Do you want business communications that make you stand out from your competition and be more memorable to your customers?
People have been telling stories for thousands of years. Our brains are hard wired to like them. More importantly, we share them. You can apply basic storytelling structure to your business communications to clearly and concisely explain who you are, what you do and the value you bring.
Think of the last movie you watched. Chances are, it followed this basic pattern:
- An incident occurred that made the main character want something.
- He or she went on a journey to get it.
- Along the way, good and bad things happened.
- It built to a moment of ultimate tension or conflict.
- There are a few more things that happen before there is some sort of resolution or conclusion.
Incorporate this same structure to shape your communications for your small business.
Tell a Story to Open Your Next Presentation
Start out your next talk with a story that introduces the audience the topic. If you’re presenting about a particular challenge, can you kick off with a story of how someone overcame that same challenge? Or, if you’re educating a group on a new subject, can you talk about how you first became passionate about it? Beginning with a story can help you make a connection with your audience that will keep them listening as you dive into your messages.
Inspire Your Employees through Personal Experiences
If you need your employees to rally around a goal, inspire them through a story. If you are looking for everyone to contribute to an aggressive sales number for the year, start by telling a personal story about how you faced a big challenge in the past and worked hard to achieve it. Or, better yet, tell them about a time when you failed at doing something and the lesson you learned from it that can be applied to the current situation.
Craft a Killer Business Description
Most companies put together a string of facts as their business description. The language tends to be dry and forgettable. Instead, try sharing a story about how you started your business, how you help customers or a story about your expertise.
By the way, if you want to learn more about how to do this last one, I just published a class on Skillshare called Storytelling for Small Business: Create a Killer Business Description that Sticks with People. If you’re not familiar, Skillshare is an online learning platform with thousands of great classes available on business, design, photography and more. If you like what you see, consider signing up for a premium membership. If you use my referral link, your first two months are free.
Please know if you use my referral link to sign up for a Skillshare membership, I receive a small fee at no extra cost to you. I’ve been a member of Skillshare for several years and highly recommend it whether you use my referral link or not!
Photo courtesy of Josh Calabrese on Unsplash.
