EMAIL #186 - 18TH SEPTEMBER 2022 - "THE BEST STOREY WINS"
The Best Storey Wins.
Everyone has a unique storey.
I Had no interest in English or writing when I was at school.
I was completely unaware how important storey telling would be throughout my life.
Just writing about this subject pushes me out of my comfort zone.
But now at the spritely age of 60 I am cognisant of how most of my life revolves around the spreading and preservation of storeys.
- My relationship with my three adult children.
- My marriage to my wonderful wife.
- My connection to my extended family.
- Leading my team of employees.
- Gaining the trust of a potential new building client.
- Writing my Weekly Blog/Email.
- Mentoring other builders.
- ETC, ETC.
“The best arguments in the world won’t change a single person’s mind. The only thing that can do that is a good storey.” Morgan Housel
As parents and working adults we tell stories every day. That’s how we convey our knowledge and experience. We use stories to describe products and services and to pitch our ideas. We use stories to convey our values and beliefs.
The better the story the more attention you attract and the more likely your ideas are to be taken seriously and adopted. Engaging stories capture and direct attention and create opportunities where there where previously none.
“New ideas explained badly end up going nowhere, whilst old ideas told in a compelling way can ignite a revolution.” Unknown
A specific story told in a compelling way has the power to change someone’s life. But to be impactful a story must convey or elicit emotion.
When appropriate information is combined with emotion the message becomes memorable and actionable.
We can all remember specific times in our lives in great detail as part of our personal storey.
A recent example is “where were you when you first heard that Queen Elizabeth 2nd had died and how did you feel?
It is easy to answer this question in detail, because the memory of this historic event is attached to emotions like pain, grief, regret or joy…
To utilize the power of story telling your message must also be true and authentic. Over exaggerating or stretching the truth is the best way to kill a storey. Never underestimate your audience by over embellishing a storey or overselling an idea.
“Stories give colour and depth to otherwise bland material.” Peter Gruber
Stories are a big part of teaching and coaching and are essential to all forms of leadership. It is widely recognised that storeys foster connections between people. Coaches tell powerful storeys to inspire team members to “give 110% and to leave it all on the field of play”.
Barak Obama is a powerful storyteller whose speeches have united communities and changed their culture. His stories convey his personal values and his deep beliefs which collectively have left a mark on history.
The best leaders tend to be the best storey tellers. Elon Musk and Tony Robbins are very different people, but both are visionary leaders that have built their success on great storytelling.
“A good storey is the most effective way to exert your influence” Tony Robbins
Well delivered stories build familiarity and trust. They open your mind to new ideas and new experiences. Meaningful stories convey lots of information that is easily remembered for a long time. Whereas cold facts and numbers are hard for us to remember, even for short amounts of time.
Clinical studies by Educational Psychologist Jerome Bruner have found that facts are 20 times more likely to be remembered if they are part of a great storey. So, in today’s world the importance and credibility of information relies on the author’s eloquence, and by using good writing and compelling stories.
Social media is “rocket fuel” for sharing stories. Most blog articles are storey based, Instagram conveys visual storeys and YouTube is the ultimate storey sharing platform. We are all storey tellers’ whether we like it or not.
The ultimate success of a storey comes down to the delivery and the emotion it conveys. As Morgan Housel wrote “Morgan Freeman can narrate a grocery list and bring people to tears.”
Thanks for reading,
Stay safe and enrich your life with good stories.
David
