Tag Archives: storytelling

The secret of being a great storyteller…

copywriting, million dollar message, story, storytelling,
To be a great storyteller, you must first become a great story collector
To be a great storyteller, you must first become a great story collector (Photo by Heather Ford on Unsplash)

…is you must first become a great story collector.

Put another way, every story has parts of other stories in it.

Now nothing we say or write is ever really original from a storyline perspective. But the way we put something together is very likely to be unique, and we can and should link into our innate love of story. 

And it is the acquiring, understanding, remembering, interpreting and reconfiguring of these other stories which provides a richness to our own stories

We can leverage off what someone else has said, and provide a different light on the subject from your own point of view.

For business stories in particular, the collection of other stories allows us to carry out one or/and two exercises.

  • And
  • But

“Here we have a XYZ service or product. We’re similar, AND…” And needs to be why you’re better, faster, better value. And needs to demonstrate you’re differentiated in some way from the comparison you’re making.

“Here we have an EFG product or service. We share some parallels, BUT…” But, we figured out a different approach, have a fundamental difference, have improved in some crucial areas.

The use of these two simple words can provide a basis to motivate, inspire, and excite (and perhaps even help lead to a purchase decision) for whatever it is you have to offer.

Now it could be that you’re such an inventive person or company that no end of original stories pouring off your narrative production line.

However, this is a highly unlikely state of being.

That is why you need to find other stories – and be able to apply your own twist on a theme by examining them through an ‘and’ or ‘but’ lens.

Two simple words providing endless ways to examine a topic.

To be a great storyteller you must first become a great story collector (origin unknown).

Simple stories are simply better business

messages that matter, Metaphor, one central truth, , ,
Simple works because we can only remember one thing at a time. Simple stories are better stories
Simple is better, less is more. Photo by Z S on Unsplash

The great temptation is to add more to our business narrative.

We’re afraid that if we don’t mention every last little additional detail, we’ll fail to attract the last little potential customer.

That’s like adding bling to an elegant suit – detracting and self-defeating

Simple is better because extra is superfluous.

This is because a straight-forward uncomplicated but elegant story makes it much more likely others, including your own people, will understand, remember and retell the core component of your product or service offer.

So, if you’re tempted to add…resist.

Instead look to subtract from your story and remove the unnecessary fat.

Less is more, because more is less.

Keep your story lean and keep your story fit for purpose.

(And if you’d like help in simplifying, and hence clarifying, your message, give Punchline a call)

Why you can only tell one story (initially)

Marketing, messages that matter, one central truth, Persuasive message, punchline, slogan, Tagline, value proposition,
You only have the opportunity to tell one story to someone about your business. Make sure it is a great yarn.
You only have the opportunity to tell one story to someone about your business. Make sure it is a great yarn. Photo by Mike Erskine on Unsplash

As an individual, we are all many stories. From our sex to upbringing, religious and political affiliations, likes, food preferences…you name it, depending on your start point we can tell different yarns.

Our businesses too are many stories. You could focus on many different aspects of what and how you provide a product or service.

For a business though, you can only tell one (initial) story.

Which one?

The story which emphasises what is in it for a customer.

The story that provides a what and a why, and which reveals your heart and soul.

The story that also does all the heavy lifting for the rest of your organisation’s storytelling (web copy, social media, blogs, sales and marketing collateral).

These crucial 2 – 10 words which announce your offer can’t require the reader, listener or viewer to have to guess what it is you’re flogging.

All a customer cares about (as such) is what is possible in your offer for them.

If you use something too abstract, then you have to explain.

Explaining Is losing.

But if someone can immediately see and grasp what the value proposition is, then you run the risk of them:

  • Asking you to tell them more
  • Reading more deeply about your offer
  • Jumping onto the video you’ve also made

It means your one story must intrigue while it explains.

It means your one story must answer back of the mind questions, and keep the possibility of deeper exploration open.

It means your one story must the most important few words your business will ever need to get right.

Unearthing and polishing these words is no walk in the park.

For a start you’ve got to understand and reveal the One Central Truth of what your business is about – your purpose.

You might be able to figure out and define a customer-facing proposition all by yourself.

But it is unlikely you’ll succeed. We usually need help from someone who understands business as well as the power of language, to sort the wood from the trees.

Why the most powerful element in storytelling is the truth

Marketing, Metaphor, million dollar message, one central truth, slogan, Tagline, value proposition, ,
Truth resonates in a business story as in a personal story. Lies will be caught out
Truth resonates in a business story as in a personal story. Lies will be caught out.
Photo by Joël de Vriend on Unsplash

Fiction is wonderful.

Not only does it allow us to imagine we’re in a different world, era and situation, it enables us to safely become aware of different ways of thinking.

When we’re reading or watching fiction, we know it is a made up story – even if it might be based on something real that happened.

It is when the lines between truth and fiction are blurred that trouble ensues.

Making up a story about your business brings the same problem.

Not knows what to believe. Trust is eroded.

Now the headline for this article is a tweak on 1960s advertising gury Bill Bernbach’s dictum ‘the most powerful element in advertising is the truth’.

And given the sophistication of advertising and the influence of the internet, it now means your advertisement is your story and your story is your advertisement.

If your story doesn’t ring true – and people are remarkably clever at sensing any lack of veracity – then you’re shooting yourself in the foot.

A well-told truthful story trumps advertising spin any day.

The truth resonates, a non-truth dies.

Do your copywriter a favour, only give them one idea to illustrate

Marketing, messages that matter, million dollar message, Persuasive message, punchline, , , , , ,

A copywriter should only explain one idea for each story
If your copywriter has an ambiguous brief, they won’t be able to write your story properly. Only have one idea per message Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

The worst possible brief for the lucky person who has the task of putting your messages down in words, is ambiguity.

Trying to nail the first story, or 1001st, but not being clear what the one key idea is you’re trying to say is dead-on-arrival stuff for a writer.By being clear what it is you’re wanting to achieve through a message such as:

  • Web copy
  • Blog
  • Social media

You have a much greater chance of someone being able to write something memorable.

Your copywriter(s) should be able to illustrate your single point with examples, mini case studies, a quote or two from satisfied customers, or simply a good yarn.

But this is only possible with a clear brief which attempts to achieve one, and only one objective. For that your copywriter will give you a big thanks.

Now, it may indeed be that you have multiple points to make. If you’re writing a white paper which is expected to be lengthy, that’s fine.

But for shorter form stories, make each of these points a separate story.

Not only will you be doing your copywriter a favour…you’ll be doing yourself one.

Do your copywriter a favour, only give them one idea to illustrate

Marketing, messages that matter, million dollar message, Persuasive message, punchline, , , , , ,

A copywriter should only explain one idea for each story
If your copywriter has an ambiguous brief, they won’t be able to write your story properly. Only have one idea per message Photo by Sharon McCutcheon on Unsplash

The worst possible brief for the lucky person who has the task of putting your messages down in words, is ambiguity.

Trying to nail the first story, or 1001st, but not being clear what the one key idea is you’re trying to say is dead-on-arrival stuff for a writer.By being clear what it is you’re wanting to achieve through a message such as:

  • Web copy
  • Blog
  • Social media

You have a much greater chance of someone being able to write something memorable.

Your copywriter(s) should be able to illustrate your single point with examples, mini case studies, a quote or two from satisfied customers, or simply a good yarn.

But this is only possible with a clear brief which attempts to achieve one, and only one objective. For that your copywriter will give you a big thanks.

Now, it may indeed be that you have multiple points to make. If you’re writing a white paper which is expected to be lengthy, that’s fine.

But for shorter form stories, make each of these points a separate story.

Not only will you be doing your copywriter a favour…you’ll be doing yourself one.

Tech self belief and telling our stories

Marketing, million dollar message, slogan, Tagline, , ,

Self belief by the NZ tech sector is helping grow it rapidly. It also needs to start telling its stories better

Just look what a growing sense of tech self belief is achieving…the 14th TIN report has just been released – and what wonderful reading it is for New Zealand.

Here are the combined ICT, High tech manufacturing and biotech industries cracking over $11 billion dollars in revenue, growing at more than 11% over last year, adding 4.7% employees to over 47,000 – in short, rip snorting ahead to be the third most valuable contributor to the NZ economy.

Dairy and tourism in front are in front of tech…but they have nothing like the scalability of these smarter sectors which have the potential to overtake these ‘olde worlde’ industries in the not too distant future.

Just as importantly, these tech roles are high paying jobs, screaming for talented people.

As TIN founder and managing director Greg Shanahan said at the Wellington launch, there’s many companies (not just a few standouts like Datacom and Xero) contributing to the sector’s growth, and everyone is reinforcing everyone else’s success.

Quoting the late Sir Paul Callaghan, “imagine what will happen when New Zealand understands this is something we’re really good at,” he says.

To that end, Shanahan conjectured that our tech industry must become more passionate about its storytelling.

Part of this is about selling a future which can’t be guaranteed, selling confidence, persuading investment backers that tech businesses are going to make growth and potential happen.

New Zealand’s in a Goldilocks zone Shanahan says. “Our businesses still talk to each other, and we have access to global markets.”

We just have to add storytelling!