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Effective Marketing
Telling Your Story
by Meg Phee
"I like a good story well
told. That is the reason I am sometimes forced to tell
them myself."
---
Mark Twain
Have you ever noticed as you read your morning paper
that each article tells a story? Perhaps it is about a
local teen who received an award for his dedication to
helping the elderly in his neighborhood. Or, it may be
about an initiative by a local community group lobbying
for the clean-up of area parks so children have access
to safe and sound playgrounds. No matter what
information is shared - whether in print, radio, or
television - news outlets use stories to humanize their
reporting and invoke an emotional response from
viewers.
Everyone
loves a story. All you need to do is make sure your
story is "good." So what makes a good story and how do
you know if it would be of interest to the media and to
the general public?
Understanding what makes a
story interesting is not a difficult feat. Think of how
you communicate with your friends and family on a daily
basis. Do you know how to tell a funny or interesting
story that people enjoy? Do you know what type of
information people like to learn? Sharing information
through story-telling helps individuals communicate
effectively and comprehensively.
Take for example, the
upcoming release of a report by your organization
addressing the obesity epidemic facing Americans. While
hard facts and data provide the foundation for
communicating the importance and gravity of the
situation, this information alone can not provide the
context and comprehension desired to motivate
individuals to change their eating and exercising
habits. In order to communicate how every individual is
impacted by this problem, it is necessary to create a
dynamic in which the general public can relate on a
personal level. Maybe this is the story of a person who
has developed Type II Diabetes and High Cholesterol and
placed themselves at an elevated risk for a heart attack.
Telling this story may have a greater impact in
motivating people to improve their health habits than
just sharing the percentage of Americans who are
overweight.
7 Key Questions
To assist you in
developing a good story, communications consultant Andy
Goodman offers 7 key questions to ask when developing a
story:
1. Who's the protagonist?
2. What's the hook?
3. What keeps it
interesting?
4. Where's the conflict?
5. Have you included
telling details?
6. What's the emotional
hook?
7. Is the meaning clear?
By following the
step-by-step process of answering these questions, you
can help increase the value, impact and reach of your
story. Remember, your job is to help people easily
understand what you want to communicate. A story is what
makes this possible.
Read Andy Goodman's piece:
Storytelling as Best Practice
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