It is the question that drives us: What is the Storytelling Principle?
Do you want to be a writer?
Or rather, since you probably already consider yourself a writer; do you want to make a living as a writer? If so, perhaps I can be of help by sharing my experiences, first on my way to becoming a professional writer and then, what it has taken me to stay at it. Is it a mastery of the language? I am not a native English speaker, nor did I ever formally study the English language. In fact, I am certain I would fail miserably any of the grammar tests my eight year old daughter aces at school. Yet I have been trusted to write TV ads, film scripts, advertisements, technical manuals, and biographical books, all of them in English. I have also had my work produced in Turkey, Greece, Russia, and Japan, though my command of those languages is non existent. Even the principles of my native tongue I learned intuitively rather than scholarly, for I either spent my time in class reading adventure novels or I would skip class altogether. The fact that I always have the professional sense to deliver my work fully proofed for spelling and punctuation aside, it isn’t my linguistic abilities that get me regularly employed as a scribe. What then?
The key to my success is that everything I write is based on the Storytelling Principle, and it is that, and that alone, what has made all the difference.
Do I have your attention yet? Ready to click the Learn more button? If not, thanks for checking the blog out, and may you find fruitful ways to spend your valuable time. If yes, then let us tackle the logical follow up question:
What is the Storytelling Principle?
First things first; what is the definition of story? A story is an account of events and the people involved in them. Why do stories occupy such an important place in the history of mankind, other than for their capacity to entertain? Because the actions of those people in the stories tell us a lot about ourselves, the good, the bad, the inspiring, the abhorring, all of which should help us move forward, hopefully as wiser and better versions of ourselves. Therefore, more than entertaining, stories are educative. Oral storytelling traditions were, in fact, the main means of education for many societies over thousands of years. Since all of us in life go through many of the events and feelings experienced by the characters in the stories, love, betrayal, satisfaction, self doubt, compassion, loss, greed, selflessness, jealousy, and so on, we can deeply relate to the stories that form part of humanity’s collective wisdom treasure chest .
Therefore, the Storytelling Principle is in action every time we communicate with an audience, in oral, written, or visual form, and we draw on those familiar motives to elicit a response. A Storytelling inspired work reflects the human condition as a result of our passage through life and our interactions with fellow humans.
What are the distinguishing traits of a piece of writing that is based on the Storytelling Principle?
- Triggers instant recognition: We’ve been there, done that, felt that way.
- Feels genuine: It speaks of something familiar and depicts reactions similar to our own.
- Elicits a strong emotional response: Oh Yes! Hell No! Either way, we feel strongly about the issue.
- Instills a feeling of trust: By not pitching/selling something directly, we trust the writer and the content of his/her writing.
- Fosters a personal bond: We feel personally touched by this story, thereby creating a personal bond with its subject, including commercial products.
Great! But, come on now, this is only be applicable to those mediums like novel, short and long story, and film script that allow us to introduce characters, present them with obstacles and formulate a resolution to their problems. How can the Storytelling Principle be applied to more restrictive forms like copy writing? No way that would work. Are you sure? Let’s have a look at one of the shortest tag lines ever conceived and see if it uses the Storytelling Principle.
JUST DO IT.
That’s right, the ubiquitous Nike slogan, probably the best known tag line in the history of marketing. Can’t you see a story there, or several, all of which profoundly resonate with literally every human being? No more procrastination, no more excuses, no more talking, no more planning, it is time to get on with it, to achieve the success I so richly deserve but have deprived myself of for lack of self confidence, time to muster that last ounce of courage. From now on, I will achieve that one thing I have wanted so badly, be it exercising every day, running a marathon, climbing Mount Everest, asking that beautiful girl out, quitting my crappy job and pursuing my dream of being a (enter preferred profession here), and so on and so forth. It is the most universal of human emotions, the want to go after our dreams, and it is captured here at the most pivotal point, when we finally decide to “just do it”. It is a powerful message that transcends sports, age, race, gender, time, anything really. Therefore, it is instantly relatable to audiences of all kinds.
Talk about the Storytelling Principle at its best!
In only three words.
For comparison’s sake, Nike’s competition in the late 1980s, namely Reebok, was intensely focused on promoting the virtues of their shoes for specific sporting activities. The JUST DO IT campaign took the fitness world by storm, and convinced Reebok to adopt a more personal, intimate approach. They came up with “Reeboks let U.B.U”, a cringe worthy Yuppie get up that fell flat, and used quotes by Emerson like “Insist on yourself, never imitate”, a common motif of most imitators. Again, a sound storytelling foundation does not need the writer to ingratiate a particular demographic segment, or to be in on the latest lingo or the newest hipness, or to quote universal wisdom bits. Trying to be cool is most uncool. Those are cheap attempts at gaining someone’s trust by “being like them”, bewilderingly enough, one of the most repeated yet equally repudiated strategies in marketing. Obviously, the point of this comparison is not to determine which shoe was the superior product, but simply to ascertain which marketing campaign works best and has the better chance at generating interest/desire/sales for its product. To me, the answer is clear.
Below are links to the original ads from 1988, Nike’s JUST DO IT, and Reebok’s Reeboks lets U.B.U.
What do you think? Do you feel a stronger connection to either one? Does the Nike ad feel more genuine or is the campy weirdness of the Reebok one cooler?
“Be provocative. But be sure your provocativeness stems from your product. You are not right if in your ad you stand a man on his head just to get attention. You are right if you have him on his head to show how your product keeps things from falling out of his pockets.”
Bill Bernbach
Conclusion
The Storytelling Principle is everywhere. It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work… You can feel it whenever a writer creates content that elicits an emotional response from their audiences by drawing on the inexhaustible well of human experiences.
Exercise:
Find a favorite product or marketing campaign and either write a new slogan for it , or rewrite the existing one, based on the Storytelling Principle. Share in the comments and provide a brief explanation of your rationale.
Very informative. Often we struggle to understand why our writing is not catchy enough and this structure helps with that. But I wonder how you would apply this to writing technical manuals for example.
Thank for the comment Tony. Yours is the first reply to this blog! Great question. It so happens I started my career writing product manuals and I do have an informed opinion about how to integrate the storytelling principle into technical writing. In fact, I think I will write a post on the subject. Stay tuned!