The Story Behind Stories

I want to tell you a story.

It’s a story about a kid from Massachusetts who goes to Washington D.C. and becomes one of the most influential voices in American politics by the age of 27.

Interested? Chances are you were before you ever read the first word of the second sentence. That’s because storytelling is one of the most powerful communications tools we have and one to which humans are automatically drawn. Just reading or hearing the words, “I want to tell you a story,” is enough to make most of us perk up, if only for a second, to find out what’s coming next.

OK. So many of you know the story referenced above is that of Jon Favreau, President Obama’s chief speechwriter. Not coincidentally, it’s storytelling that got Mr. Favreau to where he is today. In a profile in last Sunday’s Chicago Tribune, Favreau, who doesn’t give interviews, is purported to have told his friends his simple approach to successful speechwriting: “Tell a story. That’s the most important part of every speech, more than any given line. Does it tell a story from beginning to end?”

The lure of the story lies deep in our subconscious, and its value as a communications device is well documented. Researchers and authors, Chip and Dan Heath, identify Stories as one of the six rules for lasting and effective communications in their best-selling book, Made to Stick, which has become a bible of sorts at Taylor Johnson. (I cannot recommend this book enough). The Heath brothers say a story “provides simulation (knowledge about how to act) and inspiration (motivation to act).” In other words, stories generate action.

For the Obama-Favreau team, the most dramatic action to date was a vote. For those of us in business, we hope the action is a phone call, a visit, a click, a sale and – after the sale – a referral.

So make sure stories are a part of your communications repertoire. Are your stories engaging? Are they relevant to your audience and the problems your audience face? Are they getting out through the right channels? And are you backing them up with a parallel customer experience? If you’re answering these questions in the affirmative today, then chances are you’ll have an even better story to tell tomorrow.