There is an axiom in writing: The more specific a story is, the more people see themselves in it. The more specific your story, the more universal your theme.
People don’t relate to theme alone. They need a human connection to identify with to feel the theme at work.
That’s why saying:
“Our company helps people succeed at x, y, or z” won’t work. It’s too vague—too broad.
You would do better to write: “Last year, we helped a struggling mom in Florida launch an online coaching business that started with $0 in revenue and in six months was hitting five figures.” This has specifics that speak to the reader.
Why Vague Stories Fail
Broad, generic messages don’t resonate. They come off as marketing and sales-y. That’s why when you talk about people (even your ideal client profile) you are watering down your message and impact.
People don’t emotionally connect with abstract claims, like “We inspire creativity.” That means nothing. But tie it to an actual person and you have someone your audience can relate to and see themselves in—an inspirational figure to follow.
This is the difference between “I help people find their potential” vs. “I helped a burned out marketing executive find her passion in delivering 1:1 marketing solutions on her schedule.”
The specifics give a face to your ideal client profile. It helps people see themselves in your marketing and their need for the same type of help.
The Science Behind Specificity
Our brains are wired to respond to sensory details and concrete imagery. That’s because it’s immersive and allows us to experience the details through a process called neural coupling. It’s why retain details that engage our senses, but not general descriptions.
It’s the difference between:
“She was nervous”
vs.
“Her hands shook as she wiped them on her pants and faced the podium”
We feel the nerves in the second sentence. The sweaty hands, the trembling fear of public speaking. It brings up sensory memories for us. The first sentence provides nothing like that. It’s pure summary. No emotion. No empathy. No connection.
Marketing research shows consumers trust specific claims more than vague ones and it’s because in bland messaging there’s no emotion involved.
The vast majority of our decisions (95%) are made by our emotional subconscious and then validated with our rational brain with facts. Skip the emotion and you will likely skip the sale.
Instead, add an opportunity to tap into your audience’s empathy center with specificity.
NOT: “Our program boosts sales.”
BUT: “Our program streamlined the messy back end of a marketing membership that helped decrease attrition by 78% and increase sales 35% in three months.”
How Specificity Builds Trust and Credibility
Customers are skeptical of broad promises, but trust specific details. If you tell them you helped someone who sounds like them, they are far more likely to connect to your business and marketing.
Case studies and testimonials are more compelling when they include hard facts (numbers, percentages) and names, stories and specific transformations.
For example: “Josie, a small business owner from Idaho, used our marketing strategy to double her sales in 60 days.”
In this example, your audience learns Josie’s name, her location, what she used and her specific results (doubled sales in 60 days). There’s context for the results.
The more specific details you can add to your client stories (challenges, location, solutions, results, numbers), the stronger connection you can form with your audience.
How to Use Specificity in Storytelling
I intentionally did not include the word Business in the subhead for this section and that’s because this technique works for all storytelling—fiction, nonfiction, business. It works because it taps into the neuroscience of story.
In business, focus on real people, actual numbers, and tangible details in a Problem-Solution-Result framework.
Problem: What was the challenge? (e.g., “A new coach was drowning in managing the back end of her business”)
Solution: What did you do? (e.g., “We set her up with automations to ease the administrative load.”)
Result: What happened? (e.g., “She freed up 10 hours per week by dumping manual tasks and was able to redirect that toward her client work.”)
Lean into the sensory details. She wasn’t “happy” with the results. She “sent us virtual hugs and signed up to be an affiliate for our program so others wouldn’t have to struggle like she had.”
Sometimes an image is all you need to show results—a happy face, a screenshot of revenue going up, a before and after look at the results. let the details speak for you.
This Works in Fiction Too
As I said above, this works for all storytelling. Here are a few examples from pop culture:
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
This movie works because it tells a highly specific story about Mile Morales, a half-black, half-Puerto Rican teenager in Brooklyn, struggling with identity, family expectations, and new powers.
We feel his struggles with feeling like an outside and finding his own path. They are universal struggles that we can identify with, even without spidey powers.
One Piece (Anime, 1999-Present)
This anime works because it’s not just a pirate adventure. It’s a crew filled with complex characters with deeply personal backstories that bring them to life.
Their dreams and struggles (Zoro’s promise to his fallen friend, Nami’s search for freedom following captivity, Robin being the last survivor of her people) are rich and detailed, which makes them universal and emotional to everyone, even if you aren’t a pirate.
Oh, But When It Fails…
There are too many examples of when stories fail to deliver the details and emotion. Here are two:
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
This sci-fi epic looks good, but there’s no character development beyond being “cool” and in space. There’s no story and horrible writing. Don’t even get me started on the dialogue. The entire film fails to deliver emotion, which is why the audience doesn’t care.
The Book of Boba Fett (2021-2022)
Boba Fett is an iconic character with a great backstory from the original Star Wars trilogy, but in this iteration, they keep it superficial. His motivations and personality don’t match his past mystique. It was a letdown from what came before, and that’s a shame. The show was a wasted opportunity.
Don’t waste opportunities in your stories.
Conclusion: Be Specific
Adding specificity in context, location, character (client), and motivation or results makes stories feel real, even if they are set in fantasy locations.
In business, you will have an easier time relating to your audience if you give them real people and details to connect with instead of big ideas and abstract concepts.
Again, people invest in things they care about. Make sure they care about you and your business offerings by sharing stories they can connect with emotionally and personally. Include details. Provide context. Create universal themes through sensory descriptions of a single event.
When stories use concrete details — specific struggles, real places, and vivid emotion — they become more relatable because audiences can connect to the human experience, not just the broad theme.