In business, storytelling is not a luxury; it’s a necessity. The most successful companies are the ones that have mastered the art of telling their story in a way that is compelling, interesting, and relevant. There are three imperatives that all good business storytelling must adhere to The Research Imperative, The Pragmatic Imperative, and The Myth Imperative. (Kleiner, A., & Roth, G. (1998). ( How to make better use of experience in the company. Harvard Business Manager, 5, 9–11) and cited by Erlach, Christine; Müller, Michael. Narrative Organizations (Management for Professionals) (p. 199). Springer Berlin Heidelberg.)
- The Research Imperative dictates that you can’t just make stuff up. You must back up your claims with data, facts, and figures. In other words, you need to do your homework.
- The Pragmatic Imperative states that your story must be grounded in reality. It needs to be something that your audience can relate to and connect with on a personal level.
- The Myth Imperative says that your story must have meaning. It must tap into the emotions and aspirations of your audience. It should be something that they can believe in and rally behind.
So how do you weave these three imperatives together into a cohesive narrative? It’s not easy, but it’s definitely possible. Here are a few tips: Start with the research. Gather all the data, facts, and figures you need to support your story. This will give you a solid foundation to work from. Next, add the pragmatic element. Take those facts and figures and use them to create a relatable and understandable story. Make sure it’s something your audience can connect with on an emotional level. Finally, add the myth element. This is the part where you fill your story with meaning and purpose. Give it a piece of hope or inspiration that will resonate with your audience long after they’ve finished reading or listening to it.By following these three imperatives, you can create a business story that is both informative and persuasive, enlightening and moving.
Let’s take a closer look at each and a few other additions.
The Research Imperative: To produce good business storytelling, you must first immerse yourself in the data. This means understanding the what and the how of your story and the why. What are the motivations of your characters? What do they want, and why? How will they go about getting it? To find answers to these questions, you need to undertake a rigorous research process. This will involve interviews with customers, employees, and other stakeholders; analysis of financial data; and desk research into your industry and competitor landscape. Only by really understanding your story can you hope to tell it in a compelling and accurate way.
The Writing Imperative: Once you have a strong understanding of your story, it’s time to start writing. And here, good business storytelling is all about brevity and clarity. Your goal should be to communicate complex ideas in a way that is easy for your reader to understand. This means being concise in your writing and using plain language wherever possible. It also means using active rather than passive voice and employing strong verbs to bring your story to life.
The Editing Imperative: The final step in the process is to edit your story ruthlessly. This means cutting out anything that isn’t essential to the narrative and ensuring that every word serves a purpose. It can be helpful to get feedback from others at this stage to see how well your story is landing. But ultimately, it’s up to you to decide what stays and what goes. Following these three imperatives ensures that your business storytelling is of the highest possible quality.
The Pragmatic Imperative: This imperative says that the story must be useful and relevant to the audience. It must help the audience understand something important or make a decision. Many business stories are useless because they are about things that don’t matter to the audience. For example, a story about a new product may be interesting to the people who work for the company, but it’s not relevant or useful to customers or other stakeholders. A good business story is relevant and useful because it helps the audience understand something important or make a decision. For example, a story about how a company saved money by switching to new suppliers might be relevant to other companies looking for ways to save money. Or, a story about how a company increased sales by changing its marketing strategy might be useful to other companies looking for ways to increase sales.
The Myth Imperative: Every good story has a mythology, whether it’s the story of a great city or the story of a small company. Capturing and communicating your company’s mythology will help you connect with your audience on a deeper level and create a loyal following. Your company’s mythology should answer three questions:
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- Who are we?
- What do we do?
- Why do we do it?
By following these simple guidelines, you can ensure that your business story will resonate with your audience and leaves them wanting more.