The power of a story,
Every day, I encounter an individual with an undocumented story. While untold stories may seem trivial, the withheld information limits individuals and businesses from reaching their fullest potential. Unshared tales are invisible barriers between a zillion connections.
Are you familiar with these words?
- Vision
- Mission
- Value
A brand is a compilation of building blocks. These different elements together reveal a character with audience intentions.
Declarative statements such as one's vision, mission, and value are informative. However, the limited details often lend to projecting a flat character or company overview. Another concern with relying on these statements is the probability of one's vision, mission, and value sounding similar to competitors or friends in the field.
People are interested in those who come across unique more than those people or companies cut from the same cookie sheet. But, on the contrary, individuals also choose what is familiar.
So, how do you balance both desires?
You can achieve this by writing out your story to help your audience connect on common ground with you that feels unique to them compared to other options.
Storytelling is vital for success.
No person or company's story is identical to the next. By leveraging your differences, you can attract loyal people or customers through your commonalities or their appreciation for what sets you apart.
In my life, I support my alma mater more than any other college. I follow more people on Instagram from the gym I exercise in than any other. And when someone from the high school or restaurant I work at needs a favor, I turn my attention.
Why do I choose them?
I know the why within the communities I belong. Their stories create differences from others, enhancing my loyalty to them versus other colleges, gyms, and random places I do not work.
Storytelling is an opportunity to show your audience you are a complex character worthy of attention. The way your story is delivered dictates the response of your audience.
In a digital era, humans still want to be humans.
Writing is a tool to remind people who they are and why they care. Emotions, sometimes unknown, emerge through text.
However, not all people have the tools to convey their voices to others adequately. There are cases when outstanding innovators need help communicating due to their lack of ability or time. Many influential stories capture people's accomplishments who could not read or write their legacy themselves. Also, there are instances when an outsider's perspective is necessary to share information from a detached perspective best.
My job is to write stories that connect one's vision, mission, and value to a target audience in an entertaining way while inspiring people to act.
Powerful stories do not end; they ignite more stories.