1. Your StoryDefining and CommunicatingYour Message for Greater Influence and ReachSuzanne E. Henry November 2011 1

2. He/She who tells the best story wins 2 3. Communication Today Desperation to be heard Exponential channel growth Change in fashion From messaging to storytelling Driving need for authenticity Lack of marketing tolerance 3 4. You Are Not Alone Everyone has a storyto tell Everyone has a rightto voice it Its easier than ever 4 5. No Lack of Distribution Channels Social mediaTraditional mediaMarketing materialsEvents/trade showsSales presentationsCocktail talkDay to day e-mail, phone activity5 6. Message vs. Story Story = context Message = conclusionYou need both 6 7. Once Upon A TimeHave you ever grown tired of hearing, Let me tell you a story?7 8. EFFECTIVE Information when delivered in the form of a storytransfers itfrom short term memoryto long term memoryEspecially when it evokes the most powerful emotions(love/affinity, fear, sadness, happiness) 8 9. What is Organizational Storytelling? Illustrative Gives context Paints a larger picture Beginning, middle & end with a change occurring Shows how you got to the messageyou are trying to deliverNarrative that evokesemotion, connection, understanding and action9 10. What is Your Story?10 11. Two StagesDefine/discoverDeliver11 12. Define/Discover Who are you? What is it you are trying to accomplish? What prayer do you answer? What happened that launched you? What dragons or villains have you slain? What have you learned? How was (or is) your issue being resolved? 12 13. Delivering Identify your voice Choose your language Identify anecdotes and illustrations Format Choose channels 13 14. From Story to StorytellerStory library Origin story Why are you here, what happened? Signature story What is one anecdote that illustrates yourmission? The participant story (i.e. donors, members, clients) Whatis the future we can co-create? What is/was the call toaction?Signature statement 14 15. Why was Solomon recognized as the wisest man in the world?Because he knew more stories than anyone else. Scratch thesurface in a typical boardroomand were all just cavemen with briefcases, hungry for a wise person to tell us stories.~Alan Kay, Vice PresidentWalt Disney 15 16. Additional Resources Books: Story by Robert McKee Transformational Speaking by Gail Larsen The Leaders Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning Blogs http://tinyurl.com/FourLeafBlog http://www.ishmaelscorner.com/ LinkedIn Groups; Organizational Storytelling - http://tinyurl.com/craftingyourstory Storytelling for Business - http://tinyurl.com/storytellingforbusiness16 17. Tell Me a Story!Suzanne E. HenryFour Leaf Public Relations LLC+1 434-972-7278 - officewww.FourLeafPR.comTwitter: @SuzanneHenryFacebook: www.Facebook.com/FourLeafPRLinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/suzannehenryBusiness Storytelling Blog:http://tinyurl.com/FourLeafBlog 17