Five reasons to tell your story

3 February 2021  |  Insights
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This week is National Storytelling Week – and having seen the power a good story can have, we want to celebrate by sharing five reasons why telling your story is so important.

Storytelling has been around since the dawn of time, since Adam was a lad. In fact, hieroglyphs were used by the Egyptians to tell stories over 5,000 years ago and cavemen apparently doodled stories on walls even before that! It’s a tried and tested way of spreading your message.

Think about it… from the moment we are born our mother tells us bedtime stories, and funerals are packed with eulogies, which are basically stories and accounts of the life being celebrated. Storytelling is with us from the beginning of life until we take our final breath, so it’s clearly pretty important.

But what about your organisation, church or business? How could telling your story impact your reach and increase your influence?

Check out these reasons why storytelling could be crucial for you and your organisation…

1. Stories are easy to remember

We forget names, we forget dates and we forget places, but stories are much easier to remember. Even when we can’t quite recall all the details, a story has an uncanny knack of sticking in your mind. This can be a great trigger for the reason the story was told and it could spark a memory of your organisation. In a world where so many things are begging for our attention, an emotional and powerful story can stand out and make a big difference in an individual’s experience of you a brand.

2. Stories share personal experience

We spend most of our day telling stories. Every social media post, every phone call, every coffee shop catch-up… they’re mostly all filled with stories. At dinner, we might tell our spouse what’s happened at work (that’s a story), and our children report back on their day at school (another story), even seeing something in the news is retelling a story. With platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, everyone can share their own stories daily. Marketing used to rely on experts and brands themselves giving insight on topics, but now content is so often focused on customer reviews and personal experience. The shared experience of people who have engaged with your brand, takes people on a journey of trust. Start sharing your stories of impact!

3. Stories boost your culture

You’re only as good as your workforce, and if you create a culture of storytelling within your team, you’ll undoubtedly breed a successful corporate culture. Constantly remind your team of the reason your organisation exists, tell them of the lives that have benefited and the amazing miracle moments along the way. These stories will catch and spread to all your team connect with. If done well, corporate storytelling will increase employee performance and drive new interaction.

4. Stories pull on heartstrings

Most of us have a tear in our eye when the John Lewis Christmas advert is released. Why? Because it’s an emotional, often relatable and personal, tear-jerking tale designed to tap into our emotions. And that’s what stories do. Human interest stories are not only interesting to your audiences, but also have the power to connect with them on an emotional and personal level, giving them more reason to respond to your call to action!

5. Stories reveal your heart and vision

Not only can stories pull on heart strings, but they also reveal the storyteller’s heart. Your passion, desire and mission doesn’t have to be cringeworthy; as any successful leader will tell you, it’s crucial to be clear and missional in your focus. So shout about your story with pride – and be real! Don’t hold back, even if the details are a bit messy. Truth is what people are longing for and there’s few things more impactful than a real, true and powerful story. It will strengthen your brand, boost your message and hopefully encourage others to get on board too. Get telling!

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