It is without question that writing skills, social media expertise, and experience in public speaking are absolute musts for an individual to succeed in the field of public relations. However, there is another component that is just as important for public relations professionals: the art of storytelling.
Storytelling is one of the most effective ways to communicate and can be defined as “an interactive art of using words and actions to reveal the elements and images of a story while encouraging the listener’s imagination.”
The art of storytelling is present every day in commercials, PSAs, and presentations. This is because studies have shown that effective storytelling will actually affect a listener or reader’s brain—it activates more areas of the brain than purely factual content. Also, as an audience listens to or reads a story, they will put themselves in the protagonist’s shoes, and areas of the brain will light up as if they are experiencing the story themselves.
In other words, storytelling is important to public relations strategies because it allows companies to better connect with their audience and ultimately stimulate the audience’s feelings, ideas, and attitudes to align with their marketing goals.
How does one become an effective storyteller? Novelist Tony Spencer-Smith states the following about storytelling: “Stories need conflict, drama, setbacks. They need a protagonist who learns from the experience. And they need to be written in a clear, conversational style that makes it easy for the reader to be drawn into the narrative.”
Storytelling can’t be mastered overnight. It takes practice…but it is worth it as there is nothing more powerful than making your content and news relatable to your audience.
Blog Post By: Dylan Buboltz
Sources:
http://www.pria.com.au/priablog/the-irresistible-power-of-storytelling-in-pr
http://www.storynet.org/resources/whatisstorytelling.html
http://prinyourpajamas.com/the-art-of-storytelling-pr/
