The Power of Story Telling

One of my favorite teachers in high school, Mr. Coleman, truly understood the power of story telling. He was always up for talking about the latest movies, books and stories.

He was in his mid-twenties when he became a teacher at my school. Mr. Coleman always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye; kinda like a young Santa Claus.

As one of the only two teachers who stands out in my mind after nineteen or so years of school, Mr. Coleman holds a special place in my heart.

I remember having long conversations about the Harry Potter books being published. Mr. Coleman loved those stories!

We all love a good story. When it comes to starting your own business, online or otherwise, you need to share your story. Whether it's because people want to root for an underdog, or they like a peek behind the curtain, people love stories.

Want me to help you grow your blog and share your story in ? Then check out my free 30 Day Blog Transformation email course!

Back in 2012, I didn't understand the power of good story telling. I started blogging to share knowledge. My goal was to digest what I was studying and share it with the world.

What I failed to realize then is that people want to be entertained before they want to be educated.

Your readers want a good story before they want to read the lesson behind it. If you can share your journey, including the ups and downs, you'll connect better with your audience and be more memorable too.

Think back to when you were last in school. Picture your most memorable teacher. I bet the person you're thinking of stands out in your mind because they were either funny like Mr. Coleman, or they could always tell a good story that kept you on the edge of your seat. Or, they were extra cruel.

If you want a captive audience, share a story. If you want to connect with your audience, share your story.

And, as with any great story, yours must have heroes, villains, risk, reward, and plenty of suspense.

The 5 W's of Powerful Entrepreneurial Story Telling

Who

We want to know you are. We want to know about your experiences. We want to know what you stand for and what you're all about.

We want to know what makes you tick and what you like. Because, if the same things make us tick, and we like the same stuff, we're alike! And, being alike makes us like you.

We also want to know who your clients are. We want to know if our problems are ones you've dealt with before and handled successfully. We want to know that if we come to you with our problems, you'll be able to help us solve them.

We want to like you, and when we learn who you are, we will start to.

What

We want to know what you do. We are curious about how you do what you do. If you're successful, and you tell me the tools you use, I can get those tools too. And, then I can be successful too.

We want to know what makes you an expert. We want to know the results you've gotten for yourself and for other people. Because, if you got great results for her, you can get great results for me.

We are interested in knowing what you know and how you learned it. We want to know the experiences that shaped you into the expert you are today.

We want to believe in you, and when we learn what you know and how you use it to help people, we will start to.

Like this post? Learn how to use story telling to grow your business by signing up for my FREE email course!

When

We'd like to know about when you started. If you just started it will be hard for us to trust you. But, if you've been in the game for forever, we'll wonder if you're current and relevant.

We want to know you're experienced and knowledgeable and not still wet behind the ears. We want to know you've “been there, done that, and have the t-shirt.”

We want to know when you got started because dates put things in perspective. When we know you've seen success after two years because it gives me a challenge as well as confirmation. If you did it in two, maybe I can hustle and do it in one. Plus, if got to where you are in just two years, it means it's possible and I can do it too.

We want to trust you, and when we learn that you've got some experience under your belt, we will start to.

Where

We're always curious to know where you learned how to do what you do. If we went to the same school, we can be buddies! If we follow the same people and read the same books, we can be friends!

We want to know where in the world you live. If we're both in the south, we are automatically alike. If we're both in the east, we can laugh about those westerners. If we came from the same town or even the same state, we're basically best friends.

We also interested in learning where you are in your journey. If you're just starting out, so are we and maybe we can grow together. If you're a few steps ahead, maybe you can teach me. If you've built what I want to build, I know I can do it too.

We want to know, like and trust you, and when we learn where you've come from and where you're going, we will start to.

Why

Why are you so passionate about what you do? Why do you care so much?

We want to know what events in your life drive you. We want to know why you give a damn.

If you've been through tough times, so have I, and that means we're alike. We want to that not everything has been roses and honey for you. We want to know you've had your share of thorns and stings, too. If your life has been perfect, we can't relate because ours haven't been.

We want to know why people need you. We're curious about what draws other people toward you. If what draws them draws me, maybe I can be friends with them, and we can form a community.

If what draws them in draws me in, then I'm not alone in what I'm working on.

If I'm not alone, I have support. If I have support, I can do this. If I can do this, I can do anything! (Tweet that)

We want to know what makes you-you, and when we learn what drives you, we will start to.

Like this post? Learn how to use story telling to grow your business by signing up for my FREE email course!

And the 1 H, How –

We really want to know how you got to where you are. We want to know the tools you used so we can use them too. We want to know the books you've read and the people you've connected with so we can read and connect with them too.

We want to know the steps you took so we can take them. We want to path you took so we can follow it.

We also want to know how you can help. If we come to you with our problem, we want to know how you've solved similar problems in the past.

We want to know how you do what you do you, and when we hear about the tools you use, we will start to.

Fans for Life

When you share your story you separate yourself from the “also-rans.” You're no longer just another blogger or podcaster. Your story creates an opportunity for your audience to transition from knowing what you do, to liking who you are, to trusting how you can help them.

If you can bring us along for the ride, and if you can let us share in your highs and lows, successes and failures, we'll be your fans for life.

Question: What's your story?

 

Photo credit: Cockburn Libraries / Foter / CC BY-NC-ND