There are many factors that go into the equation.
A good story has to be captivating, emotional, and meaningful. It has to have plot twists and turns that keep you hooked from beginning to end. When we hear stories about others' experiences, they can offer us insight into what might lie ahead for ourselves or our loved ones.
In this golden nugget from the ROI Online Podcast, story expert and author Michael Hauge, shares with us some of the most important ingredients to making a story worth telling!
A story is worth telling when it addresses problems that the audience identifies with and faces especially if it offers a solution; when the story is authentic and has an emotional connection to its audience, whether they are up or down.
If anyone hearing your story can go away and with that idea change their life somehow, you know it's a story worth telling.
Watch now!
"Having a good story means if I followed the precept that this storyteller is giving, it could change my life."
Michael shares with us how movies are very emotional and how he believes that when we see characters overcome humongous obstacles in movies, no matter the context of our lives and whether or not we're looking for the courage to stop an alien invasion ourselves, they help us become courageous too.
When you think about it like this - if a movie is helping us find our own personal strength then why not inspire people with your own real story.
It's amazing how something so intangible (i.e., watching someone else struggle) has such an impact on one’s life.
Stories are more than just the sum of their craft elements. The best stories work like magic tricks: they play with our expectations, misleading us before revealing themselves in ways that make sense to readers.
Craft may help ignite an experience for the reader but it is not enough on its own – instead, we must also engage them through themes and characterization or imagery that will keep them guessing about what’s going to happen next until they find out at last.
Stories are a great marketing tool because they offer an emotional connection.
Whether it’s in a newsletter or on social media, you can pack a lot of punch with stories about how you served the community. Stories inspire people to support causes that are worth sharing and help them understand what others need – all while educating and motivating those who see these powerful messages.
In order to find a story that engages and inspires, we invite you to follow these five simple guidelines.
The most important thing is for the story to support your message. Once you have found one, use it as an example of what can be accomplished when someone tries their best in any situation - even if they are not successful at first! You may also want to include stories about people who overcame adversity because this too will inspire others with similar struggles or share personal experiences with failure so readers know how difficult success really is but still worth trying again and never giving up hope.
-The story should be relevant to the message you want to convey.
-It needs a protagonist who is trying his or her best and this person can either succeed or fail in their quest, but they will learn something along the way.
-There must also be a clear villain that stands in the protagonist’s way.
-The story must have a moral or lesson that is learned by the protagonist.
-This moral should embody your message and be positive in nature.
This is a lot of information to take in, and it's not always easy to know how to put these principles into practice. What will you do with this knowledge? Will you try your best but fail at first or will you strive for success the entire time? We hope that by following our tips on storytelling, we have helped motivate and inspire you enough so they can find their own story worth telling.
