Storytelling is an art that has been used for decades to connect with people and make them understand the world around them. It’s also a powerful tool used by great leaders, companies and governments to explain their journeys. One thing is for sure, everyone has a story and everyone’s story matters.
The art of storytelling has changed over the years, but the impact of storytelling has remained consistent. Every person and organisation has a story that needs to be shared with the world.
Storytelling is all about passing information, and the best way to do this is to use language that everyone can understand; language that people use on a daily basis. This will help communicate the story effectively and help the audience to understand it.
Keep it short and sweet (KISS)
When telling a story, you should pick the most important parts of it and have a clear plot. That way, it helps you eliminate the unnecessary information that would otherwise make your story long without adding value. Keeping it short and sweet will keep your audience engaged until the end.
Avoid using acronyms because not everyone will understand what they mean. Use the full abbreviations and explain their meaning to help bring along the readers with you.
Active voice puts the subject first and performs the action while in passive voice, the action happens to the subject. People follow stories better when in passive voice as it makes the story clearer and makes for good visualisation.
Writing like you speak helps readers follow the story better as it feels like a conversation and not a lecture. It helps relax the reader's mind thus allowing them to put themselves into the story.
Bring emotions to the story
Good stories must evoke emotions from the readers; they should make them feel happy, sad, angry, excited, sympathy, etc. This makes the readers feel like they are in the story themselves and makes them remember the story way after reading it.
Always find out who your audience is at a more in-depth level, how old they are, what they care for, what their aspirations are, even what makes them happy or sad. This informs the language and examples that you use in your storytelling to make it relatable to your audiences.
Always stay true to yourself by not trying to be like other people. Be honest to yourself and others, stick to your personal values and beliefs, and take responsibility for your mistakes.
