Storytelling

With its genuine power to charm and convince, storytelling is one of the tools for communicating with impact… so that the person you are speaking to remembers you and what you said.

🫣 Do you remember 11 September 2001?
💍 Or your wedding day?
💼 Or your first day at work?

Everyone remembers them because your emotions were strong, and it is these emotions that are the key to your memory.

The ♥️ of storytelling is to touch the emotions by playing with our five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch, taste.

Through these channels, you touch the heart of the person in front of you; you let them listen without judging. They let themselves be carried along and even begin to dream or to remember. This builds a likeable and endearing character, but above all it anchors your messages.

The technique therefore consists of building an emotional context into your sales pitch.

💬 Here are a few ideas of elements to include to guide you:

• A personal link: a member of your family connected to mine
• Anecdotes: the day he made up his mind, he immediately received another piece of good news
• References to a historic speech: it’s like when the King of England, who stammered, had to give a speech on the radio humour… provided you have a good joke up your sleeve
• Starting with “Once upon a time…” makes people laugh and remember at the same time
• Authenticity: believe in what you say, and the other person will feel it
• Memories with examples
• Giving meaning based on strong values: world peace, my contribution to the climate
• Bringing originality (for example: "I see the world in 2050…") while bringing it back to what affects us today: “and today…”)
• Moving (consciously) during your presentation

A very simple approach is to build your story in 4 steps:

1. Describe the initial situation, where a problem was discovered
2. Bring in an event, a trigger that led you to…
3. The adventure… where you can recount the path you travelled to reach…
4. The resolution, the recommendation of a solution that brought you safely to your destination

So it is up to you to capture the attention of the person you are speaking to, then stimulate their desire for change and (only at the very end) win them over with reasoned arguments.

Choose your words carefully. Prepare your story, rehearse it, refine it until you are ready.

And if you need a sparring partner to build it… give us a call!

PS: Just one trick I’ll let you try on one of your next sales visits: at some point, stand up and walk around the room… And watch your client’s reaction… (then tell me how it went)