Empathy: Impact Through Storytelling Vol. 1
I recently gave a talk at SXSW entitled The Empathy Effect: Impact Through Storytelling to a packed house. In it I shared a successful method I’ve developed over many years of how to harness empathy to form deep emotional bonds with an audience and inspire them to take positive action. Since that is something many people aspire to do, ranging from advertisers to startup founders, nonprofits, tech creators, writers, filmmakers and anyone who cares about others and our world, I am sharing my talk in four blog posts in hopes that it can be helpful to others.
I’m an insatiable story hunter. I have been crafting them for over 30 years, primarily through film and video. I have discovered over the years there is nothing more fulfilling than telling stories which touch people profoundly and move them to positive action. This happens through empathy, and starts with the story-teller.
Have you ever been so moved by someone or something that you felt it viscerally in your whole being? When I feel something that deeply, I know I have found a story that I have to tell. It grabs me, and I chase it relentlessly. For me that feeling emanates from a profound and engaged empathy, one which moves beyond the conventional idea of walking in someone else’s shoes and merely understanding their perspective. It’s an empathy that transcends “you” and “me,” “us” and “them.” It breaks down the silos between people and provides a sense that we are all connected through our shared humanity.
Once you’re deeply moved and inspired, you can become the conduit to foster a feeling of solidarity and connectedness in others. It’s the greatest feeling! If we all tap into that, we can change the world, one story at a time.
That’s why five years ago I launched Creative Breed, an empathy agency, with the mission to make content that inspires people to think, feel and take positive action. We make all kinds of content: feature documentaries, branded content, commercials, web series, editorial content. We’ve discovered the way to harness empathy to tell emotionally engaging stories is the same across all types of storytelling. It’s applicable to brands and nonprofits too, which also need to communicate what they stand for, their “story,” to form bonds with their audience.
To start, here are the three guiding principles of my approach, distilled to their essence:
1. Find Your Story
2. Make It Human
3. Provide a Call to Action
These might seem simple, maybe even simplistic, but as you’ll see across this blog series, they are complex, and very effective.
In order to find your story, identify an issue that resonates with you, the storyteller: a problem or topic that you care about and want to help solve or profile, and then figure out how to bring that alive in a way which will resonate with others and inspire them to take action.
What stirs deep empathy in you, the kind of empathy I described earlier? To figure that out, navigate the world with this spirit:
1. Listen to what the universe tells you….be open to what the world needs.
2. Listen to yourself to hear what resonates with you. Follow your gut, and your heart.
3. Figure out the best way to tell this story. That will depend on your goals, expertise, talent, and circumstances.
These three points might sound obvious, but it’s so rare that we actually listen to the universe, and even more rare that we listen to ourselves. Have you ever found a story you wanted to tell but didn’t have the courage to trust your gut? If your story is from the heart, features people who are engaging and is well crafted, it will resonate with others.
And, the more emotionally connected you are to your story, the more you will be able to forge an emotional connection with your audience.
In my next blog post I will share examples of several different ways that people creating tech, branded content and films have found their stories that harness empathy to forge deep emotional bonds with their audience. Available 4/24.
Learn more about Creative Breed.
