How to Tell a Great Story
By Seth Godin
Great stories succeed because they are able to capture the imagination of
large or important audiences.
A great story is true. Not necessarily because it's factual, but because
it's consistent and authentic. Consumers are too good at sniffing out
inconsistencies for a marketer to get away with a story that's just slapped
on.
Great stories make a promise. They promise fun, safety or a shortcut. The
promise needs to be bold and audacious. It's either exceptional or it's not
worth listening to.
Great stories are trusted. Trust is the scarcest resource we've got left. No
one trusts anyone. People don't trust the beautiful women ordering vodka at
the corner bar (they're getting paid by the liquor company). People don't
trust the spokespeople on commercials (who exactly is Rula Lenska?). And
they certainly don't trust the companies that make pharmaceuticals (Vioxx,
apparently, can kill you). As a result, no marketer succeeds in telling a
story unless he has earned the credibility to tell that story.
Great stories are subtle. Surprisingly, the fewer details a marketer spells
out, the more powerful the story becomes. Talented marketers understand that
allowing people to draw their own conclusions is far more effective than
announcing the punch line.
Great stories happen fast. First impressions are far more powerful than we
give them credit for. Great stories don't always need eight-page colour
brochures or a face-to-face meeting. Either you are ready to listen or you
aren't.
Great stories don't appeal to logic, but they often appeal to our senses.
Pheromones aren't a myth. People decide if they like someone after just a
sniff.
Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone. Average people are good at
ignoring you. Average people have too many different points of view about
life and average people are by and large satisfied. If you need to water
down your story to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. The most
effective stories match the world view of a tiny audience-and then that tiny
audience spreads the story.
Great stories don't contradict themselves. If your restaurant is in the
right location but had the wrong menu, you lose. If your art gallery carries
the right artists but your staff is made up of rejects from a used car lot,
you lose. Consumers are clever and they'll see through your deceit at once.
Most of all, great stories agree with our world view. The best stories don't
teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the
audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart
and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place.
source: www.odemagazine.com/article.php?aID=4270