Always. Be. Storytelling.
At the final AwakenHub event of the year I had the great pleasure of interviewing Ann Booth Clibborn, Founder of The Storycoach
Ann share with us her thoughts and insights on why storytelling is an essential skills for every founder to master. She explained in a wide range of professional and personal contexts, stories can be used to inspire, teach, clarify, and mobilise your customers. And while every business has a story to tell, too many fail at doing so, missing a tick that can help scale your business.
Ann went on to explain that in a world of information overload, noise and hype, stories can cut through the clutter, get the message across, and influence people. Stories can get you customers, partners, and investors.
Ann walked us through several story elements from building the main character, to why the ‘inciting incident’ matters and how to put yourselves in the shoes of the audience. Using storytelling helps audiences connect with you so they trust you. If the audience can see themselves as the ‘character’ in your story or realise it relates to them, they won’t forget your business easily.
The most successful companies in the world have profound stories behind them often deeply tied to their founders that instil a sense of bigger purpose and meaning into what they do. Ann encouraged our community not to forget to tell your story to employee number 11 as you scale, they won’t know the story from the beginning and it’s important that they do. And remember to practice telling your story, it does use a lot of emotional energy but it is a critical investment for your business.
A good story makes us think and feel, and speaks to us in ways that numbers, data, and presentation slides simply can’t.