Storytelling instead of corporate speak
There is a lot that can be said about the way people communicate. We all know that our interactions are most effective when we meet in person. This is not always possible and we’re used to communicate in a lot of different ways. Some are effective, some are not so effective.
By nature, humans are used to process visual images, we are wired to translate everything we experience into images that make sense out of all our sensoritory input. To put it blunt: we’re on the lookout for danger. Creating a platform to make a message sticky is as old as mankind. Befor there was writing we told stories to teach. Fairytales where very effective in teaching our youngsters about values and ethics. And for a good reason: we love a good story! This video shows Storytelling vs. Corporate Speak by Lou Hoffman of Ishmael’s corner
That puts (moving) images right on top of our wish list if we want to get a message across.
Besides video we also need content. Our goal would be, to present a message (content) that is sticky enough to be remembered. Easy enough you say? Wrong! In internal communication efforts you often see very abstract forms of communication. Straight foward and often to the point but also dull, boring and not appealing. Chip and Dan Heath came up with the SUCCESs formula to rate the Sickyness of a message. In short, for any message to stick it needs to be:
- Simple
- Unexpected
- Credible
- Concrete
- Emotional
- Story
You can use this as a tool: if your message complies with 3 or more of these conditions, your message will stick! Try it.
