Success Advice

Tell a Story, Don’t List Benefits – How the Science of Storytelling Will Transform Your Business

Published

4 years ago

Apr 28, 2020

Diana Wink

Image Credit: Unsplash

If you’d like to learn how to tell amazing stories so you can influence people to act, sign up for the free 90-Day Master Class hosted by the founder of Addicted2Success.com, Joel Brown.

In 2009, a man bought 200 objects on Ebay for $129 and sold them for $8000. How did he achieve an increase of 6202 percent? He did it by adding a story. He commissioned 200 writers to tell a story about each object. This experiment proved: the power of storytelling is real.

How can anyone justify wearing a pair of sneakers that costs at least four times the manufacturing price? The purchase is not rationalized by some extra rubber or innovative material, nor by a special fit or an extraordinary energy boost. We all know the truth: a sneaker is a sneaker. But by wearing a 100 Dollar sneaker you become part of a story.

At an auction, someone bought a Nike sneaker for $475,500, and it was not because of some rational benefits. It was because the buyer became part of a mythical sneaker history, where the shoes were made by Nike co-founder Bill Bowerman, who used his wife’s waffle iron to create a new kind of running shoe. It’s like owning the Mona Lisa.

Why doesn’t GoPro advertise the cool technical features of its camera on the front page? They could have said, GoPro has an unshakable HyperSmooth 2.0 stabilization and built-in mounting. Instead, they say, GoPro helps people capture and share their lives’ most meaningful experiences with others—to celebrate them together. Of course, they list the benefits. But first, they tell a story.

Many start-ups and entrepreneurs make a fatal mistake. They start with listing the benefits. The result? In a world where everybody is competing for attention—a limited resource to give—their business drowns in the noise. If you want people’s attention, you need to start with a story. Not just any story, but a compelling narrative with three ingredients.

The neurochemical “angel’s cocktail” you need for a good story

Paul Zak did an experiment where he showed people two types of short videos:

a sad story about a father and son that had an intriguing start, a climax and a compelling ending
a person walking about aimlessly during the video

The brains of the ones who watched the first video produced two neurochemicals: Cortisol and Oxytocin. Those people also took desired action—they made donations. The second video didn’t engage the audience’s brains in any way.

In a related experiment, people infused with oxytocin turned out to be 80% more generous than others when splitting money. David JP Phillips adds another hormone and calls it the “angel’s cocktail”—the mixture of the three chemicals you need for a compelling story.

“Good stories surprise us. They make us think and feel. They stick in our minds and help us remember ideas and concepts in a way that a PowerPoint crammed with bar graphs never can.” – Joe Lazauskas & Shane Snow

Dopamine—the attention hormone

“We discovered that, in order to motivate a desire to help others, a story must first sustain attention—a scarce resource in the brain—by developing tension during the narrative.” – Paul Zak

The release of dopamine motivates us, helps us focus and sustains memory. If you want to stand out from the noise that has become abundant in this world—and will increase in the future—you need this hormone.

In storytelling, dopamine is produced by creating tension and using a cliffhanger. Here’s an example: “You better not tell nobody but God” is the first sentence in Alice Walker’s masterpiece “The Color Purple”. It raises tension and questions you need answered. This way, it triggers the release of dopamine in the brain. We’re instantly paying attention.

Oxytocin—the bonding hormone

Empathy is the key to a story that inspires action. In a brand story, the hero is always the customer. Never make your brand or product the hero. This is a fatal mistake that has cost many businesses and products their existence.

To make the customer the hero, you need to understand him. What is his or her desire? What keeps him awake at night? What are her greatest problems and fears? If you know the answers, you can create a story that evokes empathy—that shows that you understand the customer and releases Oxytocin to build trust and form a bond.

“I’m obsessed with giving the audience something they don’t see coming.” – Jordan Peele

Endorphin—the happiness hormone

There is one ingredient added to the angel’s cocktail. One that explains why we love the Late Night Show, sitcoms and plain entertainment. Research firm PwC anticipates revenue from media and entertainment will reach an estimated $2.2 trillion by 2021.

Why do we spend so much money on being entertained and not informed? Because of endorphins that are released in our brain when humor comes into play. When your story makes the audience laugh, they feel more relaxed and creative. You need this desperately to combat the stress and anxiety of everyday life.

Start with an image

Stories are the pathway to engaging our right brain and triggering imagination. Start your story by creating a powerful image that both grabs the customer’s attention and will be remembered for a long time.

Find an image that triggers the angel’s cocktail by adding tension, empathy and entertainment. Let’s go back to Nike’s campaign: Equality isn’t a game. But achieving it will be our greatest victory.

It raises tension by asking: How can we achieve equality? And will we? It triggers empathy by creating a common cause that matters to the customers: equality. And it provides entertainment by the comparison between sports (‘game’) and a political cause.

Never underestimate the power of storytelling. A compelling story can increase the value of a product by over 6000 percent. If you want to stand out from the noise, use the science of storytelling.

But remember, the story has to be authentic. Storytelling in marketing is not about manipulation because sooner or later, your audience will discover a fake, and it will ruin your company. The power of storytelling means using a privilege and telling a brand story that provides your customers with a value they wouldn’t have found without it.

What do you think about storytelling? Is it something you’re good at & have seen the benefits? Share your stories with us below!

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Diana Wink

Diana Wink is a mountain child from the depths of middle Asia, striving to kidnap her readers into make-believe worlds, blend the borders between past and future, and master her own curiosity. On storyartist.me, she shows how you can make a living writing stories and offers the free ebook “8 things successful writers do every day–learn from Hemingway, Grisham and George R. R. Martin.”

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Success Advice

How to Ignite the Spark Within for Future Success

All of us come to this world with our own reserve of magic unfortunately, not everyone can unleash it

Published

14 hours ago

Dec 4, 2023

M.S. Rao

Image Credit: Midjourney

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Success Advice

How Your Beliefs Can Supercharge or Sabotage Your Success

Your life is dictated by beliefs and biases that drive your thinking, behaviors, and decisions

Published

2 weeks ago

Nov 20, 2023

Jane Frankel

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Image Credit: Midjourney

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Success Advice

How to Break the Cycles of Mediocrity and Manifest Your Greatness

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity

Published

3 weeks ago

Nov 16, 2023

Jamelle Sanders

Image Credit: Midjourney

In just a few weeks, we will be wrapping up 2023. Can you believe it? This year has been absolutely incredible for me.

I have seen amazing doors opened, new relationships formed and I am seeing dreams realized in my life. While this seems like the hallmarks of a great year, this has also been the most challenging year of my life. With all of the change happening in my life, I have been forced out of my comfort zone and challenged to grow in every area of my life.

I can truly say that I have made the most of my moments this year and I have used everything as a catalyst for maximizing my greatest potential.

As a revolutionary leader, I have the pleasure of consulting and advising leaders around the world to fulfill purpose, realize their greatest potential and make an impact.

I want to share some insights with you that will help you to break cycles of mediocrity and manifest your greatness.

Everything legal must come through the matrix

I am sure that some of you are wondering why I am using the term matrix. However, what you have to understand is that I am trying to make a highly complex spiritual principle practical to understand.

Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, every life has an origin and I believe that origin is divine and begins with eternity. You are birthed from eternity and into time to fulfill a unique purpose and assignment in your lifetime and generation.

The matrix is simply the portal or vehicle that brings something out of the invisible realm and into tangible form. The problem with much of the teaching today is that it excludes the matrix. We are told to believe that success is instantaneous and overnight.

Nobody talks about how a dream progresses through stages beginning with visualization and ultimately culminating in manifestation. Without a matrix or portal then everything that you attempt to birth and build will be illegal.

The matrix not only makes you legal but it gives you the authority and power to function as the greatest expression of who you were created to be.

Every matrix has an incubation process

While many people admire and respect me today, I remember a time when nobody knew who I was or the significance of my message. How did I get to where I am today? I got here through an incubation process.

In other words, everything that has been destined for your life is incubating and awaiting a set time of manifestation. The problem is that most people live their entire lives idle and never initiate the incubation process.

What do I meany by that? Most people are living reckless and very few people are living intentionally. I am amazed at the number of people I have conversations with that have no vision, goals or strategies for their lives. They show great promise and they have undeniable potential.

However, without development they will die with their dreams still in them.

Everything that has been destined for your life must be incubated and converted to become realities born to time.

“Visualize this thing that you want, see it, feel it, believe in it. Make your mental blueprint and begin to build.” – Robert Collier

You must give expression to that which is not yet born to time

When you think about a matrix or a prophetic incubation process, you have to understand that potential is often unrealized and untapped. In other words, your potential is in raw form and your potential cannot serve you as long as it is untapped.

The thing that makes me valuable is that I have the ability to convert potential into power. I have done it in my own life and I have empowered leaders around the world to do the same. How do you convert potential into power?

First, it is important to note that you have to perceive potential. If you cannot perceive your potential then you can never cultivate your potential. In addition, you must take the time to cultivate your potential. We often get excited about our capabilities; however, we never expand our capacity in order to realize our greatest potential.

In other words, the strength of your potential is only discovered through your willingness to stretch. The more we are challenged the more we are empowered to expand our capacity for greatness. Most of all, you must begin to express your potential. The expression of potential is different for every person.

For example, the expression of my potential is best demonstrated through the thoughts, ideas, products, services, books, etc.

For another person the expression of potential may look like a screenplay, artwork, sports, scientific discoveries, medical breakthroughs, etc.

Regardless of the form of expression, I know that you will live empty and unfulfilled until you make the decision to express your potential. The expression of your potential gives voice to your dreams, life to your vision, significance to your moments and activates your true power.

You must manifest your greatness

As a revolutionary thinker and leader, my work has impacted people around the world. I am grateful that my life is a source of empowerment to so many people. However, before anyone could ever benefit from my life, I had to make a non-negotiable decision to become who I was born to be.

I wish I could tell you that this journey is easy and that you will get there overnight. However, in a world that celebrates us for doing we are often criticized for being. As a result, I wasted a lot of time trying to be who other people wanted me to be instead of being who I was born to be.

There is no greatness without becoming and there is no becoming with authenticity. It is through our bravery to be vulnerable that we ultimately manifest our greatness. We do not bless the world by being a duplicate. We bless the world when we honor our difference. When you honor your difference you honor your potential.

Ultimately, your difference is how you manifest your greatness.

When you present anything but your authentic self to the world, you are playing small and you are robbing the world of your significance. Manifesting your greatness requires you to master your gifts.