GEW MAGAZINE| ISSUE 3, 2022
STORYTELLING TOP TIPS
Struggling to find your voice? It needn't be as hard as you think. Here are Your Fairy Book Mother's top storytelling tips to help you share your brand stories with the world.
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JUST WRITE IT OUT
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GIVE IT A REST
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FOCUS ON EMOTIONS
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TIGHTEN UP THE LANGUAGE
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GET A FRESH PAIR OF EYES
WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO ACHEVE? Think about what you are trying to achieve first so that you can frame your story in a way that makes your desired outcomes most likely. Don't create content for the sake of it.
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WHO IS YOUR AUDIENCE? Once you know what you're trying to achieve, think about who you need to serve for that to happen? This will help you define your story's main character or protagonist. The more like your audience they are, the better.
WHAT IS THEIR GOAL? Once you know who you are talking to, figure out what they are trying to achieve, and make that the goal of the story character.
WHAT IS THEIR PROBLEM? Now you know the goal, list all the things that prevent your clients from reaching it. Then choose the single most important, urgent, or painful issue, and write your story around that.
WHAT ARE THE STEPS ALONG THE WAY?
Make a list of the milestones, missteps and mini breakthroughs your clients experience on the way to solving their problems. These will become the high and low points of your story.
Don't put pressure on yourself to tell a polished story the first time. Just get everything down on paper without worrying about how good it sounds. As I always tell my students, "that's what editing is for."
Tempting as it may be to write it up and share it, give your story room to breathe. After you've written the first draft, take some time away from it, and come back with fresh eyes later. This applies to everything from a tweet or a text and up. Better to send a bit later than with errors.
Think about the emotions your client has at each stage of the journey. Describe what those emotions look like. Not just the physiology, but the thought patterns, the choices and actions the emotions lead to, and the mistakes people make because of them. This is what editors mean when they say, "Show, don't tell." Use visuals that portray those emotions.
Yes, it's okay to blurt out your first thoughts to get the raw story down and to use flowery language when you are describing the emotions and actions of your story. But before you send it out into the world, you'll want to give it a bit of a tidy up. You can use software like Grammarly or Pro Writing Aid to spell and grammar check your writing, and to get into shape style-wise, too.
None of us can see past our own blind spots. Build a second pair of eyes into your workflow so that nothing goes out without being proofread by someone other than the author.
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