I.e. Tell us “about” your company and team. Who is your ideal customer/audience and what makes you the obvious solution or product for them? These are “menu” tabs that help the onlooker and passerby scan you.
We at Poor Bear Stories focus on the story. We focus on ensuring your story is a content-rich dagger that we can sink into the depths of our audience’s hearts.
Instead, I’m going to cover the most overlooked components of your story – the stuff you have to dig for, which are the key ingredients your audience is lacking in order to better relate to you through your product.
Let’s dig in.
1. Why do you get up every morning? Why do you remove those warm blankets and press your feet to the floor every day to begin plugging away on that brand? Why do you make your coffee, scarf down a granola bar and race toward the never-ending grind? Do you ever hear that second voice in your head, “It’s not worth it! This project is time consuming. Why did I start this to begin with?” There are a million things you could be doing instead, so why do you choose to commit time to your brand? Do not give me the cliche, “Love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” Give me the blood. Give me your heart. “I rise up every morning and put my feet to the floor because….” Once you’ve established that, dig further. Further… I don’t believe you. WHY DO YOU GET UP AND GET GET GOING? Sometimes it helps to have someone you trust ask you these questions. Have them dig until you feel satisfied in your answer. Really sell your why! Dig deep until you understand firmly where your origin story is rooted; where you are rooted.
2. Why is your customer worth it? Why do they deserve your solution? Don’t tell me how it benefits them, tell me why you care about them in the first place. Why spend YOUR precious time in life serving a group of people who may not care whether you bleed, sweat and cry for them… or tell me why they do deserve you. What is special about them? What calls you to them? Will they remember you when you die and why or why not? If and when you die for them, what do you hope they will take from your time spent here on earth? Again, are they worth it and why?
3. Where did this project or brand start? How far back? Go further… Further…I call them “God’s whispers.” They are moments in time where destiny turned your attention toward your future. What are those moments? Describe them. How far back can you remember – who was there and what happened? Really answer these questions for yourself. I find that it helps to take a notepad or journal out and answer through them one by one. Breakdown your product/service into parts: How did you come to offer them? What makes you think they are important? Where did that come from? Who taught you that? When did they teach you that? Did it make a difference in your life? Why did you want to share it with others? When you get all jittery inside, you are on that right path. When you can’t stop talking about certain moments or experiences, follow the trail – follow the heart. Don’t worry if you’ve turned that one question in to a multi-page essay – you are on to something. Answering these questions for yourself may help you understand more about your life’s work than you knew before and that is essential to building a strong story-bond with those you serve.
4. Next, let’s identify how your product or service relates to those who follow your lead. If it is just you, why would people want to follow you? What is their true win-win? Don’t BS them and don’t BS yourself. In today’s workforce, we must first understand and appreciate the individual before we can address the team. Leadership in organizations and story is about reverse-engineering and building from the bottom-up. When we talk about our organizations and impact, it helps if we first talk about our people and their unique capabilities and contributions. I apologize if this point is long-winded – however, it is often the most important in telling your story. To start, you can ask your team members – “why do you want to be a part of this team? What is in it for you? How do your goals align with ours?” and lastly, “Do you really believe that?” When your team members believe in their mark, the collaborative organization mark will always be achieved. Once you understand why and how your organizational leadership is driven, it becomes a part of the overall story narrative. You can reinforce it to ensure the point is always sharp and ready to put to use when it is go time. Why would people want to follow your lead and deep down know they have their life to gain for it? If you can identify that, you are on the right path to highlighting a crucial element in your organization’s story.
5. Lastly, how does your story relate to the world? How does your impact and your legacy leave its mark? Has it left a mark since inception? How has it changed since? Are you an organization where you’ve grown so big the audience becomes the product and it has become difficult to navigate your story? Has your story changed the world… In good ways? At times, complex?This dialog with time and how we see and understand ourselves in it can be what drives legacy home – it can be a very powerful and enduring part of how others understand our story and keep it with them forever.
I hope this article has been somewhat helpful. Hopefully we have raised questions you haven’t thought of before. Context is everything and storytelling can help you better understand where you fit in the world.
Video production is a very organic and non-risk way to help you unearth your brand and reveal to your audience why it deserves a spot in this world.
Please don’t hesitate to reach out today for your free consultation on storytelling and video production for business.
We also understand timing is everything, so if right now isn’t the right time, please do us a favor and say hello. A comment or message is more than enough and we will gladly check in on you and your goals with media and storytelling from time to time.
