Why Tell a Story in a Crisis?
[By Bruce Hennes]
In a recent New York Times article, reporter Alina Tugend wrote “It’s not enough just to offer up the facts about you or your company. You need to be compelling, unforgettable, funny and smart. Magnetic, even. You need to have a good story.”
Tugend is right, suggesting that people are often attracted to stories commonly patterned in a way many books, plays and movies are drawn: Act 1, scene setting; Act 2, rising action; Act 3, the turning point; Act 4, the falling action; and Act 5, the denouement or release (with variations that include fewer or more stages, but all following the same pattern).
When executives find themselves in a crisis situation or other type of challenging reputational environment, too often their side of the story ends up being told first by a reporter who promptly takes the facts of the situation (or what the reporter thinks are the facts) and then proceeds to weave a story that serves the reporter or editor’s needs. Add to that the fact people tend to believe the first thing they hear. So if your organization has not proactively told its story, it will always be in a position of response – correcting misinformation, clarifying points and refuting blatant errors.
Rather than leave the storytelling to the reporter, who may or may not write with accuracy, understanding or dispassion, we often work with our clients to help them create a cogent narrative with some of all of the stages listed above, thereby serving the needs of the reporter and the public, as well as our client — and their key internal and audiences such as employees, customers, board, vendors, volunteers and other stakeholders
The stories we help our clients craft begin with the truth and include a beginning, middle and end; illustrative details; and they’re to the point and usually short, since people cannot easily digest, much less remember, an avalanche of information. Brevity is often one of the best tools in our kit bag. In fact, Alina Tugend, in her New York Times piece, ended with one of the best examples in the English language of a complete and heart-wrenching story by citing six words written by Ernest Hemingway: “For sale: Baby shoes, never worn.”
To read more about storytelling: http://ow.ly/FQtSW
Image credit: Story Road by umjanedoan