We’ve been telling stories since before we could talk. We may have cried or grunted or gestured wildly, but even as babies, we told stories in our own unique way.
Many grownups have lost their childhood penchants for singing, for drawing, for sharing stories. I have good news: We can recapture the skills and elements needed to tell great tales to our peers.
As you start and hone your corporate storytelling, what do you need?
1. Protagonist: It might be your company, your CEO or your customer.
2. Conflict: What is your protagonist trying to achieve? Does she want to slay the dragon of inefficiency? Or survive the plague of budget slashing?
3. Suspense: No good mystery starts with “The detective already knew Mr. Jones was the murderer.” Make sure your readers hang on your every word.
4. Surprise: Most corporate stories are dreadfully dull. We already know how they end: Buy our product! Endure our mediocre customer service! Surprise your readers with humor, twists and exceptional quality.
5. Details: “Some kids got lost somewhere and were almost killed.” Or …
“HARD BY a great forest dwelt a poor wood-cutter with his wife and his two children. The boy was called Hansel and the girl Gretel. He had little to bite and to break, and once when great dearth fell on the land, he could no longer procure even daily bread. Now when he thought over this by night in his bed, and tossed about in his anxiety, he groaned and said to his wife: ‘What is to become of us? How are we to feed our poor children, when we no longer have anything even for ourselves?'”
What other elements are needed for great corporate storytelling? Share your thoughts in the comments.
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