Storytelling has become the buzz word in marketing. A good story is one of the best ways to share your brand message but how do you know if you’re really telling a story. Learn 6 Characteristics Of A Story from Paul Smith.
Get Paul’s book, Sell With A Story
Paul Smith is thefounder of Storymakers…He’s is one of the world’s leading experts on organizational storytelling. He’s a keynote speaker, storytelling coach, and author of the books Sell with a Story, Parenting with a Story, and the bestseller Lead with a Story already in its 8th printing and available in 6 language around the world. Paul is also a former consultant at Accenture and former executive and 20-year veteran of The Procter & Gamble Company.
Icebreaker
He writes in his PJ… guess what his story is all about.
Think Like A Journalist Quote
“To hell with facts! We need stories!” ―Ken Kesey
Success Quote
Facts are an important part of any story… stories have facts in them.
Career Highlight
Storytelling is an important quality that Paul wanted to have. Hear his story about how he became a successful author and speaker after a series of turns in his career. Paul had known for 10 years he wanted to be a speaker and corporate trainer. He met with the authors of the book, Made To Stick, and became their corporate trainer. Hear how he got fired from his two dream jobs. Find out what he learned and how he left his long-time corporate job.
“Quit in mid-forties (too young for retirement) to pursue my dream of becoming an author and professional speaker. Most proud of that. Wanted my kids to see me taking a risk and it working out.”
When It Didn’t Work!
My first effort to co-author a book and be a professional trainer for two well known authors was a complete failure. Moped around for about a month after that and then decided to try again with my own book and my own training classes. Second time worked much better. 🙂
6 Characteristics Of A Story: How To Tell Real Stories From Other Narratives & Why This Is Important For Your Business
- Time
- Place
- Main character
- Goal
- Obstacle to overcome
- Events
Think Like A Journalist You have been hired to help an ailing company that’s about to financially collapse. Its reputation’s shot. You have one month, a $1000 budget, a smartphone, and a laptop…How do you begin to turn this company around?
I would help them craft 4 stories. First two are to motivate employees to understand the need for change and to follow the next vision. The other two are for potential customers to help them better understand why they need our product and motivate them to buy it
- Their “case for change” story – which illustrates the problem that’s leading to their impending financial collapse.
- Their “vision” story – which shows what the future could be like and the changes needed to get them there.
- A “problem/solution story” – which illustrates why a typical customer needs the product we sell and shows the tangible benefits to buying it.
- A story to create a sense of urgency – to illustrate what will happen if the customer waits to buy later instead of now. (After all, we’re in a hurry to avoid collapse!)
What is one piece of technology, video or multimedia equipment, or app that you just can’t live without?
HeilPR40
One book, documentary, or Internet Channel to watch?
Click the link below to purchase.
It’s an Amazon affiliate link. It won’t cost you more but it will send me a few coins to keep on building our crazy good content here. 🙂
Made To Stick, Chip and Dan Heath
Contact
Get Paul’s book, Sell With A Story
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