The Storytelling Series: Part 5 of 5

We’ve learned about the power of storytelling and about including conflict, decision, and discovery in our stories. Now it’s time for you to bring each of these elements together and learn how to write your very own brand story that is engaging, memorable, and effective.

As a quick overview, here’s what we’ve learned so far:

How we are more likely to remember stories over facts because of the way our brains react to hearing stories and our ability to empathize with others.
The impact of showing over telling.
The six types of conflict and the three reasons we need conflict in a story (emphasize the current discomfort, create a desire for change, move prospects forward).
The seven ways our brand story moves prospects towards a decision: educate, entertain, empower, exemplify, envision, evoke, experience.
How to include decision making in our brand stories (providing relevant examples, focusing on a relatable feeling, creating a real connection with our authentic self and offering).
How stories allow us to discover and learn about ourselves, others, and the world through patterns, cause and effect, and correlations.

Now we’re going to walk through each step and weave these elements into an example brand story.

Conflict

Conflict must relate back to the main desire of your client.

Conflict Creates Influence

In order to influence their desire, you need to create an emotional connection. This is done through showing your client that you understand their struggles by telling stories with conflict they can identify with. This works because when we hear stories, our brain seems to simulate the actions described and makes us feel like we are reenacting them ourselves. These actions become emotions, and the emotions make the story memorable because it becomes, in a way, part of our own experience.

The reason stories are so effective is because when an emotional connection is established, the story holds an influence over our prospects, making it easier to persuade them. But how can we do this?

Writing for Conflict

We do this by addressing the prospects' objections or “pain points and concerns,” as they are sometimes called. Conflict arises in stories and in life when there is a problem - an obstacle - that needs to be overcome and resolved.

Let’s look at an example: Warby Parker’s How Warby Parker Glasses Are Made. Now this is a video and not a written narrative, but it will get the point across.

By circumventing traditional channels, designing glasses in-house, and engaging with customers directly, we’re able to offer premium eyewear at a fraction of the going price. Plus: For every pair sold, a pair is distributed to someone in need.

Creating a new pair of glasses starts at the Warby Parker headquarters in New York City, where our in-house design team puts together mood boards for inspiration, sketches initial designs, and maps out product details for prototyping.

The viewer of this video may be struggling with needing new eyewear, but they have a small budget that can’t be exceeded. Glasses are expensive! This video demonstrates that Warby Parker understands the viewer's conflict.

Decision Making

As human beings we are simply used to processing information through stories. They help us imagine an outcome, or multiple outcomes, so that we can then make informed decisions.

Decisions Set Expectations

Stories encompass the goal, the status, the relationship, or whatever the ideal client is looking for, and sets realistic and accurate expectations for them.

It’s important to let your prospects know what you can do and what you cannot, they need to know what they might be committing to when they make that final decision.

This is also a good place to show off your expertise and offer as much information to your ideal clients as you can. The more they know, the easier it is for them to make a decision.

Writing for Decision

Let’s return to our example.

Once a new style gets the go-ahead for production, the magic begins at the factory. (And by magic, we mean a mix of traditional hand craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology.) We use the best materials to craft our frames, like cellulose acetate, a renewable, plant-based material. It’s not only extremely durable, but also quite flexible, allowing the frames to adapt to a wearer’s face. Since acetate can be colored, cut, and layered, it’s able to be produced in a wide range of rich finishes and combinations — all while continuing to stay vibrant over time.

Using a CNC machine, single-sheet acetate is precisely cut into its desired frame shape. It’s then placed in tumbling barrels and tossed with wood chips for an extensive polish. Next, face fronts are pressed into the perfect head curve for that particular style. Once the face fronts and temples have core wire and hinges inserted, the logo on the temple is carefully applied. The frames are then fully assembled and hand-buffed multiple times on a polishing wheel for an unbeatably rich and glossy finish. After one last adjustment, they’re compared against the original design and sent through a series of quality checks that leave no detail behind.

When you order, a new pair is made just for you. We custom-cut and polish the edges of your lenses, which have been treated with anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings. Once lenses are inserted, the completed frames are sent for a final review, where they’re individually inspected, warmed, and bench aligned. The lenses are then checked again and treated to a steam cleaning. Then they’re packaged up and ready for you.

The majority of this video is simply providing information to the viewer, walking them through each step of the production process. But if you think back to the seven ways a brand story moves prospects towards a decision, we can clearly identify each element.

The obvious one is education. Entertainment is conveyed through this line, “And by magic, we mean a mix of traditional hand craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology,” as it’s meant to make us laugh. Warby Parker empowers their prospects by stating that “when you order, a new pair is made just for you.” It’s personalized and gives the prospects control over the glasses they are getting. The company has also exemplified their understanding of what their prospects need: high-quality, customized glasses - the prospects can then envision a unique pair of glasses made just for them. By telling the story, Warby Parker evokes positive emotions, including curiosity.

And they’ve done this all through showing the experience of making a pair of glasses through the visual elements in the video.

Discovery

Sometimes our subconscious is better than we give it credit for.

When our conscious brain confirms something we only knew unconsciously or subconsciously, we feel like we’ve reached the right answer. Stories help people immerse themselves in emotion, and that's when the best discoveries happen.

Interest to Investment

It’s about creating interest that leads to investment, and then showing the invested prospects the value of that investment. The discovery phase is all about stirring up those unconscious desires and showing your ideal clients that you can help them improve and grow.

Writing for Discovery

If we look at the last paragraph of our Warby Parker example:

When you order, a new pair is made just for you. We custom-cut and polish the edges of your lenses, which have been treated with anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings. Once lenses are inserted, the completed frames are sent for a final review, where they’re individually inspected, warmed, and bench aligned. The lenses are then checked again and treated to a steam cleaning. Then they’re packaged up and ready for you.

We can see how Warby Parker has led the viewer towards a discovery of their subconscious desires and the realization that they can now make an investment. The video ends with what’s most important to their ideal clients: custom-cut and polished edges, anti-reflective and anti-scratch coatings, final reviews and inspections of the lenses, and a final cleaning before they’re packaged up and ready.

Final Thoughts

This is just one example of a brand story, but there are a few key pieces you will want to include in yours:

Conflict that creates influence,
The seven ways (or the seven E’s) of decision making, and
Focusing on revealing your client’s desires.

Listen to the podcast episode here.

Bringing It All Together: Storytelling for Your Brand