Power of Story Telling (Part 2)

“An average person makes about 35000 decision a day. Research shows, it is a 5 seconds window between a thought, an idea, or intuition and the brain’s move to go with or kill it – so 5 seconds is all it takes to make or break a lifetime with one decision” starts Pramukshi Kariyawasam as she starts to unfold the rest of the intriguing information.

So how are you going to take the marketing message out there and get somebody to make a decision to buy your product/service – say to purchase your book, a refrigerator or a hotel stay within 5 seconds? “You must connect emotionally! This is known as the Attention Span Regression, and it will only worsen over time”, says Pramukshi.

Why stories are so important today?

Stories give you reasons and il give you 4 reasons, starts off with Pramukshi;

1.Stories move us

As children, we have read a variety of storybooks, and as adults, we may have read books or watched a variety of films. If you see an emotional video on YouTube or on television today, it makes you feel something.

2.Stories engage our senses

Stories sometimes give you goosebumps, hits a nerve, warm your heart, or sometimes engage your senses without ever needing to touch you.

3.Stories bring us close together as people.

We connect with each other; we can relate to each other. Because the story or the message in a story is not something that is standalone. You can share it with people.

4.Stories move us to act

That is, if you have felt something, you will act on it. Simply put, stories may make a call to action effective!

Benefits of Story Telling

1.Memorable

First and foremost, stories can be memorable. Studies have shown that telling a story makes information way more memorable than if you just showed an ad with a lot of words and an unappealing picture.

2.Remember

We are 22 times more likely to remember and recall a fact when it has been wrapped up in a story than if it was just told to us as a fact. 

3.Recall

You also have higher recall. That is, when people listen to pitches, either containing facts and figures or a story, only 5% remembered a statistic while a whopping 63% remembered stories. 

4.Action

Stories bring people together and inspire action and responses.

5.Why

Stories give you purpose. It gives you the ‘why’ and explains why something is the way it is. Today's consumer is more interested in why you are selling something than in what you are selling.

Pramukshi gives us a fine example: What does Nike sell? Shoes? Incorrect. Nike sells ‘greatness'. They are continually telling you, that you are destined for greatness, and all of their content is about real people achieving difficult feats. These sorts of emotional content and stories make you immediately connect with a brand because you know they want to build a relationship with you, resonate with you, and not try to sell directly. But invariably, that is exactly what happens – the difference is that you buy their products because of the purpose behind their brand and how it makes YOU feel.

How to tell a story?

This is especially crucial when you want to craft a story for your business, or if you want to incorporate Storytelling in your marketing. 

1.Target Audience 

This is the first and foremost criterion you should focus on. The teller should convey a message in order to connect with the audience. For example, if your product/service is speaking to a Gen Z, there is no point in you doing a heavy piece of content like going into a lot of History because a Gen Z is not going to connect with it. Likewise, you should constantly consider your target audience and their needs, aspirations, beliefs, etc before crafting your story, says Pramukshi. 

2.Entertaining

Good stories always keep your audience interested and engaged..

3.Education

Stories that are educational will spark your curiosity and teach you something you didn’t know. When delivered to you meaningfully, you will learn something and remember it. 

4.Universal 

A good story needs to speak to anybody. It needs to be relatable to all ages and walks of life. It must be a universal communication.

5.Organized

Good stories generally follow a succinct structure that helps convey the core message and helps viewers absorb it. "The core message is critical here because if you don't have a core message while promoting your brand or product, there's no point in doing a story.  You must establish the message clearly throughout your story,” Pramukshi emphasizes.

6.Memorable

Some stories are memorable because they inspire you, because they were full of drama or because they made you laugh out loud. Those are the kind of stories that stick in a person’s mind.

7.Easy to understand

Keeping it simple and relatable to all audiences will help to connect better. “We are human beings and we are all intellectual people but our IQ and EQ levels vary from person to person so you need to try and keep your messaging as simple as possible. Don't overcomplicate and keep your message short and effective. Remember, less is more” adds Pramukshi.

8.Emotive

“Emote, emote, emote!! I can’t stress this enough!” says Pramukshi adding to her point. Feeling, expression, emotions, and humanizing are all ways to play on people's heartstrings and by doing so, you can build a fantastic story. 

Pramukshi concludes her eight fascinating points by saying, "These are some fundamental parts of how you create and construct a good story.”

Forms of Storytelling

Pramukshi discusses certain forms that you can use for storytelling and that we can become acquainted with;

1.Rich Media

One of the easiest ways to tell a story is with a video because it’s short-form content, immersive, and could get the experience in a couple of seconds as opposed to other forms.

2.Image

Pictures could speak a thousand words. They don’t even need captions but tell a powerful story.

3.Written

There can be written articles, short-form, and long-form articles, lifestyle articles, and personal articles.

4.Audio

We now have audio storytelling, such as podcasts. There are also platforms, such as Clubhouse, that allow you to share stories, and experiences, and hold discussions solely through audio.

Examples of Brands that do storytelling

  • Dove: Share stories about real people to stir up emotions.
  • IKEA: Uses humor to promote products and services
  • Airbnb: Instead of telling the company’s story, they get their customers to tell their stories.
  • Apple: The feeling of connectivity that Apple has created through its community of users.
  • Nike: Goes the extra mile by making their customers the main character of every story they tell.

 

Some of the Best storytellers:

 

5 Approaches to Storytelling

1.The before and after Story

“To explain this, let’s consider the detergent example," Pramukshi says. "You had a stubborn stain on your shirt that would not come off with any soap - this was 'the before.' Then you use that incredible X detergent powder, and you have stain-free clothing - this is 'the after’. The before and after story refers to how everything changed for you and lead you to where you are today.

2.The testimony story

This is about sharing personal experiences. While stories are powerful on their own, it’s even better when they originate from someone else other than you. That’s another great way of storytelling.

3.The hypothetical story

This is not about lying. It’s about painting a picture for your prospect.

Pramukshi illustrates this with a famous Sri Lankan duo who does hypothetical storytelling, Blok n Dino; where they have hypothetical situations but you can relate to it. This way could be incredibly influential if you’re speaking to your audience’s exact pain points.

4.The metaphor or analogy story

If you run out of ideas or topics, simply research some key terms and choose a popular metaphor and develop a story around it. This is yet another choice available to you!

5.The time and place story

"'Long time ago in a galaxy far away...and you can start off!' is also a terrific approach to start a great story," Pramukshi says as she concludes by presenting incredible storytelling information and knowledge.

 

It was a wonderful show, and we at Team Pick a Course would like to thank Ms. Pramukshi Kariyawasam for enlightening the audience with such fascinating knowledge and facts!!

 

Till we catch you on our next article, remember folks,

 

“There’s always room for a story that can transport people to another place”

J.K Rowling - 

End.