themselves emotionally to that idea, so that they’re more open to doing whatever you want to encourage them to do. 

This has been done throughout history to pass down morals, ethics and even laws. It’s used in politics to win votes or gain support for resistance movements. It’s used in marketing to get people to buy into whatever you’re selling. And there’s an art to doing it well.

Think about it like taking a photo. When you look at a photo, the eye needs to know where to look - what’s important, what’s key to the idea or emotion that the photographer is trying to convey? If you’re zoomed too far out, there are too many distractions. The audience doesn’t know what’s important, what to look at, how to feel about it. The key to a powerful photograph is to fill the frame only with what needs to be seen, and crop out the rest. 

You also want to make sure that certain things are in focus and other things are out of focus, which creates a sense of depth and tells the audience what they should pay attention to. Finally, a good photographer also knows that the angle from which they photograph the subject is going to affect the audience’s emotional reaction to it. 

For example, check out these two photos, taken within 5 minutes of each other, of one of the world’s most famous volcanoes (that’s Mount Ngauruhoe, reknowned for its starring role as Mount Doom in The Lord of the Rings).

In the first photo, Ngauruhoe draws the eye. It cuts an impressive figure - much like it does in real life - and in contrast with the cheery yellow flowers and lush foliage in the foreground, the snow on its peak gives a sense of its massive scale.

In the second photo, Ngauruhoe is…also present. But this time, it just seems like part of the background. Your eye is drawn to the perfectly ordinary asphalt road and scrubby bushes instead of the incredible star power of the volcano. This is what happens when a story is bogged down with too much unnecessary “stuff”: it distracts from the emotional resonance you’re trying to create.

As a storyteller, you use framing in much the same way a photographer does. You choose a story that illustrates your point and evokes the desired emotions. You cut away the extraneous information - anything that’s irrelevant to the point. Focus in on what matters. Be descriptive and use your language, visuals, etc. to bring to life the main focus of your story, and give background information in an efficient way that doesn’t distract from the main message. And think about your angle. Whose perspective on the story does the audience need to see? Are you in favour of the idea you’re presenting? Are you against it? How do you want your audience to feel about it? What language will you use to suggest these things to them?

Your turn: how can you use these techniques to get more attention for your ideas? Let us know in the comments!