Once Upon A Time – A Practical Tip For All Businesses

Once Upon A Time and Business

Touching Hearts – Reaching Minds through Authentic StoryTelling

I remember a “Once Upon A Time”, told by my dad to his then still growing tribe of six kids. (It grew to 10 !) The story was about a mean troll who lived under a bridge.  For those of you unfamiliar with Trolls, according to Wikipedia, A troll is a supernatural being in Norse mythology and Scandinavian folklore.   My dad told his troll story as we drove home in our green 56 Green Chevy Station wagon, from a family experience – to get some ice cream.   My dad was a great storyteller maybe by necessity to keep is energetic boys from driving him crazy.   I would guess after all these years that we were all juiced up from an ice cream high.  I can still remember this particular tale, decades later, being captivated and engaged by the suspense, plot twist and ultimately the climax a triumph of good over evil. (Yes, The Troll was slain!)

So what does story have to do with business? The sharing of the Troll story is to make one important point about the very nature of storytelling.

Great Stories are memorable.

I remembered the story after decades. And even though I have a hard time remembering at times what day it is, I can vividly recall the details of the family trip to get ice cream because of that story.

In today’s new economy, commoditized by the Internet and technology, one-way telling – Features & Benefits Marketing no longer works. Just ask yourself:

When’s the last time you were captivated or influenced by a TV. Ad or for that matter, any kind of marketing message.

When is the last time you even believed that message – remembered it – shared it with a friend.

When’s the last time a Power-Point presentation or website experience had an emotional impact on you, inspired you to some kind of action, or even changed you?

Let’s be frank probably quite rare.

THE BOTTOM LINE HERE IS: To compete in the ever changing business world, to attract, engage, and connect with customers overloaded with information, demands new thinking, management strategy, and skills.

Enter StoryTelling.    Yes Good StoryTelling is a SKILL and an ART.   More and More businesses are realizing its importance in marketing strategy.

The distinctions or hallmarks of good stories are being memorable and personal.  There’s no better tool to stir people (your customers and equally important your employees) emotionally,  than sharing a good story with them.   Much too often the sole focus of business today is high tech. With everyone focused on technology, a tremendous opportunity for distinction is being missed, by not adding high touch, the emotional connection, to business strategy.

Let me conclude with a question.  How far back can you go to remember an engaging story that was told to you ?  Feel free to share it.

Best & Rock Your Customers…..WITH GREAT STORIES !

Bill G