The power of storytelling

Robert McKee once said, “Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today”, and he’s probably right. After all, storytelling is the oldest form of communication. For thousands of years, civilisations have learnt through the art of storytelling – helping create and shape cultures, religions and behaviours.

It was recently the 16th National Storytelling Week, an initiative run by The Society for Storytelling to encourage the tradition of sharing stories.

Stories typically follow a beginning, middle and end format. For example, take the famous Disney formula; the protagonist faces a problem – often unsure of their identity – they then find a trusty sidekick to help them overcome the problem and find their ‘happy ever after’.

All businesses can benefit from communicating their story, identity and message, and more often than not it takes an external eye to crystallise it and make it as compelling as possible.

With the explosion of technology, the Internet, and social media, more content than ever before is created, shared and consumed. So there has never been such an important time to communicate a message effectively, and deliver it to the right audience.

When we develop a piece of work we are always looking to use our creative skills to deliver the intended message in an impactful way; achieve the communication goal; and, ultimately, change a behaviour.

Here are a few things to remember when sharing stories and shaping messaging to change behaviours:

• There’s no better story to tell than the story of the company itself; where it began, where it came from, who it’s people are – use this information to create a strong narrative and build brand loyalty
• Because of the quantity of content now available it’s very important to establish what you want to say, how best to say it, and what you want to achieve from it
• Set the scene and create context to develop messages that can resonate with audiences
• Create imaginative content and original ideas that capture the audiences’ attention
• Remember it’s not always about the product or service – it’s also about how that product or service may have affected someone else’s life – a vital chapter in a business’ story

Whilst we can help our partners reach their happy ever after, we like to believe the story never ends there, and instead the plot just continues to evolve.