
Why “storytelling” isn’t just a buzzword
I recently connected with a marketing leader who asked me about my motivations for including the word “Storyteller” as a part of my Linkedin headline given what an overused/buzzy term it is in the current market. After explaining how it’s been a huge part of my career, (and sharing with him the story that I’d originally gone to Ryerson with aspirations to be a sitcom writer) I later got to thinking once again about the vital importance of storytelling not just in marketing but in business. Business is done with people (at least for now – cc: Facebook, Amazon, Google, IBM, etc) and people thrive on narrative – and for that reason, I believe storytelling should be a fundamental for any successful professional.
Whether you’re standing on stage sharing that epic case study with your peers, educating your colleagues on a new trend, unpacking reams of data into an actionable insight, building a PowerPoint for that next big presentation or relaying information to your boss on your progress on an initiative, your success hinges on your ability to build a compelling narrative. To make your point easily understood is to succeed.
It’s worth noting that none of these examples above even touch on the content marketing-focused, buzz-heavy type of ‘storytelling’ that consumes soundbytes in industry trades, panels and introductory meetings these days. I don’t reject that this is a critical place to apply the approach of a storyteller, but this is only one dimension of the many opportunities to practice the craft.
The reality is, stories are and always have been the easiest way for humans to make sense of the world. When people ask you to “explain it to me like I’m 5 years old”, what they’re really asking is “tell me a story to help me understand something complex”.
So when I call myself a “storyteller”, I certainly lean on the more traditional use of the word and the years I’ve spent crafting marketing and content stories of audiences of all shapes and sizes. But more than that, I use the word as a fundamental approach to a career and to business – it’s an approach that’s served me well for nearly 15 years and certainly not something likely to disappear like the latest buzzword.
