As Seth Godin, entrepreneur, best-selling author and speaker said, “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell.”
The same is true for public relations: effective PR requires quality storytelling.
In her Harvard Business Review article, How to Tell a Great Story, Carolyn O’Hara explains that “stories create “sticky” memories by attaching emotions to things that happen. That means leaders who can create and share good stories have a powerful advantage over others.”
To create connection through storytelling, it is vital to understand the audience and then look for ways to engage on an emotional level to captivate that intended audience.
A compelling story illustrates effect and engages the audience. Often the effect (or what is at stake) is easy for the storyteller to identify and articulate. However, as a storyteller developing engagement with the audience can be a little trickier.
Recently, I rediscovered a resource about storytelling that contains some helpful reminders about how to help audiences connect with your message and drive engagement. A storyteller doesn’t have to use all of these prompts for the story to be considered compelling but including some of these attributes will help.
The suggested attributes or prompts include:
Given the importance of storytelling in public relations, it is a skill we continue to refine and develop. The approach we use to tell stories varies and the attributes we integrate into a story depend on the audience and objectives.
Over the years, we have published numerous blogs about storytelling – including “What Makes a Good Story?” and Storytelling Lessons Writers Can Learn From Taylor Swift, one of our most popular blogs in 2021.
Tags: Art of Storytelling, Audience, connect, connections, Dynamic Storytelling, emotion, Know your audience, professional skills, Skill, story angles, Storytelling, storytelling for businesses, Storytelling in PR, Storytelling is not just for campfires, urgency, what makes a good story, Writing skills Filed under: COMMUNIQUÉ PR, Positioning, PUBLIC RELATIONS, Strategy, Writing