So what does it take to be a great storyteller? The fundamentals are pretty simple.<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n \u00b0 Curiosity.<\/strong> Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, who not only produced innovative ad copy, but also trained many successful copywriters, wrote, \u201cI have never known anyone who bounced out of bed in the morning, delighted and astonished by the world in which he found himself, who was not a success. A vibrantly alive curiosity\u00a0 will put you right up there with the best of them. This intense interest in people and things\u2014this sense of wonder\u2014can be acquired.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Without curiosity, you\u2019ll miss all the good stories happening around you that might be put to work on your behalf.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0\u00b0 Attention.<\/strong> TV\u00a0 journalist Steve Hartman\u00a0 created a popular feature on CBS called \u201cEveryone Has a Story.\u201d He began looking for his subject by throwing a dart at a map. Then he’d go to wherever the dart landed, open the local phone book and pick a name at random. Some of the stories were funny, some poignant, some \u00a0buried deep, but he never came away empty-handed.\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Hartman\u2019s premise is that stories exist everywhere, but only storytellers seem to be paying attention. Follow their lead. Listen for inspiration. Listen for evidence. Listen for material. When someone says, \u201cYour teleclass was so exciting that I was awake until 3 AM with all these new ideas,\u201d use it.<\/p>\n <\/span>\u00a0\u00b0 Edit.<\/strong>\u00a0 Editing is critical in all forms of storytelling. The difference between a boring and an enthralling storyteller is in the editing. We all know people who start telling a story and then wander off to side stories about the characters or unrelated events or random thoughts.<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n So what does an editor really do? According to Sarah Tieck, the job of an editor is to ruthlessly look for what\u2019s relevant and then eliminate the rest. In many ways, editing uses the same skills as are needed to identify priorities in the goal-setting process.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n \u00b0\u00a0 Bring it alive.<\/strong>\u00a0 Don\u2019t you just marvel at all the ways chef Jamie Oliver describes food? That\u2019s what a great storyteller does. Passion and a good vocabulary are the fuel.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Except for Prairie Home Companion<\/em><\/strong>, there\u2019s not much storytelling in radio anymore. If you listen to Garrison Keillor\u2014a master storyteller\u2014you\u2019ll hear how he adds just enough detail so we can imagine the scene.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n In marketing, part of the storyteller\u2019s job is to help the audience of potential customers imagine how products or services will be useful to them. Storytelling can do that more vividly than just listing benefits.<\/p>\n \u00b0\u00a0 Watch your audience.<\/strong> Bores do not notice their listeners fidgeting in their seats or gazing around the room looking for an escape. Alas, the self-absorbed among us are oblivious to this. A good storyteller, on the other hand, understands body language and looks for clues. After all, storytelling always involves at least two people: the teller and the listener. Both are important.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Polishing your storytelling skills can be as good for your business as it is for your social life. If \u00a0you’re ready to make your marketing creative, fun and memorable by becoming a better storyteller, join me and Alice Barry at our upcoming Compelling Storytelling<\/a> event on December 2-4 in Las Vegas. Special Early Bird pricing ends on October 25th.<\/p>\n <\/span><\/em>Marketing is the act of telling stories about the things we make\u2014stories that sell and stories that spread. ~ Seth Godin<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So what does it take to be a great storyteller? The fundamentals are pretty simple. \u00b0 Curiosity. Bernice Fitz-Gibbon, who not only produced innovative ad copy, but also trained many successful copywriters, wrote, \u201cI have never known anyone who bounced out of bed in the morning, delighted and astonished by the world in which he…<\/p>\n
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