If you’ve been following me for a while, you might have noticed that I’m fond of telling a story or two. Just flick back a couple of posts and you’ll see what I mean.
It wasn’t always this way. Once upon a time, I believed that being professional meant being all serious and business-like. But what that actually meant was that I was being boring AF.
I felt as if I had to hide my real life and my real personality at all times. As if letting my actual, messy life shine through would put people off.
Yes, it’s good old imposter syndrome telling you that you can’t be taken seriously if you show your authentic self.
I like to call it ‘Perfect Professional’ syndrome. How do you know you’re being a ‘Perfect Professional’?
Here are some of the signs you might recognise:
You write about yourself on your website in the third person
You use the word ‘we’ to imply you have a team when it’s just you
You never ever talk about mistakes you’ve made or when clients or projects didn’t work out
Well guess what. People don’t buy into ‘perfect’ because it’s not relatable.
They buy into honesty and authenticity. And the only way to be genuinely you, is to step out of your comfort zone and start telling stories about yourself that show you are a real human.
The result? In the storytelling posts I write, my social engagement is always way higher and my email open rates are roughly double.
And guess what… Telling stories that people can relate to is FUN.
Doesn’t that sound way more exciting than being scared of being less than perfect?
So buckle up. This week is all about learning to tell stories that will help you embrace your real, messy, genuine weird self. The best thing about it?
I’ve got a rinse-and-repeat storytelling framework that you can swipe at the end of this post.
Start Your Story At The End
Obviously the best stories take you on a journey where the ending isn’t predictable. But when you tell stories in business, you need to begin with the end in mind.
You need to answer the simple question…What do I want to achieve by telling this story?
Chances are that you want to do one of the following:
- Connect with your audience to create empathy
- Convince them to believe something
- Motivate your audience to follow you
- Position yourself as the trusted expert
- Explain how something works
- Pitch your product
Once you’ve decided which kind of story you’re telling, you can map out how you want your audience to feel or believe at the end.
For example, if I want to convince my audience that buying a website template is a shortcut to great design, by the end of my story, I need them to believe 3 key things.
- That website templates give a better result than they could achieve on their own
- That website templates aren’t as expensive as hiring a web designer
- That website templates are easy to use if you follow the instructions
Think about your next social media post. What do you want your audience to know or believe about you and your business?
Stay tuned. Tomorrow we’ll be tackling the fun part…how to find your story hook or topic!
Find Your Story Hook
So, you know where your story ends but how does it begin? This is the fun part. Now, you might be thinking…
“Melissa, I don’t have any epic stories to tell. My life is pretty mundane and nothing exciting ever happens to me.”
Excellent. The best stories are the most relatable. In fact, my most popular stories include:
- How my cat caught a bat
- How I never wash my car
- My struggle buying a rug
- How I’m addicted to the Great British Bake Off
- Living with teenagers
I do, in fact, keep a little note list on my phone of random stuff that happens or quirky things I notice as I go about my daily business. But the truth is that everyone has a lifetime of stories, small and big to draw on.
So, let’s get back to my website template example and my hook.
When I wrote this story, I needed to find an experience of a product where you can follow the instructions and get a better result than starting from scratch, without it costing the earth.
I’m talking about Ikea! Everyone has been to Ikea. It’s totally relatable and it’s the perfect analogy. I *could* build a table from scratch, but it would be rubbish. Or I can access affordable design by following some instructions (even though some mild swearing might be involved!)
Want to read my Ikea story? Scroll back a few posts and you’ll find it.
Here’s my Ikea story, by the way…
What do you do when you get your own flat? You go to Ikea of course.
Why? Because it’s great design at affordable prices. But there’s a hidden cost.
You have to put it together yourself.
And you either love putting together Ikea furniture or you hate it.
(What’s not to love? I mean, it’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle for grown-ups!)
But even though I love a nice bit of Ikea assembly, back in the day, when I got my first flat, Ikea didn’t deliver.
Mik-ea. Geddit? The man was a marketing genius.
Not only would Mikea go get your Ikea furniture, he’d also put it together for you.
Let me tell you, Mike cleaned up. Every Swedish furniture-loving local resident had him on speed dial.
But one sad day – sad for Mike anyway – Ikea started delivering and suddenly it seemed a bit self-indulgent not to put your own furniture together.
People picked up the Ikea instructions (ok, I mean me) and discovered that actually it wasn’t so hard. All the tools were included, everything was labelled and it was obvious what order to do things in.
What had we all been so scared of?
Listen, I can’t build your website for you. My name’s not Mike. But I can give you some very clear instructions. And you won’t even need that funny key thing.
By the way, what’s your Ikea name? Mine’s Ässilem. I think I’d be some kind of rug.
(You spell your name backwards and put an umlaut over the first vowel.)
Structuring Your Story
I promised you a storytelling framework which you can swipe and use for any kind of story.
It goes like this..
- The hook / catchy title (stop the scroll)
- The common problem
- The relatable experience (build trust & empathy)
- The big idea / solution (your USP)
- Highlight the risk (what happens if you don’t…)
- Call to action / lesson
In short, this is the narrative structure of any great story.
Take, The Three Little Pigs, for example.
The Hook
The pigs are regularly threatened by wolves.
The Common Problem
Building a secure house isn’t easy.
The Relatable Experience
The DIY houses made with cheap materials keep falling down.
The Big Idea
Use bricks.
The Risk
You’ll get eaten by a wolf.
The Lesson
Don’t skimp on materials or take shortcuts.
You can see that even a simple tale of narrowly-avoided piggy disaster could easily be adapted to create a business lesson.
Develop Your Voice
But you don’t want to write about pigs. You want to write about your own relatable experiences (of which you have many – trust me).
So let’s take a look at how this plays out in the real world.
Yes, it’s time for me to share my most popular email story ever. The one where my cat caught a bat.
Before we get stuck in, this is a ‘Connection’ story, designed to show vulnerability and create shared empathy with an audience.
The Hook – My cat caught a bat. Strong start, right?
Ted came strolling into my office with a bat in his mouth and it was very much alive. Cue horrified screams from the home-schooling daughters.
He placed it gently at my feet (lucky me!) and just stood there, at a complete loss, with no idea what to do next. Do cats eat bats? He clearly wasn’t sure and I definitely didn’t want to find out.
To cut a long story short, I threw a towel over the bat and we took it over to the local bat cave (yes, there really is one) and Ted didn’t get the opportunity to try a bat snack.
The Common Problem – We all doubt ourselves
Here’s the thing. It should be impossible for a cat to catch a bat but Ted didn’t know that. He saw an opportunity and he took it. In his furry little mind, he has the self-belief of an apex predator.
It was when he caught the bat that he didn’t know what to do next. Instead, he came to me with total faith that I’d be able to help him deal with it.
Relatable Experience – Paralysed by imposter syndrome
Last week, someone I really admire, who has a huge audience, approached me to set up a call about a collaboration. Unexpectedly, I felt completely paralysed by the opportunity. Hello, imposter syndrome, my old friend.
The Solution – Finding the right mindset and seeking support
Then it came to me. I need to be more Ted. To have complete self-belief, but also make sure that I have someone who I can go to when big opportunities come along.
So, I finally signed up to a year-long coaching programme I’ve had my eye on for a while. It’s expensive, which is potentially risky, but I feel more excited than I have done in a long time.
The Risk – If you don’t do this you’ll get stuck and won’t move forward
And simply by choosing to be in this community, you have a whole team of people cheering you on and helping you make the most of any opportunities that you create.
If you don’t place yourself in an environment which normalises success, you’re more likely to ‘settle’ for where you are, rather than reach for what you secretly wish for.
The Lesson / Call To Action – Join my membership & get the support you need
A good test is to ask yourself if you’d be happy to be right where you are now, 5 years from now? If you don’t like the answer, it’s time to start taking some shortcuts that expert communities can give you.
Actually, that’s what The Marketing Fix is all about. Community, Co-Working, Accountability and Action.
Bring us your bats and we’ll work out what to do with them together!
THE END
PS. Every good story leaves you wanting more. If you’d like to get my weekly story delivered straight to your inbox every week, don’t forget to sign up below.
Expect extraordinary stories about ordinary things. Cats may feature regularly.
If you’d like to join an inspiring online community, you can find out more about Melissa’s online membership at The Marketing Fix.
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