By Nettie Hartsock
As a journalist and writer, one of the concepts I’ve studied almost my entire life are the elements of a “story.” And after all these years, when I’m sometimes asked to give advice on what a company can do to get press coverage or polish up its white paper, I always respond in the same way, “Make sure you tell a good story.” The most powerful thing about a good story, no matter what the topic, is that it engages the audience from start to finish. In life and in business the power of a story is what propels all of us forward.
“We found that men of the very highest standing in the profession of science and invention had attempted to solve the problem… But one by one, they had been compelled to confess themselves beaten and had discontinued their efforts. In studying their failures, we found many points of interest to us.”
The quote you see above was uttered by one of the real-life characters in the amazing story of one of the greatest events in our history. I left out two very important words in the quote for the purposes of this article. Imagine for a moment that the voice behind the quote is telling the story of their invention when asked by a journalist (like me), “What is your company working on and how will it impact the world?”
“Well, we’re working on an invention that’s rather large, and has to be kept in a wooden barn. It has some tiny screws in its arms and shakes when rolled. We don’t let anyone see inside the barn, but we know that if you invest in this project, you won’t regret it. Even though in the past all apparatuses of this nature have failed, we feel certain ours will revolutionize the world. We know our invention will be a success and we have sacrificed countless hours building it.”
This description isn’t really a story. It has some elements that are interesting, but a journalist, prospective business partner or even a customer doesn’t really have any firm details to follow or get enthralled about. Some details are there, but they’re not in a sequential order and many are kept in secret with no diagrams to show, no real applications explained and other than saying it will revolutionize the world, the speaker doesn’t even tell us what the invention is. Can the journalist, business partner or customer even tell if the invention was a success?
Now let’s look at the story again and add the omitted words:
“We found that men of the very highest standing in the profession of science and invention had attempted to solve the problem (of flight)… But one by one, they had been compelled to confess themselves beaten and had discontinued their efforts. In studying their failures, we found many points of interest to us.” - Wilbur Wright
Inserting those two simple powerful words brings a whole story to life. It’s the story of how two men did not give up. Even though past experiments failed, the Wright brothers successfully turned disappointment into a revolution. Like their story, their invention took flight on December 17, 1903, and as they say, the rest is history.
When writing your white paper, keep in mind that your story needs a solid introduction which might include even touching on past industry efforts or quoting an analyst to buoy the introduction. Keep in mind what Webster says, “The devil is in the details,” and don’t stuff every significant thing in your introduction because it might overwhelm your reader. Take off slowly and let your story rise smoothly with patience and measure.
If you’ve built a good introduction, your passengers (readers) are on board for the whole flight. After the introduction, relate your story to your readers’ lives. In mid-flight tell them how your technology or service is going to change the way they do business or live their very lives. “Our technology will help you fly more smoothly and faster to your prospective customers than ever before possible.”
Second, relate via personal endorsement. Personalize your story by having a business or partner testimonial stand up and tell them how the technology has impacted their lives. There’s a reason politicians have of a rule of at least two “personal” anecdotes per 20-minute speech-because it works.
Third, don’t land with a thud. Slowly descend your story’s flight back to the place you started. Pick a sentence from your original introduction and reiterate it. Hit the readers with one or two real statistics to take away and ponder. Don’t make confusing starts and stops to sum up your product at the end.
Fourth, land your story. Congratulations, you have now successfully completed your round trip story and you can be assured your passengers are so interested they’ll fly again and again.
Here’s a secret I share with companies that want to know how to tell their story. Sit in a chair with a tape recorder, a half-filled cup of flat soda, and a few dried pretzels. Now tell your imaginary seatmate the greatest story ever told about how your company is going to change the world with its invention, and how this dynamic invention is going to help your customers, business partners and investors. Tell the whole story and you’ll make history by taking flight over the grounded field of competitors.
About the Author: Nettie Hartsock is a 15-year freelance business journalist veteran with an extensive background in editing, writing and communications. She is a weekly contributing writer for multiple Ziff-Davis Media publications. Nettie recently completed her e-book, “Start the Press!” and has helped countless companies increase their media and partner exposure. Visit Nettie at www.nettiehartsock.com or e-mail nettie@corridor.net.
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