Storytelling is a great tool for influencing. People love stories. We’re wired for it.
Think about the last time you heard a great story. But when was the last time you told a story? Are you good at it? If you aren’t, you may want to work to change that, especially if you are looking to increase your ability to influence others.
Why Storytelling is a great tool for influencing?
Simply put, people relate to stories. If you were looking to get your point across, do you think it would be more effective with a laundry list of facts, or with a story? All things being equal, the story is going to win out.
It allows those that you are trying to influence to connect with the people in your story.
Take a look at a long-form sales page on the internet. They are not difficult to find. Search a particular keyword and check out the top results. You are bound to find a long-form sales page.
Reading through the sales page, pay attention to the story that is being told. It often starts out with describing someone that was having a certain problem. This person tried everything to solve it and was getting discouraged. Then, a possible solution is being introduced but not yet revealed. First, the writer describes being in a similar situation and how it is not your (the reader) fault. The industry or some other entity is against you and this is why you were not successful, etc.
Finally, the story shows how this wonderful product will take care of the problem and how the person in the story used it successfully to solve the problem. There may be variations on the theme, but this is typical of a long-form sales letter.
You don’t need to sell something in order to incorporate storytelling.
You may be simply trying to increase readership for your newsletter, as an example. Storytelling can go a long way in helping you connect and influence subscribers. When you relay situations that you or others have experienced and you describe it using a storytelling format, you will find they will want more of these stories.
If storytelling is a hurdle for you then consider hiring a copywriter.
A copywriter writes words that sell and influence.
Part art and creativity – part science; a good copywriter will know what words perform better than others (with statistics to back it up). The storytelling influences the reader.
Areas where a good story – and a copywriter – is valuable to your business are your website, your marketing material, even consider have them look over your sales scripts – changing one word can make a difference to the result.
