9 Ways Your Enterprise Should Be Using Storytelling

The first thing you need to do before creating any piece of storytelling content is to first understand the intent behind it. What do you want the outcome to be when you share this content? Where are you leading the listener?

The intent of the story shapes all of the other elements, so it’s crucial to have that nailed down first before pressing “record.” If you don’t, your story won’t be nearly as effective or compelling and you probably won’t get the results you want.

You also need to understand your audience. Who’s listening to the story? What motivates them to act? Why should they care about what you’re sharing?

Here are 9 ways you should be using storytelling in your enterprise organization:

1. An Origin story

How did the business come to be? Why did certain departments get created? How did your best selling product come to life? Are there any surprising elements that most people don’t know?

2. An Evolution Story

Build on the origin story and talk about how the company came from its roots to the business it is today. What adversity did it overcome? What major shifts happened along the way?

3. A Failure Story and a Lesson Learned

We’ve all fallen flat on our faces from time to time, right? What better way to make sure that it doesn’t happen to other people than to share your lessons learned so others don’t make the same mistakes.

4. A Success Story

The flip side to that is the winning story. What’s working well, and why does it work well? Have team members explain how they overcame obstacles to deliver results, and create a template that others can replicate.

5. A Learner’s Journey

Encourage people to share things they learned in their journey within the company. What advice can they offer to others? It doesn’t have to be business-related, maybe they can talk about committees they joined, events they attended, or their favorite coffee shop that’s near the office.

6. A Buyer's journey

There are often several steps in the buying process, from the recognition of a need or want, information searching, evaluation of alternates, purchase decisions, the purchase, and then often a post-purchase evaluation.  Why not help the prospective buyers of your product or service with a story along the buyer's journey of others' experiences at each phase to help them feel compelled and more confident in their decisions. 

7. An Inspiration Story

Everyone can use a little inspiration in their day.  Why not share stories that explain a hardship or an insurmountable challenge and the path taken to meet and overcome the challenge to succeed. Inspiration stories lift everyone up and boosts confidence! 

8. A Differentiator Story

There are other companies in your space that would say they have a similar offering to yours. Why are they wrong? What are you doing that nobody else is doing? Remind your team members of that and watch them get pumped up about working for a special company.

9. A Vision Story 

By now, we know where we came from, how we got here, and what we overcame along the way. But where are we going? Have members of your team share their vision for the future, whether it’s simple and specific or broad and uplifting. Help others see their vision too so that you’re all rowing the boat in the same direction.

These are just a few examples, but there are countless more. Check out our eBook, 100+ Prompts to Drive Knowledge Sharing through Video, to kickstart your video storytelling journey!

Looking for guidance in implementing a powerful video storytelling strategy at your organization? Book a Consultation - our experts are waiting to hear from you!