Storytelling — Why nobody cares about your story. — TDH

Unless you are a public figure or a global celebrity there is a high probability that a reader is not interested in what is about you but on the contrary, wants to hear something that is useful for him.

Of course, this is meant to be a provocation. But the affirmation is based on two real and strong principles from which you should take advantage: 1- Most people are selfish. They want something that interests them and is beneficial to themselves. So whenever they read about something and decide to sympathize with a brand or another it is always because it reflects something of themselves. 2- If your story doesn’t identify with the reader, chances are it won’t give them emotion. If we do not let ourselves be personally involved in the story we are reading about, or if we do not find in it any point of contact with our life experience, it will be difficult for it to leave a trace in our memory.

That’s being said, we should ask our self how our story can be beneficial to the reader and in which way we can let him/her identify with it?!

First, you should always have clear who is your objective reader. If you know who are you talking to it will be much easier to write your copy in a way that can be beneficial to your audience. Second, you need to generate emotions in the reader by awakening memories in his mind that are somehow shared within your story. It is inevitable to find any touching point between your story and his story.

Another fundamental aspect is to clarify the goal of your copy. A copy intent on selling will not have the same characteristics as a narrative copy. In general, there are 7 types of general story that you can write about to convert your story into a weapon of seduction intent on selling your product/service:

A. The story about the company or the brand.

In this type of narration, the intent is to express all the values ​​it represents through the history of the company’s birth. From the history it must clearly deduce what the mission of the company was, the so-called “why”, because it was created.

Often told as the “parable of the hero”, in which the founder of the company himself or on behalf of an external narrator describes all the difficulties he had to overcome before bringing his brand to success.

C. Story of a specific product or service.

This type of story is completely about the company’s product/service. How it was born, what is its goal, because it distinguishes itself from other products in the same market segment.

These are credible stories, told in the first person by the customer. In these narratives the customer expresses all his appreciation for the brand or the product, telling how it has influenced the improvement of his personal or professional life.

The goal is to show behind the scenes of the company, transmitting all the humanity possible. These are true stories about employee life in the company.

F. Story around other stakeholders.

They can deal with the past, present or future of the company through the history of those who contribute to the greatness of the company.

These stories are real research on a particular market case, concerning a customer or supplier. They analyze in detail the problems and solutions used, bringing data to bear.

Each story is important, none indispensable; it’s up to you to make it so within the reader’s mind. In these terms, the generation of emotions in the reader is a determining factor. In this regard, we can distinguish some common emotions that outline the type of narrative we are telling.

Primary emotion: Love. Secondary emotion: Affection, Desire, love, affection, affection, liking, attraction,
tenderness, caring, compassion, sentimentality
Tertiary emotion: Adoration, love, affection, affection, liking, attraction, tenderness, caring, compassion, sentimentality, Arousal, desire, lust, passion, infatuation.

Primary emotion: Joy. Secondary emotion: Pleasure, Happiness, Pride, Optimism, Relief.
Tertiary emotion: Happiness, joy, joviality, delight, enjoyment, elation, satisfaction, ecstasy, euphoria, triumph, ecstasy.

Primary emotion: Surprise. Secondary emotion: Irritation, Exasperation, Rage, Dislike, Envy, Torment.
Tertiary emotion: Anger, outrage, fury, anger, hostility, ferocity, bitterness, hatred, revulsion, dislike, resentment, contempt, resentment, revenge.

Primary emotion: Sadness. Secondary emotion: Suffering, Disappointment, Shame, Abandonment, Condolence.
Tertiary emotion: Depression, despair, hopelessness, dejection, sadness, unhappiness, grief, misery, melancholia, Alienation, isolation, abandonment, loneliness, rejection, nostalgia, defeat, discouragement, insecurity, shame, humiliation, insult.

Primary emotion: Afraid. Secondary emotion: Horror, Nervousness.
Tertiary emotion: Alarm, shock, fear, fright, horror, terror, panic, hysteria, mortification, Anxiety, nervousness, tension, restlessness, apprehension, worry, dread.

Sources: Emotional Knowledge: Further Exploration of a Prototype Approach.
En G. Parrott (Eds.), Emotions in Social Psychology: Essential Readings (pp. 26–56).
Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

As highlighted in this article, every time we find ourselves telling a story, whether it is that of our company or our Personal Brand, it is essential to know what audience we are talking to, what emotions we want to arouse and what it is the final goal of our history.

Originally published at https://thedigitalhacks.com.