If you believe the hype, Storytelling is the new, must-have business skill. Just Google “Business Storytelling” to see that everybody out there seems to have advice. TED talks and online articles from every corner of the internet promise help. I am guilty of joining the blog bandwagon not long ago (pardon the plug, but see: Your Survival Guide to the Marketing Revolution). Not to scare you, but it’s true: Storytelling really is the answer—to just about everything—but more than you think, Storytelling is well within your grasp.
 
The manual labor of Storytelling 
First off, storytelling is not all fireworks, meaningful anecdotes and pulling on heartstrings. It’s concrete and analytical, and it’s the simplest way to connect with your customers. I am not here to teach you how how to structure a moving story (I’ll leave that to Ira Glass). I want to roll back your thinking to a fundamental level. At its simply lest, Storytelling is the meaning generated, intentionally or unintentionally, in the process of presenting your message to an audience. Like it or not, you already are a storyteller.
Here at the design agency where I work, we constantly wrestle with helping our clients tell stories. Sometimes, we’re hired to do exactly that, but usually in the process of designing a presentation, microsite or motion graphic, we are forced to address bigger questions. Who is the audience? What is the essential message? What details are most compelling? Why does it matter? We do our best work when we have a solid grip on our client’s story.
 
The Marketing Revolution is upon us…
The great shift in current marketing thinking is the awareness that an emotional connection is the most powerful way to sell. Reason only goes so far. Storytelling, more reliably than anything else, generates emotional connection and the loyalty and excitement that follow close behind. A thread of narrative is far more engaging than a set of facts. Add to this wanting to connect with Millennials—with their expectations of authenticity and meaning, particularly in the commercial world—and the story is the thing now more than ever.
 
…and its roots are ancient
As new as the Storytelling trend is, its roots are ancient, going back to and defining previous stages in our evolution. Storytelling started as a survival tool, and it puts information into a form that stimulates our brains more intensely and shortcuts to our emotions. In the same way that song lyrics are easier to remember than, say, an annual report, storytelling essentially adds “music” to underscore information. With that “music” comes empathy, perspective and engagement. If you don’t believe me, just watch one of these commercials from Apple or Extra or Always.

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