Power of Storytelling

Storytelling is one of the most ancient and universal forms of human communication which has existed since the beginning of time. In fact, humans have been using stories to communicate ideas and pass knowledge from one generation to another since the beginning of recorded history. Yet, it's something that we have really started to understand in the last few decades.

Today, storytelling is being used in brand communications with greater frequency, intensity, and variety than ever before. Brands use storytelling to connect with consumers on a personal level, sharing experiences rather than products or services. It’s also a crucial skill for leaders today. In a time where artificial intelligence, digital information, and data exist, being able to narrate simply, concisely, and persuasively can help you stand out from your peers because we’re living in an era where authenticity and personal expression are prized above all. So, the more you know about storytelling techniques and how they can benefit you as a leader, the better equipped you’ll be to communicate your ideas effectively.

If you are interested in learning more about how storytelling can be used as a powerful tool to change your life for the better, then this blog post is for you!

Let’s explore how storytelling has the power to change your life, business, career, and others’ lives around you!

“We are all Storytellers. We all live in a network of stories. There isn’t a stronger connection between people than storytelling”, 

Pramukshi Kariyawasam- our resource personnel for today’s blog, starts off with this beautiful quote!  Pramukshi is the Director of Brand Marketing, Loyalty & Partnerships at Cinnamon Hotels and Resorts – and Assistant Vice President of the John Keells Group.

“Storytelling is not rocket science. It’s not a new concept at all. We were introduced to storytelling when we were children since we were reading books, and since books were read to us! So, it’s simply the art of sharing a message in the form of a story”, says Pramukshi. 

Why is Storytelling important to you?

“Whatever you are doing or whatever business you are in, you are probably doing it really well but I can tell you with confidence that, by converting your communications piece to a storytelling approach, you are going to amplify the impact so much more”, continues Pramukshi by telling us as to why is it that important.

To start with, ‘Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the stories you tell, today you can’t show a product or service to a customer and expect them to buy it. Why would they? Because today, consumers have so many options out there. Gone are the days when you thought you were offering a completely differentiated product/service from your competition. We live in a world where everything you do today can be easily replicated tomorrow. Therefore, sharing our marketing messaging while remaining relevant to our audience is undoubtedly tricky.

So, you can’t produce goods and services and present them to your customers with a transactional mindset and expect them to buy – that strategy won’t work any longer.! “You need to build an emotional connection with them. And there is no better way to craft your marketing message than to build a story that really resonates with your audience.”, explains Pramukshi, giving the listener a lot to ponder upon.

Why is Storytelling important for your customers?

Pramukshi starts off this with some startling facts on why storytelling is important to your customers;

To start off with,

• The average attention span of a human in the year 2000 was 12 seconds
• The average attention span of a human now is 6-8 seconds
• The average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds.

Considering all of this, it is astounding to consider that humans, the most intelligent species on earth have a shorter attention span than a goldfish!!

This is due to the abundance of content available today, which is likely caused by several core causes, including social media, technological disruption, and new inventions. We are always in front of our screens consuming content on platforms like Facebook, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and many more. Simply put, content is increasing in volume, which exhausts our attention, and our urge for ‘newness’ causes us to switch between topics more regularly, collectively. Your ability to ingest all the content out there and focus is continually decreasing which is why your attention span gets shorter and shorter.

This was understood by social media firms like Meta which is why they introduced shorter forms of content to consume such as Instagram reels that are like those on TikTok, where videos were limited to 10 seconds. Whether this is a good thing, or a bad thing is debatable because there is now more opportunity to push more content out, which will diminish our attention span, even further. 

So, therefore storytelling will help break through the clutter. There is a dire need for contextual content amongst the plethora of content that exists in the world every minute, that doesn’t resonate with your audience. Building emotional connections is more difficult and not attempting to do so will get you nowhere. Hence it is vital to get your message in a meaningful way to your customer in that tiny frame of time you have.” 

says Pramukshi as she wraps up the first section of the remarkable facts she has to share.

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Read the next article to learn the remaining astounding details, Pramukshi provided!