5
ing m o c e b f o s e l p princi eller t y r o t s t a e r g a
STORYTELLING
Why quit your insight job? It’s not that we think that you should resign
backgrounds (an author, editor, journalist,
right now, or change careers at all for that
theatre director, broadcaster, film producer,
matter. But to be successful in insight means
champion debater, language therapist and
influencing key decision-makers and driving
barrister) and using our ‘speed dating’ inspired
change through your business, and that means
collaboration format, got some really inspiring
being a great storyteller.
insight into the world of storytelling.
The same skills and areas of expertise that make
One of the first things we wanted to know
highly effective insight people (the depth of
was what does it really mean when someone
knowledge, the technical expertise, the detail
says ‘tell me the story’? It’s a deceptively
of understanding) are not necessarily those
simple question but our storytellers seemed
that make great storytellers. That’s not to say
unanimous in their response, and despite their
if you are great at insight you can’t be a great
diversity of industry and backgrounds, it was
storyteller, it just takes a certain discipline, a
all about influencing their chosen audience…
change of perspective and of pace; the ability
“say something simple that changes their
to take a step outside what we are immersed
world.” Here are 5 principles we believe can
in and to take a fresh look things from another
help you to do just that.
perspective. We recently ran one of our ‘Mash Ups’ on the subject of storytelling. We brought together experts from a wide range of storytelling
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STORYTELLING
1
Love your
audience What does it mean to ‘love your audience’? You have to know their world before you can ‘shake them out of it’. Think in terms of building a relationship; you need to have empathy with their situation and their mindset. Identify what’s at stake for them… do they have a problem? Are they facing a dilemma? Do they see an exciting opportunity ahead, or are they missing one? And if you are trying to really change their world, how can you change their feelings, not just how they think?
“I made mistakes in drama. I thought drama was when actors cried. But drama is when the audience cries.”
Frank Capra
It means we should be spending as much time getting insight into our internal audiences as we do our external ones. Maybe it sounds obvious, but is it something we really spend enough time doing?
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STORYTELLING
2
Marshall your
facts
The stories we tell are not for pure entertainment, we need reliable facts to help us influence and persuade. We asked our barrister and our debating champion; “what do you do if the other side has better facts?” We expected to hear a series of complex debating strategies. Instead they both said “you lose”. Evidence is the way to win arguments, and knowing your facts inside-out gives you the confidence to win. However, not all facts are equal. Arguments can be won or lost in the dynamics between diving down to the detailed facts and laddering up to broader, sweeping universal truths. We need to know our arguments at both levels. We also need to know our anti-story just as well as the story. We can only overcome objections when we know the opposing argument as intimately as our own and we have marshalled our facts to win.
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclinations, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” John Adams
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STORYTELLING
3
Make it
human ‘Make it human’ means relate everything in your story back to people. We are people, our internal audiences are people, and the consumers of our brands are all people. Great stories are timeless and have proven structures that have survived across generations. By working these elements into our story, we can translate fact and opinion into a compelling narrative. We need: - A goal - paint a vivid picture of what success looks like from the start - A hero (you, your team, your brand?) who is pursuing the goal - An anti-hero – the forces keep you from your goal - A trigger event – what has set this journey in motion? - Jeopardy - escalating struggles build tension and involvement - A climax – triumph / victory over adversity, a call to action to achieve the end goal Of all these, we think jeopardy is perhaps the most interesting and under-used. We do all we can to smooth out the logic of our story; how simple and logical our conclusions are, how smooth the path to get there. But without jeopardy is there really impact in the climax? Why not put back in some of the uncertainty, the trials and tribulations and let our audience understand something of the journey we have been on.
“I think kids want the same thing from a book that adults want - a fastpaced story, characters worth caring about, humour, surprises, and mystery. A good book always keeps you asking questions, and makes you keep turning pages so you can find out the answers” Rick Riordan
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STORYTELLING
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Relentlessly
edit
Some say that writing is editing – it’s a mindset and a discipline. Cut back to the essence; make ‘every word, line and page matter’. It requires us to return to our story time and again and keep pushing to improve and perfect it. The twist to the film The Sixth Sense, on which the whole story revolves, came in the nineteenth draft (don’t worry, no spoilers).
“The first draft of anything is shit.” Ernest Hemmingway
And we need to get our story right before delving into execution. How often do we reach for a piece of software and start creating slides before the story is even in place? In Disney they think in 3 rooms – idea, implementation and execution. Stories will go from idea, to implementation and back and forth countless times to get it right and only then going onto execution. Through constant editing we can organise, order and control. And we don’t just have to rely on ourselves to do this; most storytellers have trusted sounding boards and collaborators. By definition, it is easier for someone else to look at your story with fresh eyes.
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STORYTELLING
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Let it
live However good our story, it is how we deliver it that matters; and that delivery starts with us. We need to practice so we deliver with confidence. We need to use our own personal style for conviction and authenticity. We can tailor our approach to our audience in order to connect with them. We grab attention, we surprise, we do something new, and we harness a range of media and engage all the senses. We use imagery, props and metaphors to create meaning and use questions, challenges, games and actions to involve and engage our audience.
“You must deliver to the audience emotion - and when I say emotion, I mean suspense, drama, love.” Dino De Laurentiis
And it’s not just about how we tell a story in single isolated moments. As we work with people over time we should be creating a long-term story across everything we do. Each presentation or meeting a chapter in a longer narrative. A great storyteller builds a relationship with their audience that can span years or even decades.
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STORYTELLING
G
reat storytelling is not a craft that is easily mastered; it takes time, effort and discipline to apply the principles that make it possible. But there is a great reward for doing so, both for the buzz it gives you personally, and the opportunity to have ever greater influence on those around you. So you really can “say something simple that changes their world.” Surely that’s worth giving up your insight job for, even if it’s only now and then.
Mash is a Strategy Studio based in the heart of Soho, London working with global companies including Unilever, Samsung, SABMiller, Paddy Power and Bacardi. We create insightful and tangible brand thinking that provokes reaction and inspires change. If you would like to have a chat about how we can help your business or brand then call us on +44 20 3176 2462 or drop us an email. Jonathan Williams jonathanw@mash.uk.com Conrad Persons conradp@mash.uk.com Emma Sant emmas@mash.uk.com Kate Jones katej@mash.uk.com Jonathan Hills jonathanh@mash.uk.com