Stories demand attention.
When someone begins telling a story (sharing a memory, experience, or observation), we stop to listen. We’ll keep listening, reading, or watching to see what happens next.
That’s because stories pull us in. Our brains love them.
You already know they’re important to include if you want to connect with your audience. Whether you’re penning an email, blog, speech, course, presentation, podcast episode, or book, you need stories to engage your audience.
Story = Engagement
But what exactly constitutes a story?
The reality is we all know what stories are, but rarely know how to define them. And that’s because they’re ubiquitous. They surround us every minute of our day. They are embedded in human communication.
Definitions strip them down to parts, but never truly capture what they are. And that’s because there are too many versions of stories—anecdotes, observations, memories, history, experiences, fiction, gossip, lies, full-blown novels or screenplays.
Any time we capture the human experience, whether real or fictional, we fall into story.
It’s just that easy.
Defining it—not so much.
But You Don’t Need a Definition
You don’t need a definition to write a story. That’s the beauty of writing. We already know how to tell stories. It’s been a lifelong practice for us.
We do it after we’ve had a terrible first date or a hard day at work or a transformational experience. Heck, we even have them from mundane activities. My father could spin a fantastic tale from a trip to the dump!
How to Write Stories
You need to get out of your head and just do it.
Pay attention to life. Observe people. Take note of your reactions to events, information, history.
Stories come from how we look at life—and how open we are to capturing the feelings of those deeper moments.
Then relate the heart of the experience—the core feelings and events.
Center the story around a throughline, that core point that drives the story forward.
How to Tell Business Stories
In business writing, telling stories is the ability to tap into those universal experiences and capture them in a way that lets others see their own reactions in the stories.
It’s being able to show that we get our audience and what they are feeling and can reflect that back in a quick story from our past, our clients’ experiences, or from a parallel experience that illustrates a similar message.
You can do this by sharing stories that speak to what you are you trying to promote or share.
For example, if you are trying to promote a summit to help people ease their stress, you could tell a story about finding peace and how that changed your business. Or you could go the opposite direction and share a story about a time you were so frazzled you could barely function and how you found release—and how that release transformed everything.
These types of stories relate to the throughline (or core message) of the summit (either directly or in contrast) and attracts people in who can relate. Those who don’t identify with the story will self-select out.
Stories Are Not an Option
If you want to connect to your audience, you need stories. All kinds of stories, in all forms.
The best way to include stories is to collect stories. Look at your past and to your clients’ stories and capture them in writing. Use a story bank system to capture them for future use.
The more you collect stories, the better you will become at writing and telling them.
Just remember to be yourself and tell the stories in your voice.
But tell stories. If you want to connect.
Struggling to tell stories? I can help. Check out my Everything Page for resources ranging from free to $$$. I have an upcoming course on throughlines, the Neuroscience of Story, Writing Effective Emails, structure (From Weak to Wow), and Story Foundations. These are available now or coming this summer/early fall. Jump on the wait lists to be the first to know when they are available. There’s no obligation, but you will get bonuses or discounts if you sign up from the wait list.
Want personal help? Hop on a coaching call or Voxer hour with me. I can help you sort out your stories, no matter what form they take. The forms may change, story never does.