What’s the Big Deal?!
Storytelling, Part One
I’ll admit, when storytelling became a trending term in the entrepreneurial world, I immediately thought of Dr. Seuss, Beatrix Potter, Eric Carle, etc. And any other writer, whether fiction or non-fiction.
Not what you’d expect a copywriter to say, is it?
The point is that people have been sharing stories since before humans could write. Storytelling was a necessity. It was how they connected - actually speaking face-to-face in person. Can you imagine? And before papyrus, things were carved into heavy clay tablets, so brevity was key and did not leave as much room for a good, engaging story.
Like many things, trending terms can represent a concept that has existed for a long time, either full-on or under the radar, that is suddenly a popular current topic with a new outfit on.
For me, it started years ago with the term, “creative non-fiction”, which was seen as the opposite of journalism and other direct and factual writing. I didn’t and still don’t understand why non-creative non-fiction needed to exist. Truth and facts, analytics and statistics, along with journalistic writing can still be written about in a creative and engaging way.
I know that any time I start to read a news article or blog post, listen to a podcast, or watch a video, if it isn’t engaging, specifically in the first few paragraphs, I am out. I have enough friends who will fill me in on what’s going on in the world. I need a little personality and a dose of energy when consuming content to commit to paying attention to a full piece.
And doesn’t everyone these days?
They now say you have a maximum of seven seconds to hold someone’s attention and persuade them to continue engaging, in all types of content. You would think it’s easier with video, but many people are uncomfortable with this medium, and some spend excess time on introductory warm-up in my opinion.
The question I have is, why can’t all non-fiction be entertaining? Now, with so much on TV, and social media video, we are more easily engaged with hearing people’s voices and seeing how people look and interact. This puts the pressure on writing compelling copy to compete - it’s easier to multitask when listening, so they say.
What does that have to do with you and me and storytelling? Everything.
Storytelling, just like non-fiction, can be about facts, contain details, and provide contact information. The crucial bonus material is your perspective, opinion, and experience, the key things to making your content engaging and relatable to your readers and ideal prospects. You share a personal story about a struggle you had, and what led you to your business. Or a story from helping a client. Or how you figured out how to best serve your clients because you learned something from watching your aunt or neighbor raise eight kids and still run for political office. Or something like that.
When we take a particular personal experience and share it in a way that ties in with your client’s struggle, they see it from another view, it makes more sense to them, and very important - they do not feel alone in the game.
I’d be honored to chat with you about how to lean in on your unique experiences to reach out to more compatible clients through your content. I hope you’ll schedule time for that.