A Framework That’ll Help You Influence, Interact, and Join

We instinctively use stories to understand the world around us and to influence one another. Stories give meaning to our ideas and experiences.

I teach, speak and write on the topic narrative intelligence, this is the idea that stories are the most powerful tool we have for changing behavior. I know the impact stories can have through my work helping Fortune 500 executives and startups tell stories, change behavior, build an inclusive culture, and communicate new ideas. But I also know how difficult it is for business owners to use stories to create an emotional connection, build their brand, and sell their bold ideas.

Why numbers are not enough

Most business owners communicate in numbers: they share the size of their communities, the profits they have made, and the statistics behind the problem they are solving. Numbers are an important part of your brand, but they fall flat without a story.

In one Study series It was through compassion and empathy that psychologist Paul Slovic discovered what he called “psychic numbing” – the phenomenon that describes how people ignore a problem if it is only communicated in statistical terms.

He and co-authors show that people develop sympathy for a story about an identifiable victim of poverty or war, but not for statistical victims. As a result, even the most compelling data often doesn’t make any difference.

This truth is true even on a smaller scale. If you want a brand that gets people to act, you need to develop a story.

The types of stories to tell

Before starting my own business, I used stories to drive behavioral change in the media, marketing, sales, and nonprofits. I’ve found that every organization goes through a series of milestones and recurring events around which stories can be built. These include:

• The origin of why the organization exists
• Adversity that the organization has to overcome
• New ideas and innovations that it creates as it grows

Collect and share yours origin, bad luck, and innovation Stories is a powerful way to build an authentic brand that connects more closely with the people you serve. Here is how.

Origin stories

Origin stories help people understand the why behind what you do. For example, the history of my company The new quo starts with my childhood. I was raised as an “extreme minority” because I was racially, religiously, and politically different from the majority who grew up in Utah. Standing outside of so many groups taught me the power of narratives that educational, media, family, and other institutions use to influence biased beliefs and behaviors.

I then spent a career using stories to motivate people to get involved and make sales. I used stories as an influencing tool, but noticed that most companies had no idea how narratives were affecting their culture and leadership practices.

These experiences inspired my fascination with how storytelling affected our beliefs and behaviors, and motivated me to develop tools that help people become better communicators and more inclusive leaders.

I now openly share this Origin story in my brand communications and thought leadership, and it is helping individuals really understand my brand and why I built my business.

My Origin story, which I regularly share in brand communication and social media.

Discover your Origin story by asking yourself:

• What problem motivated me to develop the solution that my company offers? What is my personal connection to this problem?
• What aspects of my identity and experiences shaped the values ​​behind the solution I created?
• What does the company stand for outside of profit? Which values ​​determine our business decisions?

Adversity stories

Adversity stories capture the moments when you mastered an unexpected challenge. They show the resilience of your brand and at the same time make you relatable, since everyone has to deal with adversity in some form or another.

A great example of an adversity story is when Procter & Gamble experienced a business slump and realized they needed a new cleaning company. They hired a research company, Continuum, who found that people cleaned their mops as much as they cleaned their floors. There was clearly a need for faster cleaning and perhaps a new tool.

These researchers realized how much people hated handling dirty mops, and also that most of the dirt in the house is dust. The team used this knowledge to develop a new cleaning tool: essentially a wet towel on a stick that could be thrown away when it got dirty.

Though that fulcrum challenged original knowledge of the mop market, it created a new product that had sales of $ 100 million in the first year of its release and is now an indispensable part of households.

To discover these stories, ask yourself:

• What central challenges has my company mastered?
• What lessons have been learned from these challenges and how have they strengthened our solutions?

Innovation stories

These stories capture when you’ve created new insights and connections between unlikely ideas, and they demonstrate your brand’s creativity.

A great example of a history of innovation is the invention of post-it notes. In 1974, 3M employee Arthur Fry experienced an “aha moment” in the church. He knew of a lightweight adhesive developed by his 3M collaborator Spencer Silver, but no one had figured out how this new adhesive could be used. He realized that a sheet of paper with this type of glue would be a great way to mark his place in his hymnal while singing in the church choir.

The company was initially skeptical of the product’s profitability, but the Post-it was introduced in 1980. Today sticky notes are sold in more than 100 countries.

This story shows unconventional inspiration and problem solving that 3M can tell over and over again to cement its brand and demonstrate its innovation.

Answer the following questions to discover your own innovation stories:

• What unconventional connections and insights has our company made that others don’t?
• What unexpected solutions did we generate?
• What about our creative process shows our values?

Once you’ve gathered your Origin, Adversity, and Innovation moments, you can start telling versions of these stories on social media, in lengthy content, on your website, and more.

The stories we tell are powerful – personally in terms of how we feel about ourselves and socially in defining how others see us. The more honestly you report about your experience, the more impact and results you will get with an authentic brand.