Storytelling has been around since the first time man was able to speak. And, storytelling has crept into our profession. There are a few agencies out there promoting the concept of telling a story to really get traction. Not to condemn messaging. It is needed, but to take that messaging and deliver it into a compelling story has a better chance of “engaging” people and getting them to carry your story to others.

Edelman has the Master Narrative process and WagEd has a chief storyteller or story telling officer. I am in total agreement and I think the industry should embrace it more.

Write your release, posts, articles and more in a way that tells a story about yourself or client and engages readers. It will pay off big. When we do media training, many of the techniques around hooking or bridging leverages the same concepts – a way to offer up an idea, POV or issue that gets the listener to say, “Tell me more.” We are not talking “elevator pitch” whatever that is. It could be longer. It could be shorter. It’s about packaging your message in a way that compels people to act and engage.

Too often when we message, people don’t like to be messaged and it all falls on deft ears. Storytelling is less controlling and more interactive. Think about it start telling stories for your clients or your organization and see what happens.