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In my current project, our team must continuously convince our client
that we're still the right people for the project. To this end, we have
developed Essential Stories that help tell and retell why we are the
right folks for the job and remain as such.
For your own purposes, consider using Essential Stories as part of
your formal marketing system or as an informal method of informing potential
and current clients of what you do and why you are the right one for
the job. And if you're a traditional employee rather than an independent,
use Essential Stories as a resource for selling new ideas into your
department or company, or as a tool when you are interviewing for that
next great job.
What is an Essential Story?
An Essential Story is meant to capture the heart and imagination of
a specific audience. It is an emotional hook, which, if executed correctly,
will resonate more profoundly than any statement of work, use case,
product requirement, or portfolio item.
Long after the stultifying details of other business documents have
been blessedly forgotten, people will remember and be inspired by a
story.
The Essential Story is the archetypal tale that powerfully conveys
the emotional essence of your work each time the story is told. It may
be a true story about one particular person or group, or it may be a
composite of several stories of real people whose lives have been changed
by your organization or your proposed solution. It is different from
a use case because it must inspire you every time you tell it and in
turn move your audience every time they hear it and retell it.
Composing Your Essential Story
Essential Stories have three phases:
- Before
- Intervention
- After
Phase 1-Before
As with personas and use cases, choose a real story, but move it quickly
into the fictional realm. Character development and setting the scene
are important to Essential Stories because you want your audience to
care about the problem and rally for the solution when it is presented.
Describe the characters and their situation before they came in contact
with your organization or your solution. Use vivid language to portray
what their life was like then. What exactly were their circumstances?
What, if any, impact did these characters or their organization have
on the person relaying the story? Did it upset or inspire, worry, or
comfort the storyteller? This is the phase where your audience must
empathize with the characters, identify with the problem, and recognize
the need for a solution.
Phase 2-Intervention
Explain what brought the characters in the story into contact with
your organization or your product. What specific services or support
did they receive from you? What was your personal observation of them
at that time?
Remember that your audience is sophisticated, so if your story is about
a revolutionary product solution, don't gloss over emotional issues
related to change, learning new systems, and the reasonable likelihood
that your story's characters may temporarily wish for things as they
were before your intervention. Similarly, don't overlook any logistic
or process changes that the solution caused.
Phase 3-After
As with any well-written story, wrap up your Essential Story artfully.
Describe the results of the intervention. How did your organization
or product solution change the lives of the characters you described?
What is now possible for them that wasn't before? Don't make this a
marketing testimony to the wonders of your organization. Instead, the
after phase should maintain the storyteller's voice and let the characters
you developed tell the reader how their lives were changed, how their
organization benefited.
Conveying Your Essential Story
Essential Stories are not necessarily written products nor are they
always part of a marketing campaign-although they can be. But these
traditional means of conveying your Essential Stories may not have the
greatest impact on your audience as other means, such as an oral or
visual presentation.
Oral
If you bring clients or decision-makers to your site or work area,
tell your story as part of a tour. It's a great ice-breaker and establishes
a context for further discussions about your organization or product.
Tell your visitors the story either exactly as it is written, or customize
it to align more specifically with their key interests. Salespeople
do this all the time. Just remember: When telling an Essential Story
to a live audience, keep it brief.
A variation on this is as you tour through your facility or workspace,
have different staff members tell different facets of the story with
the point being to engage the heart and imagination of your visitors
about unforgettable characters who benefited from what you have to offer.
Visual
Photographs, illustrations, and even video are powerful methods for
conveying an Essential Story. The visual elements of your Essential
Stories should be part of your organization's physical environment.
Mix an oral rendering of the story with key visuals along the hallways
and in the common areas of your site to create a deeper and more persistent
context for your audience. Again, your point is to inspire your audience
to commit its resources to your product or solution.
No matter how you decide to convey it, the Essential Story is truly
essential to communicating the emotional impact of your organization's
mission.
If you have questions about being an independent consultant or how
to perform as though you are a consultant, e-mail me at thinking@dghenterprise.com.
I will share your questions and my answers in a future column. Until
next issue, take care!
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