Walt Kania   :Writer
 
The Story Trick
It works better than logic and facts any day
 
A few years back, I had to give a speech to a group of advertising creative people.  I fretted over that speech for weeks, terrified I would put the flighty crowd to sleep.  
 
But a veteran speechmaker gave me some good advice.  "If it looks like they're dozing off, tell a story.  They'll perk right up."
 
He was right.  Every time I noticed their eyes glazing over, I told a story.  And they perked right up.
 
It worked all eleven times.  Even a lame or irrelevant story did the trick.
 
Boy, did I learn my lesson.
 
Capturing the story animal
 
Why was a lousy story more compelling than my elegantly crafted speech?
 
I think it's because we humans assimilate and process stories better than any other form of input; we are hard-wired for tales, not for bullet points.  I bet neuroscientists will find a story center in the brain somewhere alongside our speech and hearing centers.  It's the part of your brain that lights up when someone says "Hey, guess what happened."
 
In fact, we tell and seek out stories all the time.  It's a reflex, an instinct.  Listen to the conversations around you in the lunchroom or at a party.  They are mostly stories, tales, anecdotes.  On the train going home tonight, notice what commuters are reading: The Wall Street Journal, John Grisham, Time, Newsweek.  All stories.  When you think of it, stories are practically the only thing people read voluntarily.  Heck, people even pay money to read a good story.  (Ever see anyone pay to read a brochure or mission statement?)
 
And stories stick in our heads like nothing else.  Just ask anyone who has tried to counter a rumor or bad publicity.  I can retell stories I heard nineteen years ago, but that seven-page strategy briefing I read last Thursday?  It’s gone.
 
You and I make our livings trying to sway and persuade people.  We stand on our heads hoping to get people to react our stuff.  Why don't we use stories more often?
 
Tales from the front lines
 
One of my large technology clients hit on a remarkably simple way to help their sales teams close bigger, more lucrative sales.
 
Whenever they hear of an account executive who has landed a huge deal, we interview the exec by phone and ask them to recount how they did it: the trials and tribulations, the tactics, little victories, the villains, the nail biting, all in their own words.  We then craft it into a 20-minute interview program, much like you'd hear on NPR radio, and delivered as a podcast.
 
The scuttlebut is, these stories get downloaded more often than the usual ‘stuff’ from headquarters.  Because they're real-life, they're drama, they're true.  And more memorable than the typical sales directive.
 
Let the customer tell it
 
Do you use testimonials, case studies, or success stories in your marketing?  Consider framing them as stories rather than flat-out endorsements.  Let your customers talk.
 
  1. "The first day we had the new servers installed, people called me from four different offices.  'How come the system is so fast? What's going on?'"
 
A simple anecdote like that will echo in a customer's mind far longer than the usual "The 123 Server provides us with significantly reduced user response times across all locations."
 
Wake up a PowerPoint
 
When building a presentation for peers, bosses, or customers, think in stories instead of slides. How?  Make your entire presentation a story.  Or build a tale into every third slide or so.
 
Example.  You were charged with developing a new system of sales literature and collateral. You now have to present your ideas at a meeting.  The typical approach is to set up your PowerPoint like this:
 
  1. - Current architecture
  2. - Difficulties, issues
  3. - New objectives and strategy
  4. - Proposed architecture
  5. - Expected benefits
 
Perfectly reasonable.  It's logical and organized.  But what if you took the same general content and treated it like a narrative?  It might sound like this:
 
  1. "First, we went out to our most productive sales reps and asked them 'How do you use your literature right now? . . what would you like to see?'  . . .
  2.  
  3. ". . .  one rep told us he downloaded performance graphs from our competitors' web sites, paper-clipped them to our own data sheets, then handed it all to a customer and said . . .
  4.  
  5. "Next, we asked customers\ if they had ever seen our literature. . . where they got their information. . .   We were a little surprised at what they told us. . .
  6.  
  7. ". . . .We then did something a little devious.  We visited competitors' web sites and clicked a few of those 'Tell Me More' buttons.  Here's what showed up in our e-mail. . ."
 
You've created a little suspense, related a few neat anecdotes, and put live people into the flow.  It all makes for much easier listening.  But does it take too long?  I bet you can reach your payoff slide just as fast as you would in the traditional format.  And fewer people will be dozing when you get there.
 
Unlimited storage capacity
 
I'm not sure why, but people can remember stories more readily than the typical information we try to convey.  That’s why those tribal elders could commit six thousand years of history to memory, without writing it down?  Because they're recalling stories and tales, not agenda items or specs.
 
I stumbled on a trick that illustrates this point nicely.  In my writing workshops I sometimes tell a story in the first few minutes related to the point at hand.  It usually takes about 30 seconds to tell.  And on purpose, I don't use a knee-slapping joke or anything outrageous.
 
Toward the end of the session — an hour or two later, depending — I ask the group, "Without looking at your notes, think back to our discussion of the passive voice.  What product did we use in our first example?"  There is some uneasy head-scratching, then maybe one or two people tentatively raise their hands.  And perhaps one of them gets it right.
 
I then ask, "In our discussion of good openings, I told a quick story about a sales rep.  What was he selling?"
 
Invariably, hands shoot up. People shout out the answer.  Most of them get it right.
 
And even when someone gets it wrong, they are very definite about it.  "No, it was adding machines, not typewriters.  I know it."
 
Stories stick.
 
Now, way back up there in the first paragraph, who were those people in the audience?
 
 
Walt Kania is a freelance writer specializing in marketing communications for B2B and technology companies.  He works out of New Jersey.  
 
Contact him here.
 
 
“Customers tend to remember stories for a long time.  
 
“They forget bullet points almost instantly.”
 
 
 
“People will stand in line and pay money to hear a good story.  
 
“I could never get anyone to pay to read a brochure or mission statement.”