Knowing how to tell a story effectively is a true gift, whether in life or business. The good news is you don’t have to be a natural-born storyteller to be good at it — and a little help along the way is never a bad idea. This post will take you through the 4 P’s of Storytelling.
When you harness this skill, it allows you to draw more people in and build a community of loyal supporters since stories have the power to affect our brains in many different ways. Most importantly, sharing information in a story format is much more likely to resonate and be remembered. This is because good storytelling helps your brain feel like you are a part of the experience rather than just hearing about it. Listeners thus experience similar brain activity to the speaker, making it easier for the listener to remember the said event.
When it comes to marketing, powerful stories translate into sales, especially when said stories have an emotional impact.
Here are the 4 P’s of storytelling so you can go from amateur to pro in no time!
People
Arguably the essential element of any story is the people involved. We are naturally emotional and social beings, which means we respond most strongly to others because we can relate to them.
Tell a story and use people as a driving force. They should be the main characters, interacting with the environment in which your story takes place.
Depending on the emotions you want to elicit from your customer, find stories that will drum up those emotions — anger, sadness, grief, loss, frustration, joy, or happiness. If you can tell a story about people in a way that can make your listeners feel the same feelings as the character, then you’re well on your way to having a pretty powerful story.
Place
Just like it sounds, place refers to where the story takes place. This is important because it will allow the audience to decide whether they believe the story. It’s what grounds the story into reality — it didn’t take place in a mythical land of make-believe, but maybe it took place in a grocery store, mall parking lot, or spin class.
Take care in describing this place so that your audience can relate to it. For example, if it’s in a grocery store, the listener can picture themselves in that same environment — which is exactly what you want.
Plot
All stories have a beginning, a middle, and an end. This is your plot — you want to build an emotional arc that culminates in some resolution or conclusion.
If a story stays the same pace the whole time, it becomes dull and unengaging. When you start to tell a story, lay the groundwork of the people and place, and then work to build it up through an incident, rising action, falling action, and then eventually resolution.
It will ensure your listeners stay engaged and keep your story memorable.
Purpose
I always tout the importance of storytelling with a purpose. You should never tell a story just for the sake of it — there always needs to be a clear vision; otherwise, it will prevent people from resonating with your story, even if the people, place, and plot are fascinating.
Identify what your audience wants, and create a story around that purpose.
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Email: catherine@catherinenikkel.com
Need help telling your story in your own voice? Let’s make it happen. Schedule a consultation with me here
Catherine Nikkel is a content creator, ghostwriter and the founder of Mindful Media. She specializes in helping CEOs, entrepreneurs and influencers create copy that engages and converts. Her work has appeared in Forbes, Huffington Post, Yahoo!, Authority Magazine, FemFounder and more.
Inspired by your creation
Very useful information, especially how you explain it. Thank you now to put it into practice.I’m not sure about being pro, though!