We Are All Made of Stories

Humans, since time immemorial, have always told stories. We love telling stories to our family, friends, or coworkers all the time – to connect, to inspire, to lighten up the mood, or to persuade someone to support a cause or a project. Storytelling, I believe, is one of the most significant traditions of the entire human race –– this is how humans create history. Storytelling is not merely entertaining, but it is also a vital part of our daily communication. In the business context, storytelling has always been the heart of the entertainment industry, but it is now evidently playing a major part across different industries in this digital age; where marketing and advertising rely heavily on telling captivating stories as part of their strategy to promote their brands in different media. Nowadays, more and more businesses are increasingly recognizing the importance of storytelling which is why almost every successful brand has a good story behind it.

The Power of StorySELLING

As defined by Shlomi Ron, CEO of Visual Storytelling Institute:

“Storyselling is a sales strategy that uses stories instead of product features, testimonials, and stats – to influence a sales event. Its effectiveness is derived from the human propensity to connect better with information that is packaged as stories. These stories show vs. tell your product’s merits, in context. Stories allow your audience to lower their guards down and not process your message as a blatant sales pitch or an ad. Rather, your audience experiences it as a form of entertainment that allows them a non-pressured respite and a reflection of their personal story, as if coming from a close trusted friend.”

What makes storyselling a powerful tool in business? Just like what I have written in my previous blog about the importance of integrating human touch in Human-centric Marketing, storyselling humanizes a brand as it evokes relatable emotions that make people connect deeper to a brand.

Being a storyseller, and an excellent one at that just like Steve Jobs proves to be an exceptional skill to possess that could reap several benefits especially when you are marketing yourself or when you are creating and developing your own brand in this digital era. For one, it gives you a powerful advantage over others as it makes you or your brand more memorable because most people are more receptive to stories than compared to facts or data, as stories create a sentimental bond and sticky memories by attaching emotions to different events that happen. Storyselling also catches and retains attention of the audience since they are most likely to listen to you because they don’t see it as a typical sales pitch. Lastly, storyselling provides meaning, creates context, and evokes a sense of purpose that could forge a unique and trustworthy bond between the speaker and the listener(s) which could eventually motivate the listener(s) to take favorable action.