Crafting authentic connections through stories
Thanks to Storm Nelson and the damage to my garden office, I found myself Polyfilling, sanding and repainting walls all weekend. Amid my glamorous life, I found some light relief on Sunday listening to the full live radio coverage of the 44th London Marathon.
With over 53,000 participants it’s the world’s largest Marathon and the single largest fundraising event in the world. Yet, what sets this event apart isn’t the location, or the 44 new world records made, but the diversity of stories behind every single participant’s journey to the starting line.
From the elite to the fun runners, to the wheelchair athletes and everyone in between, everyone has a reason as to why they have come together to run 26.2 miles through London. There were feats of human endurance with fastest runs from people wearing inflatable costumes through to those running following debilitating illnesses. And there were shows of incredible human endurance.
Peres Jepchirchir broke the women-only world record. Her story begins in West Kenya, a family of tea farmers and one of 24 children who ran 3-5km to and from school each day. She’s now 30 and has never finished outside of the top 3 and is the only athlete to have also won the Olympic, TCS New York City, and Boston Marathons.
Image credit: Runner’s World
David Weir, the indomitable Paralympic wheelchair athlete and eight-time London Marathon winner clinched third place in his 25th consecutive London Marathon. Extreme marathon runner Hard Geezer (Russ Cook) breezed through 26.2 miles, after returning from Africa where he completed a colossal 352-day, 9940-mile run from the bottom to the top of Africa - the equivalent of 388 marathons.
All these stories tap right into our emotions, helping to make the London Marathon the amazing event it is today. I may have been having a dull time watching paint dry, but I was happily engrossed; vicariously running the Marathon with each and every story I heard told throughout the day.
So what’s my point? Well, other than 26.2 is a crazy long way for anyone to run, it’s the power of storytelling. Stories really do make the world go around. And for a very good reason.
Stories inspire, they bring ideas and concepts to life, they help shape ideas and make them real. More critically, perhaps, they have the power to make strong and visceral emotion connections like nothing else can.
And this can deliver powerful outcomes for businesses. People are 22 times more likely to remember details when stories communicate messages rather than just facts and numbers (Jerome Bruner). Further, by using both data and story together, you can solidify abstract concepts and simplify complex messages more effectively, thereby moving your audience both intellectually and emotionally (Professor Jennifer Aaker).
Yet, so many businesses overlook story telling when it comes to engaging, motivating and persuading their audiences. Many businesses still revert to drowning in their own jargon, PPT slides and inhouse rhetoric, even though this approach is more likely to instil cynicism, switch audiences off rather than instil wonder.
Perhaps we take storytelling for granted. It is as old as time after all. The truth, however, is more likely that we find storytelling hard. It’s an art that requires time, thought, creativity and skill. It also needs highly effective delivery.
Storytelling also requires a compelling brand story. The synthesis of your company’s history, mission, purpose, and values all serve as your north star when it comes to crafting the stories that will help you connect with your audience emotionally to build that increasingly elusive duo: brand loyalty and long-term customer value.
If you want to stand out from your competition, how are you using stories to inspire, motivate and connect with your audience?
Need help in crafting your brand story? Get in touch!
Sources
Harnessing the power of stories - Stanford
The New Science of Customer Emotions - HBR
