1. Lasting Impact: Storytelling Makes Messages Memorable
http://prblog.typepad.com/strategic_public_relation/2008/02/lasting-impact.html
PR Tactics editor John Elsasser tapped me to write an article for their latest issue. At more than 800
words, it’s considered blasphemously long for a blog post. But I'm not sure if it’ll be posted online or
not so I posted it below. Check out PR Tactics print edition if you prefer the more nostalgic approach to
content consumption.
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We spend countless hours choosing the best message, format and medium to reach our audiences when
the most powerful communication device is the one we seem to use the least – storytelling.
Stories make our messages easier to remember and have been used throughout history to help explain
concepts more effectively, according to “A Whole New Mind” by Daniel Pink.
Starbucks is built on story. The ubiquitous barista was almost named Pequod Coffee Company after the
boat in “Moby Dick.” Starbucks’ founders felt the name would evoke the romance of the high seas.
Thankfully naming consultants were quick to point out that consumers would not stand in line to drink
a cup of Pequod. The owners instead settled on Starbuck, the first mate on the Pequod. And today there
are more than 13,168 locations in 40 countries worldwide.
A Mix of Fact and Emotion
In "The Elements of Persuasion,"Richard Maxwell and Robert Dickman define a story as “a fact,
wrapped in an emotion that compels us to take an action that transforms our world.”
The use of fact and emotion in a story is critical – particularly in public relations. A message focusing
just on emotion can be easily dismissed. At the same time, isolated facts are not remembered easily by
an audience. In a world cluttered with messages competing for audience time and attention, stories and
our messages require both elements to be effective.
What’s the Story?
So how do you write a story? Whether it’s three sentences or three volumes in length, stories need to
have a basic structure – a beginning, middle and end.
An Appetizing Beginning: Every story must quickly grab reader attention with an
interesting hook. This whets their appetite and draws them into the story. And while some
basic facts should be established, they should be chosen carefully to slowly reveal the story.
The Meaty Middle: Once the reader is engaged, serve up the story’s main course to keep
them satisfied. Any initial problems established or assertions made will play out in full.
End with Dessert, Not Desert: Once a reader is engaged, don’t end the story without the
best part. An ending brings resolution to the story. Good or bad the ending leaves the
reader with distinct feelings and usually a call to action.
Starting with these basic elements, creativity is the only limit to how you tell your story. And there are
some ways to help make storytelling second nature.
Learn by Doing
Telling your own story is great practice for doing it on the job. StoryCorps is an organization that
encourages you to tell your story. Considered to be the largest oral history project of its kind,
StoryCorps transports sound booths across the country with the goal of recording people’s stories in an

2. audio format. Some of the stories are rebroadcast on NPR and all of them wind up in the Library of
Congress.
Stories (Don’t) Write Themselves
Images, audio and video are easier than ever to create and can easily be added to a story to increase
audience engagement. But be selective and creative about using these elements to enhance a story.
Before you give an executive some screen time or add a grip and grin photo of the company founder
shaking hands with the CEO, ask the question – “does it improve the message?” If audio/visual
elements don’t make a message easier to understand, and more memorable, they distract the audience.
Even worse, you’re wasting everyone’s time.
Less is More
While images, audio and video can enhance your story; an effective story relies on top-notch writing.
Writing more frequently helps improve skills; writing with fewer words makes the end result more
efficient and effective.
There are several unconventional online approaches to whittling down the word count. One Word posts
one word each day and gives you 60 seconds to write about it. The photo sharing site Flickr is home to
The Six Word Story Group where members submit photos with captions no longer than six words. The
end result must tell a story.
Make a (Power) Point
Anyone still skeptical about the power of storytelling in business should visit SlideShare. The site is
YouTube for PowerPoint presentations and it serves up endless examples of good (and really bad)
approaches to storytelling through the de facto software for business presentations. As an example,
SlideShare has more than 400 presentations on storytelling alone and the site will inspire your use of
PowerPoint.
Taking these steps will make storytelling second nature. And as we are continually challenged to gain
the attention of time-starved audiences, this proven device will help us meet this challenge.
In the case of Starbucks, the story of its naming is part of the foundation on which the coffee company
has built its success. Not bad for a cup of Pequod.
Going up! uploaded by Todd Huffman
tags | public relations | PR | PRSA | storytelling | Starbucks

3. Storytelling and PR A novel way of telling your tale.
http://aboutpublicrelations.net/aa061001a.htm
Once upon a time, a former CBS newsman devised a new strategy for
telling a company's story: classic storytelling. Robbie Vorhaus
founded his own Public Relations firm based on this principle. He
shares the story of how it works in this interview with About Public
Relations.
APR: Exactly how does storytelling relate to PR?
Robbie Vorhaus: Public relations is a form of classic storytelling, but for business. It is
pure non-fiction -- truth -- told in the exact same context as any other story form, such as
movies, novels, advertising and journalism. Essentially, storytelling, and that includes
PR, is having a point of view or theme, focusing on one person or thing (the hero) and taking your audience on
that hero's journey through trials and tribulations to arrive at some new point, but now changed. It doesn't matter
if you're promoting a country, company, product, person or cause; if you tell the story with the same structure,
elements, archetypes and path of all great stories, your message will be heard and acted on. And, in business,
whoever tells the best story wins.
APR: What are the components of an effective story?
RV: First, you need a strong beginning, which is always the hero's ordinary, believable world. Then, add the
middle, which is the hero's journey into some extraordinary world. And the end is the hero's return to his ordinary
world, but changed, very changed. Other components of an effective story are a compelling point of view or
theme, such as "nothing takes the place of persistence," or "true love never dies," or "it's all in the delivery."
APR: What is an example of storytelling done well?
RV: In fictional storytelling, Titanic, Ghost, Romeo & Juliet and West Side Story are exactly the same story: true
love never dies. In classic storytelling for business, I immediately think of Domino's Pizza: A young man who
grows up in an orphanage goes into the Marines, returns and buys a small pizza store in Ypsilanti, Michigan,
thinking he can make more money delivering pizza than waiting for customers to come to him. He opens other
stores, buys out his brother for the price of a VW, and builds the company into a $3.3 billion dollar global
enterprise. He sells it for $1.1 billion and is quoted as saying "I want to give all my money away and die broke."
The theme here is: nothing takes the place of persistence.
APR: What is an example of storytelling done poorly?
Robbie Vorhaus: Walk with me through any news organization's assignment area and pick up any of the
hundreds of recently faxed press releases. I visit my friends at newspapers, network and local news
organizations, and radio stations, and I'm stunned at the poor grammar, spelling errors and complete lack of any
apparent writing skills. There is a huge disconnect between journalists and public relations practitioners because
of the lack of writing skills and storytelling ability. Imagine some unkempt person walking up to you at a party and
saying in a sloppy voice, "Hi, my name is Bob. Let's talk about me."
APR: How does one develop storytelling skills?
RV: First, stop trying to sell. Learn how to engage an audience, not manipulate it. Second, read some books on
writing non-fiction and journalism. My favorites are still "On Writing Well," by William Zinsser, and "The Elements
of Style," by Strunk and White. Finally, practice. Find someone who has no vested interest in your story and tell
it. Be prepared for what that person has to say. In comedy, the saying is "if they don't laugh, it's not funny." In
public relations the same is true. If your audience doesn't get it, they won't buy it.
APR: Are clients receptive to the storytelling approach?
RV: Our clients, yes. Companies that didn't hire us, no. Usually, CEOs who understand the importance of telling
their brand story to myriad audiences, such as customers, media, employees, analysts, the trade, government
and even competitors, find our approach exactly in line with their goals. For example, Buick, the company that
started the world's largest corporation, General Motors; Bertolli, a 100% agricultural product, the world's leading
olive oil; and Lipton, founded by Sir Thomas Lipton, the world's leading tea brand, all have magnificent stories
that deserve to be told well.
APR: How do the media respond?

4. RV: Both the media and our clients are happy. The media get a good, compelling story; our client gets incredible
coverage. It's win-win.
APR: What's your best storytelling tip?
RV: Know your story, know your audience, and tell your story better than anyone else. And don't forget to smile.
Robbie Vorhaus, president and CEO, Vorhaus & Company Inc.,
founded the New York City based public relations firm in 1989
when he left CBS TV to create a new model for public relations:
classic storytelling for business. He can be contacted at
vorhaus@vorhaus.com, or visit the firm's Web site at
www.vorhaus.com.

5. Storytelling in PR
http://www.cyberfootprint.eu/storytelling-in-pr/
Posted by Honza on 11/30/09 • Categorized as Marketing, Public Relations
We often hear that the press release, essay or a resume needs to tell a story. “Facts are great, but a story
is better,” I’ve heard many times during my internship at a PR agency.
Interestingly enough, nobody told me why is a story better than a collection of facts. An article in New
York Times only tells us that we have some sort of a natural affinity for the narratives embedded in our
brains. Well, NYT.com might not be the best source to look for scientific information after all. So, I
plunged into academic discourse only to return to reality many hours later and a tiny bit wiser.
Narrative Paradigm
Most of the consulted literature does not shed light on why humans are susceptible to storytelling, but it
offers some explanations on how narratives persuade us. Walter Fisher argues that persuasion happens
emotionally, instead of rationally. Narrative is, according to him, the most persuasive means of
communication. If the narrator makes the story believable and consistent to the audience, the factual
truth does not matter.
There is a problem, though. Coherence (the extent to what the story makes sense) and fidelity (the
extent to what the story is compatible with our own previous experience) vary from person to person.
Therefore, narratives tend to be ineffective on the large scale and in mass persuasion. Hence the
experience of the audience may vary from the one intended by the persuader.
How to get over this problem? The solution exists, but it’s not easy. Some of you may be familiar with
social judgment theory. The key is to determine the latitude of acceptance within your target audience
and customize the narrative to fit into it.
ELM
Steering away from Fisher’s radical paradigm, we can take a look at elaboration likelihood model that
presents more answers to the question “why should the press release tell a story?”
We can all agree that writing a colourful story is like painting a picture. Most pictures are easy to
comprehend and do not require too much of thinking. This reduces the message’s processing difficulty,
and sends it via the peripheral route to the brain, where it is easily deciphered and comprehended in a
way the message constructors want it to be understood.
This is often tricky, just as Fisher’s theory, because PROs cannot accurately predict how the audience
will react. That comes back to knowing the segment you are marketing to and researching it properly.
Another option is to focus on the niche audience, because smaller groups will act in a more predictable
way, so the PROs can steer the audience’s perception with more control over the process.
My own theory
I would like to announce that if I have come up with the following thoughts myself, and if it overlaps
with any scientific theory, credit goes to the theorist.
In order to survive and succeed, humans need to harvest a great array of experiences, so they will know

6. how to behave in certain situations. We are storing these experiences for further reference.
For example, even though only few of us have given the first aid, we know how to behave in a situation
requiring the first aid.
Stories are essentially someone else’s experience transmitted to the listener / reader. Therefore, due to
our natural affinity for stories (stemming from the aforementioned need), we are susceptible to letting
our guard of critical thinking down and perceive messages in a way their creators want them to be
perceived.
Concluding on a lighter note
So, I am thoroughly exhausted after the gruesome research and a flood of information. If you have read
the article all the way to here, well done! You now understand the power and limitations of the stories
in your press releases.
One day I decided to play with this theory. I was supposed to send a press release about Impact to two
similar groups of journalists. To make matters more interesting, I wrote one factual and one story-like
version of the release. I had sent the releases out, and got a more favourable reaction to the narrative
version. OK, theory confirmed.
Last word of advice for the PROs: write stories, but don’t stick to them all the time. It depends a lot on
who your target audience is, and who the target publication is. Some editors will kill narratives,
because it does not look like proper reporting. Others won’t. It all comes back to targeting and doing
your homework.
Image credit: fluckduffy and melodi2

7. How a 2-Minute Story Helps You Lead
3:53 PM Tuesday August 4, 2009 | Comments (30)
Leaders gain trust and teach people what's important to them by telling stories. But these
days there's so much to attend to — now! — coming at us so fast. You might be tempted to
let slide your soft skills, like how to tell a useful story. Just get to the point and move on to the
next thing on the list. No time for fluff.
Even President Obama, who masterfully demonstrated his storytelling skills in the campaign, was recently
described as shuffling from one crucial issue to the next, like an iPod listener flits from song to song. No time for
albums. Trying to do too much, too fast, and on too many fronts can be risky, yet today's environment requires
that we get better at doing so.
All the more reason, then, for giving attention to how you get others to pay attention. The trick is
to show movement on the issues that matter while, for each issue, helping your key stakeholders grasp the
meaning of what you're aiming to achieve — why the goal matters to the team or the organization and how we're
going to get from here to there.
So don't give up on honing your storytelling skills; instead, learn how to move faster among your different
narratives. Through practice and feedback, improve your ability to connect through stories — while keeping them
short to hold beleaguered attention spans. For even as the digital age compels us to develop ever-increasing
capacities for a switch-your-focus-but-remain-present state of mind, as a leader you still have to be able to
convey a narrative that resonates with your people and inspires them to move with you in the right direction.
A good leadership story has the power to engage hearts and minds. It has these six crucial
elements:
1. Draws on your real past and lessons you've learned from it.
2. Resonates emotionally with your audience because it's relevant to them.
3. Inspires your audience because it's fueled by your passion.
4. Shows the struggle between your goal and the obstacles you faced in pursuing it.
5. Illustrates with a vivid example.
6. Teaches an important lesson.

8. Leaders at all levels and in all walks of life can improve their skill in telling a good, fast leadership story. Here's how:
think of a story that meets these six criteria and convey it to someone — anyone who you'd like to teach — in
less than two minutes. Then ask them what impact the hearing of your tale had on them. Where they moved?
Did they learn what you wanted to convey? Next, repeat with someone else — but do it faster. Then again, faster
still.
Let us know what you discover.
http://blogs.hbr.org/friedman/2009/08/how-a-2minute-story-can-help-y.html