In my mind…those are the six most powerful words in the English language. Recite a speech and folks will lean back and cross their arms. Give a sermon and folks will allow their minds to wander and their chin to rest on their chests. But say those six words (in that order) and folks will sit up and pay attention. They WANT you to tell them a story. They are just waiting for you to lead them!
Not sure?
Thanks to the Wizard and his Monday Morning Memo, I've got this incredible bit of information…
Our bodies contain approximately 100 million sensory receptors that allow us to see, hear, taste and smell the physical reality around us. But…the brain contains 10 thousand billion synapses. This means we're roughly 100,000 times better equipped to experience a world that does not exist that a world that does.
Now…read that paragraph one more time and really let it sink in.
Now…take a look at your marketing copy in your brochure and on your website. How much space are you taking up just describing the physical reality that is your camp or conference center? Describing your beautiful grounds or your functional cabins or your long history in ministry.
That stuff is certainly necessary at some point in the sales process but I don't think it's necessary right up front. People want to hear a story. They want to hear about what those grounds or those cabins means for them. Don't tell them you have a long history, tell them a story that demonstrates that history!
Is it any wonder that we're wired to experience a world that doesn't exist? Remember…as Christ followers, our citizenship isn't of this world. Our reality is a bit different (to say the least). The more you can tell stories describing the unseen, the more people will run to sit at your feet.
I highly recommend “Influencer”, a secular book by Patterson, et. al…. looks into the pyschologial/sociological dimension of influence… one of their main points hinges on the power of story vs. oral argument.
So true
Have you read experiential story telling?
I haven’t read that. I’ll have to add it to my Amazon list. I take it you recommend?
Strongly
It introduced me to exactly what you have observed.
I have been trying ever since to wrap every communications with a story.
Very hard but rewarding.
Kind of like our 12 minute summer together movie at Sandy Cove.
Ripe with our mission incarnate with stories. 🙂