A Great Story Has Legs

Storytelling is one of the oldest forms of effective communications … and one of the most timely. My colleague Anne Bell at PBS NewsHour says it best: “A great story has legs that in today’s world can travel many miles per hour.”

The discipline of storytelling can energize (or re-energize) any business or organization. It becomes woven into the fabric, stimulates excitement and understanding of vision … builds consensus of purpose … and triggers sharing, far and wide. In today’s online world, the influence and payoff of good corporate storytelling can be staggeringly powerful.

One legendary example is Steve Jobs of Apple … regarded as one of today’s best corporate storytellers, and a master at capturing the media’s attention.

As I wrote in my free ebook – Media Savvy in the Internet Era – Jobs communicates clearly and masterfully on an individual basis with reporters, whether a roomful or individually. Jobs’ persuasiveness stems from his personal certainty in his beliefs. When he speaks of an Apple product, for example, you begin to believe that it is the greatest device ever created because Steve Jobs believes it is so. His transparency may seem like a crippling liability, but it is actually a strength.

When Jobs speaks, he doesn’t talk about his company. He shares his passion over how a
MacBook will help unleash your personal creativity or how an iPhone will put your office in the palm of your hand, and help to bring the world closer together. And, all that makes news. What Jobs says is meaningful, and is repeated by his broad audiences, over and over.

Consider the power of storytelling in your own organization … it gets everyone on the same page, pointed in the same direction, energized with a story to share … with someone else:

• Shareholder/financial communications
• Internal communications
• Web sites, blogs, social media
• Media relations and external relations
• Government and regulator relations
• New business development

The list could go on but you get the point – with storytelling, you are building enthusiasm at all levels within an organization and outwardly to everyone touched by your organization. It is because people like to share good news.

One big benefit that will deliver immediate value and distinction to any business organization is that storytelling helps an organization to get out of the old, inward-looking and bad habit of talking “about” itself.  Here is the truth, even though it’s a bitter pill to accept – no one cares about you. The people who are interested in your organization don’t care about your organization or business (despite all the boring boilerplate on your press releases); they only want to know how your organization or company will benefit them … how your products or services will enrich their lives or make life easier … for them.

Remember … people like to share good news, so give them a story that they will get excited about … and share. Increased media coverage, enhanced word-of-mouth, greater awareness … it all builds exponentially from a great story that is carried by many legs.

Techniques for organizational storytelling, and many more elements of contemporary communications leadership are detailed in my new book, “The Media Savvy Leader: Visibility, Influence, and Results in a Competitive World.”

Category: Featured, Storytelling, Strategic Communications