As the old Chinese proverb goes, “Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever”. 

Storytelling has always been central to the human experience.

The human brain is 22x more likely to remember stories rather than facts (I know I've said it before, but according to psychologists, it takes at least seven times before a message sinks in).

And whilst the way that stories are told continues to change, our bandwidth for authentic, narrative-led stories is as high as ever. 

Yet instead of telling stories, too many impact-driven brands focus on a global problem or their product's features. And it holds us back. So instead we need to tell a strong story. 

Why is a narrative necessary for your brand?

A story is 22x more likely to be remembered than facts and figures by themselves.

A brand story essentially packages your mission, vision for the future into a digestible and understandable narrative.

A strategic narrative is a story that includes all of the elements of your purpose, mission, and vision into one story. Stories humanize your brand and give both colour and context to your product or service. And no matter whether you're telling your brand's strategic narrative to an investor, a room full of potential clients, or your family over a Christmas dinner, it will help you explain what you do and why you do it. 

Why do people engage with stories?

Each one of those people inherently craves connection.

A human connection, not another transactional, business-to-business pitch. You have to establish a common ground of belief, a vision for the future which is appealing for both parties, and that you've got an idea that can help everyone involved arrive there.  Your story should show who you are, and not just tell what you do.

As Ben Horowitz, Partner and Co-founder, Andreessen Horowitz famously said, “The mistake people make is thinking the story is just about marketing. No, the story is the strategy. If you make your story better you make the strategy better”.

A solid narrative can aid fundraising efforts and aligns sales, marketing, product development and recruiting around a common strategy. When you begin your sales or investment pitch with a product's features, you're likely to bore your audience to no avail.

What can I use my brand story for?

A strong brand story can be used across multiple communications channels, including but not limited to the following:

• Investor pitches (investors invest in founders who can get people to join their journey. That takes a great story.)

• Team alignment (internal communications)

• Product presentation (like the Elon Musk clip in the previous lesson)

• Thought leadership (break up your tools and write an article about each)

• Public relations (pitch your narrative as a stand-alone story or break them up and submit them to industry publication.

• Sales decks (for an example, I've attached the sales deck for this course below)

How do you create a narrative that frames your mission?

There are five key elements that bring together a narrative in business. Andy Raskin, a leader in creating strategic narratives for Silicon Valley SaaS brands and corporates, outlined the five elements of a strategic narrative.

The five elements of a strategic narrative

1. Name a Big, Relevant Change in the World. Not a feature. Not a product. But a transformation occurring. "Don’t kick off a sales presentation by talking about your product, your headquarters locations, your investors, your clients, or anything about yourself," he says.  This is demonstration of the “why” that Simon Sinek talks about. It’s the point that says “do we agree” or not? If the audience agrees with your statement, then you're already halfway towards hooking them in. 

2. Show There’ll Be Winners and Losers. What are the stakes? If you (the audience) continue along on the status quo, this is what you’ll have to lose if you miss the boat. "All prospects suffer from what economists call “loss aversion.” That is, they tend to avoid a possible loss by sticking to the status quo, rather than risk a possible gain by opting for change. To combat loss aversion, you must demonstrate how the change you cited above will create big winners and big losers." This should evoke the need to change. Don’t give the way to do so yet…that comes later. This section should just build angst and tie it all together with a common trend. 

3. Tease the Promised Land. Instead of telling about your company, your products or your value proposition, this is where your vision comes into play. Raskin advises to resist the temptation to begin talking about yourself here. "Your Promised Land should be both desirable (obviously) and difficult for the prospect to achieve without outside help. Otherwise, why does your company exist?" This should be the mission statement from the customer’s perspective. Getting to Graceland or destroying the death star. The promised land should be aspirational and hard to reach. 

4. Introduce Features as “Magic Gifts” for Overcoming Obstacles to the Promised Land. Now it's time to show your product's features as "magic gifts" which will help overcome the obstacles on the way to the promised land. "If it’s not clear by now, successful sales decks follow the same narrative structure as epic films and fairy tales. Your prospect is Luke, and you’re Obi Wan, furnishing a lightsaber to help him defeat the Empire. Your prospect is Frodo, and you’re Gandalf, wielding wizardry to help him destroy the ring. Your prospect is Cinderella, and you’re the fairy godmother, casting spells to get her to the ball." Ask yourself, what are the obstacles to the client's goal and frame your product's features in this way. Anticipate the challenges. What’s stopping them from getting there? Your features should be the answer to a problem.

5. Present Evidence that You Can Make the Story Come True. Proof that it’s possible to get to the promised land. That you’re not just making it up and that you're the right person to take them there. "In telling the sales narrative this way, you’re making a commitment to prospects: If they go with you, you’ll get them to the Promised Land." This is where you can tackle a skeptical audience. Evidence should include stories of customer success and/or demos telling about their own personal experiences and what it took them to win. Evidence shows that the transformation took place.

In the next lesson, we'll look at the exact five elements that every good story has and how you can create your own.