Transcript
[00:00:05.280] - Imogen
Hello and welcome to Dear Comms, the coffee break podcast where we tackle your biggest corporate comms challenges. I'm Imogen…
[00:00:11.590] - Amanda
and I'm Amanda. We're here to give you practical, no-nonsense advice so you can focus on the things that will really drive influence, engagement, and impact.
[00:00:24.580] - Imogen
So this is our last episode in the series on storytelling, and we thought we'd do a little bit of a, a dear com's version of Spotify Wrapped. So all the best bits, one simple episode.
[00:00:38.420] - Amanda
I like it. Let's be honest, with storytelling, most people open a Word document up, start typing. Do you know what? Resist the urge, close the tab. Let's start storytelling, not hitting the keyboard, but starting with your audience. Who are they? What are they wrestling with? What do they value, fear, want, or need to achieve? If you skip this bit, you're not writing a story, you're just broadcasting into the void. And I think a few minutes of real audience insight upfront can save hours of second-guessing later. It'll also help you rewriting that fifth draft, which is inevitable if you just fly into it.
[00:01:20.700] - Imogen
[Speaker:KATIE] Yeah, I think, you know, there's that old saying, which I can't actually remember, but something about the facts of, you know, if you're talking to everyone, you're actually talking to nobody. And I think understanding more about your audience and getting that data is actually gonna help your leaders as well. We know that leaders are reticent about storytelling, but if you can give them audience insights, then storytelling's going to feel a lot more data-driven and so grounded in reality, which we know leaders like, and it's not gonna seem like that kind of fluffy comms beanbag kind of stuff.
[00:01:58.790] - Amanda
Where did the beanbag come in?
[00:02:00.900] - Imogen
Well, you know, it's like, it's like marketing is all about beanbags and pool tables and creativity, funny hats and things. Fluffy, fluffy stuff. So once we know that audience, we then need to think about what are we trying to do. And I don't want us to be teaching people to suck eggs because this is really the fundamental of all communications, like who you're talking to, what do you want them to do. Um, but with storytelling, it's super important. So are you looking to inspire them, clarify something, calm down, uh, the masses, correct information, motivate them? What you want to do with your story is going to make an impact on how you tell that story and the narrative pattern that you end up choosing. Yeah, because if you, if you don't know where you want to go, how are you gonna figure out what's going to help your audience get there.
[00:02:58.900] - Amanda
I agree, this is the part where you absolutely need to be crystal clear. Storytelling should be purposeful, and if your story doesn't connect to an objective, it's puff and fluff, as you've said before. Your leaders do need to understand it's a tool for performance, it's not a nice-to-have. I would stress, keep your structure simple and easy to read. Don't overcomplicate things. You're only— you're not writing Lord of the Rings or War and Peace. In an earlier episode, we talked about a reliable format, and that's start with the situation, name the villain, introduce the vision or quest, bring in a magic weapon, and back it up with evidence, and then end with what's next. But I think For me, keep it grounded and keep it useful.
[00:03:53.440] - Imogen
Yeah, I think if your story needs a family tree at the beginning of it, then it's probably too long and too much. Simplicity means that people can understand quickly, which is fundamental, and then they can connect and engage with what you're trying to get across. It's really easy— if you've got a simple story, it's easier for your leaders to understand, connect, and engage as well.
[00:04:18.100] - Amanda
Yeah.
[00:04:19.870] - Imogen
The biggest one for me, and the thing that possibly will be on my gravestone is, is you are not the hero of your own story. You, your company, your products, your strategy, not the hero. You are the guide. Your hero is your audience or someone that your audience can connect with. They're the one who's going on that journey. They're the one who has to win, who has to overcome. And the moment your audience stops seeing themselves in the story, then the story's over.
[00:04:53.450] - Amanda
Yeah, yeah. I think in my experience, I don't think I know, leaders respond really well to that. You know, it's very rare that they want to be a self-promoter. It's—
[00:05:05.870] - Imogen
Yeah, that depends. Depends on the leader, Amanda.
[00:05:09.460] - Amanda
I think in general, it's much more compelling or easier to be a mentor, the coach, the guide. The Obi-Wan Kenobi to their Luke. For me, the other thing that stands out is not forgetting your villain. And we're not talking about a competitor, but we're talking about tension in your story. So, the villain might be complexity, status quo, old systems, or fear of change even. Without that friction, there isn't really a reason to listen.
[00:05:45.260] - Imogen
I think leaders intrinsically actually understand this, that they are— in order to get their employee base to act or to do something different or to move in a certain direction, that they need to find that common ground, that common enemy. So, something that everyone cares about enough and everyone agrees needs to be overcome or defeated. So, figure out who that villain might be and make sure that it's a villain that actually everybody does care about, and it's not just a villain that your leadership cares about. Coming up after this is, we talk about evidence. We talk about it in our narrative arc. It's super important to have evidence to back up what you're saying, not only because there will probably be a healthy degree of cynicism in your audience. So, why should we believe you? But if you're not backing up your story with data, testimonials, pilots, human stories, you're just kind of telling people stuff and hoping that they're going to believe you.
[00:06:57.390] - Amanda
Yeah.
[00:06:58.750] - Imogen
Your leaders will love this idea of evidence because leaders, generally speaking, Um, love a bit of numbers and a bit of data.
[00:07:07.000] - Amanda
Yeah, and you've got to make those numbers, uh, meaningful. I think too often I read stories where I get to the end and I think, so what? And that's because there's no hook, uh, for the reader, no clear benefit. Generally, people don't care about your initiative, but they care about how it changes their reality, their impact on them. You know, will it save them time? Will it help them make better decisions? Will it remove that friction we talked about earlier from their day? Spell it out, make it tangible. That's how you stop people nodding politely and you get them to lean in a bit.
[00:07:46.580] - Imogen
Yeah, and I mean, this is something advertising industry's been doing for years, right? They're not selling you a car specifically, they're selling you how you will feel in that car, how people are going to look at you in that car. They're talking about a car that makes your life easier. Easier, faster, sexier, whatever it is. So we're trying to sell through stories too. It might be a strategy, but we have to link back to that, that what's in it for me. Otherwise you are going to get that polite, polite nodding. Yeah, you can't bore people into caring about your communication, although lots, many people do try. We need to use the right story for the right job. So we're going to go back to my mate Denning. I think I should get commission from this guy, seriously. But so we're going to go back to Denning. And in one of our previous episodes, we looked at story patterns and linking them to what we want to achieve. We need to help our leadership see that storytelling is part of a strategic toolkit. It's not just, as we were saying, fluff and nonsense, and we want to spread our creative wings.
[00:09:00.580]
It is about a tool that you use in order to progress your strategy. And if they can see how it fits into those bigger business objectives, they may be more inclined to take storytelling on.
[00:09:14.460] - Amanda
Yeah, I agree. And when they push back, and some will, bring in the science, because science is, it disarms skepticism every time. You know, storytelling lights up the brain in ways data never will. You know, it activates oxytocin, which is the hormone that builds trust. Dopamine comes along in behind it, that drives habit and action. And then we have that tricky hormone cortisol. In this instance, it sharpens focus. So storytelling isn't as soft as your leaders might think. You know, it is biological and it is built into our DNA.
[00:09:54.230] - Imogen
It's something we've done since humans existed. So— let's continue doing it because we know it works.
[00:10:00.240] - Amanda
It works. Yeah.
[00:10:02.560] - Imogen
I think finally, we talked about simplicity, we've talked about understanding audience, understanding objectives, but we need to make our stories shareable and repeatable. You know, if people can't sum up your story, it's too complex. And that goes back to what we were saying about a lack of family tree needed. But, You know, if they can't sum it up, too complex. If they can't find it, so they don't know where that story sits, then it's not gonna go anywhere. And if it's not traveling, if it's not being repeated, if people aren't sharing it, they're not finding it, then ultimately that story doesn't matter at all. You need to get your organization aligned and the way in which you do that is by telling the story and then getting your audience to understand, connect, and repeat that story.
[00:11:00.080] - Amanda
Leaders love that stuff. And remember, your job isn't to sound clever. Your job is to help the audience feel capable, connected, and clear on what comes next. If your story does that, you've done your job.
[00:11:13.870] - Imogen
A good story isn't, isn't sort of decoration, it's, um, direction.
[00:11:17.900] - Amanda
Yeah, 100% agree. Stories don't just describe change, they create it.
[00:11:22.790] - Imogen
And I think on that note, that's probably a good place to wrap up the episode. If this series on storytelling has left you enthused, confused, or somewhere in the middle, and if you want some support from real humans, not AI chatbots, although I am considering making myself a little AI avatar just to get, you know, the boring stuff done. Uh, but, but if you would like some support from real humans, um, do get in touch. You can find out how on our website. But until next time, bye for now. Bye.
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