You can have an amazing business model, innovative products or services, and the potential to have a huge impact on the world. But, if you can’t convey why people should care, then you’re going to fail.
But, before you post anything, make sure you do some planning first. Here are five questions that will help you plan.
1) What are you trying to accomplish?
Like the film Memento, we’re going to start at the end. What results do you want to generate by telling this story? Sell a product? Entertain an audience? Inspire people to support a cause? Educate a call? There are endless reasons for telling a story. So, make sure you know what you’re aiming at before you begin.
2) What is your audience going to experience?
This question includes a bunch of smaller questions that all add up to planning your audience’s experience with your story. Who is your target audience? When and how are they going to consume your story? How long is your story going to be? How much will it cost to access your story?
3) What format are you going to use?
While we’re partial to animation as a storytelling tool, that’s not the only option out there. Between video, VR, books, speech, interpretive dance, TV, and even cloud writing, there are a ton of different ways to convey your story to your audience. (I’m partial to animation. Shocker, I know.) Of course, your answers to questions 2 are going to dictate which formats will work best for you. So, choose wisely.
4) How do you want people to feel?
“At the end of the day people won’t remember what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.” ― Maya Angelou
It’s so true. As much as we like to think of ourselves as thinking beings who feel, humans are very much feeling beings who occasionally think. So, if your story is going to have any impact at all, it needs to have a strong emotional element to it. Even if you’re telling a story about which gravel your company should invest in for its new construction project, add some emotion to your story. It’ll make all the difference.
5) What do you want people to do after the story is done?
Your target audience just finished your story, and loved it. Now what? You need a compelling call to action! What works best for you will depend on what you want to accomplish with your story. So, once people have enjoyed your story and are feeling the high of the emotional journey you took them on, tell them what they can do next. Don’t miss the chance to inspire action by not having a strong call to action at the end of your story.
So, that’s it. Five questions you should answer before creating your story. Hopefully they help you become a better storyteller. If you want a professional opinion on the messaging your company currently uses, and get some tips for how to improve, then click this link and order a Story Assessment today. If we can’t give you three concrete ways to improve your story or message, then you get a full refund, guaranteed!
