OpenForum just posted another excerpt from Aaker and Smith’s The Dragonfly Effect.
They highlight, and rightly so, that while business storytelling often has a different purpose than a story told at a dinner party (or a story in Hollywood movie, or in a children’s book, or in a ballet, or…) the same storytelling principles apply in a business context.
The key is, really, that if you can crack the code and understand how these principles work, you’ll have a very effective marketing tool.
The seven sins (I slightly omitted OpenForum’s version):
- Telling a story chronologically: There needs to be more of a tension in a good story, rather than “first this happened, then this, then this, then this…”.
- Only telling: Show your audience and make the story come alive to your audience.
- Jargon: Refrain from using words only you understand.
- Pulse-free stories: Personalize the story, and tell stories about people.
- Fabrication: Don’t make something up; you’ll lose credibility.
- Bulletproof: Include conflict and vulnerability in your story, and you’ll gain authenticity.
- Proprietary: Don’t put ownership on corporate stories. Let them live and get shared.
I especially appreciate Aaker and Smith’s encouragement to follow the example of Apple, Nike, and Ebay and create corporate story banks, where stories that support the organization’s work can be stored and shared.
While Apple, Nike and Ebay may be frontrunners in the field, I personally just spent the better part of a year gathering and sharing personal stories for a social enterprise that works in Cambodia and Laos. Some of these stories can be seen on the DDD blog, for example here and here.
Big, commercial corporations can of course have good stories to tell, but in my experience the potential for good stories rise significantly when dealing with an impact generating organization. Sharing the personal stories of beneficiaries is a great way to connect to donors, funders and partners, and they leave a long-lasting impression.