Story is like a Photo: Why Storytelling is Important for Comms.

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. 

As a storyteller, you’re doing the same things. You choose a story that illustrates the point you’re trying to make. 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?

It’s easy to see this stuff in action, all around you. We live in a polarized world where two people can watch the same event and come out with two completely opposite interpretations of it. Share in the comments an example of this that you’ve seen recently.

And there’s one final thing that I’m not going to dive into in this video, but I’d love to have a discussion about in the comments. And that’s the ethical side of these techniques that I’ve shared. Because here at Stage Light Communications, we’re big on making ethical use of communication. 

Storytelling techniques can help people make sense of the world and move forward in ways that do a lot of good. They can also be used to manipulate and mislead. And I don’t want you to do that. So again, let me know in the comments: how would you use storytelling in your own life, and where do you draw the line?

I really want to geek out about this stuff with you, so don’t let me down, ok?

Anyway, Superstars - until next time!

Oh, and if you want to get on the list for classes, workshops and coaching in the spring, you can join the waitlist and get first dibs!