1/8/2024-Storytelling

PPT slides are boring, and so too are emails; neither have the power to engage your customer emotionally. Change the predictability of your interactions by telling stories your customers will enjoy.

Somewhere along the line, email and slides took over as primary selling tools. It was assumed that they were all enough to get the job done.

It’s nobody’s fault…it just happened. Business got intense, and with it, everyone went with the flow.

If you’re looking for something else…something more effective, try telling stories.

Keep your stories one or two minutes in length. How you package your weekend anecdotes, case studies, process instruction, and value matters. And it’s entirely based on your creativity.

There are two keys to growing your storytelling skills:

1. Start tellin’ ’em.
2. Start storing ’em…create a log of stories to help with #1.

Today, create a "Top Stories" page in your phone’s Notes app and write the titles and brief outlines of a few personal and business stories.

Use recent events to craft your personal stories, and consider how to frame case studies and work anecdotes as informative business stories.

Use what you created today when the next door opens in a customer convo to tell a story.

Email and PPT slides will continue to be your primary communication tools, but adding stories to your repertoire will create a new dimension of engagement and bonding between you and your buyers.

Think about engagement this way: do PPT slides potentially make buyers laugh? Do PPT slides get remembered? Do PPT slides move your customer’s emotions?

And, of course, the same applies to using email.

Stories engage humans and bond them emotionally. In a world of commoditized offerings and value props that all sound the same, telling stories to your buyers is a differentiator.

Remember…
1. Keep your stories short. One to two minutes is all that is needed.
2. Create a good story to share about your weekend for your Monday interactions. Those personal stories will go far to bond you with your prospects.
3. Learn to frame your case studies and business anecdotes as stories…it’s all in the delivery. It’s all about how you tell the anecdote.
4. Follow the traditional story framework: intro, conflict, resolution, and payoff! The structure is important for your audience.
5. MOST importantly…tell your stories with enthusiasm and personality…that matters more than the content itself.

Always keep a few stories at hand ready to share…you’ll put smiles on their faces, and yours.

In this engaging Ted Talk from filmmaker Andrew Stanton (Nemo, Wall-E, et al.), you’ll hear the punchline "Make them care," and it will help you craft and tell good stories.

During the 19-minute talk Andrew assures you storytelling is not natural for anyone; it’s not a God-given talent. That’s good news if you’re feeling sheepish about your skills.

That alone may encourage you to put your foot in the water and start telling stories.