A strategic story has a job to do
Storytelling is having a moment. Anyone can tell a good story. But very few good stories are strategic.
A strategic story is not anecdotal. It is immediate, direct, and packs a punch. It is carefully chosen to accomplish a concrete objective.
Which means you start with the objective. The first question isn’t, What story should I tell? It’s What do I want this story to do?
Here’s the framework I work with.
1. I decide what I want the story to do.
I start with the result.
What do I want prospective clients to understand about what makes my approach different? Do I want donors to see why my work deserves their support? Do I want colleagues to have a compelling reason to recommend me?
“Building visibility” isn’t my objective. What do I want to become visible for? To whom? And why? I make myself get very, very specific.
2. I figure out who needs to hear it.
There is no universally useful story. A story designed to interest a journalist won’t necessarily persuade a donor. The story that establishes my expertise isn’t necessarily the one that gets me this client or that assignment. I have to know everything about exactly who I am marketing to and what each needs.
What do they need to understand about what I’m selling? How what I do will increase revenue, membership, or donor support?
3. Then I look for the evidence to back it up.
This is when I start looking for the story. Not the same client success story I’ve worked to death. I look for a story that’s about the impact my work has. I often find it in everyday work.
4. I build the story around what it proves.
It’s not about producing more forgettable, disposable content. I’m aiming to build strong, well-constructed strategic narratives that do the heavy lifting. Every part of the story has to serve the objective.
What happened? What was at stake? What did I do differently? What was its impact?
I burrow in, stripping away anything that doesn’t strengthen the point. I don’t assume the story speaks for itself. The connection between what happened and why it happened has to be explicit.
For me, strategic storytelling is a business imperative.
I’ve work hard at storytelling. Attention is hard to earn, differentiation is hard to establish, and all the normal and usual (and boring) claims about expertise, innovation, and quality are old, predictable, and ho-hum.
Strong strategic narratives work. They establish a competitive position. Demonstrate expertise. Fuel fundraising. Attract customers. Open doors.
Storytelling is not just another thing in my communications toolbox.
It is a core business utility.
