The power of storytelling - based on the stories you tell yourself
Not convinced that storytelling through your content moves the needle for your business?
Suspend your disbelief for just a second and read further.
For many years, I was not very kind to myself.
Self-deprecation. Sarcasm. Put downs. Hopelessness.
My inner monologue was, quite frankly, a horror show.
The stories I told myself were unfair and did great damage to my self-perception and esteem, to the point that I shielded myself from any risk or activity that took me outside my comfort zone.
Looking back, I do have a strong sense of regret, but despite that, I also have forgiveness towards the crimes I committed against myself.
After all, I’m human, and humans do shit like that all the time.
Now, I still fall into the trap of negative thought loops and poor self-talk, but I’ve learned through therapy and positive psychology how to shorten the rumination on these thoughts the moment I become aware of them.
Despite the emotional trauma, there is one major takeaway that I’ve uncovered when thinking about all this:
As humans, we’re wired to make meaning out of our lives and the moments that occur in them through the stories we tell ourselves.
As a result, if there’s a story that resonates with us, whether good or bad, we’re in until the end.
Hook. Line. Sinker.
And, it’s not just negative stories you tell yourself, but ALL stories.
And this is why it’s essential that you’re intentional with your online content storytelling.
It is a powerful tool you have at your disposal if you leverage it in the right way.
You have a solution to people’s problems, right?
You need to attract that audience into your world, right?
You need to maintain their attention long enough for them to realize that you can help them get past what’s holding them back, right?
Share stories with them that resonate with where they are physically, mentally and emotionally, and how they can get past their pain.
While they may not be ready to sign on the dotted line today, your constant nurturing through relevant, compelling and inspiring content that speaks directly to their needs and wants will keep them in your world until they trust you enough to pull the trigger on buying a product or service.
The key is crafting your content in a way that makes the stories about THEM.
After all, that’s what we do in our own minds with every story we tell ourselves - we’re the stars of the show…as well as the tragic failures.
Is this commitment to storytelling going to move the needle immediately?
Not really, it’s a long-game, to be sure.
But when it comes to building a community of folks that truly could benefit from your expertise, it’s a project worth investing time based on the long-term results.
The juice is worth the squeeze.
If you’d like to learn more storytelling insights for experts, I talk all about it on my blog. Sign up here to receive it in your inbox and it’ll save you the commute to my website :)