How to cut through message overload
We are bombarded with communication. On average we send and receive 160 emails every day. This is in addition to dozens or more instant messages on platforms such as Slack, Google Chat or Microsoft Teams and what we see and hear in the many meetings we also need to attend.
It’s almost impossible to stay across every single message. According to a survey by Harris Interactive, an employee can only absorb up to 50 email messages a day. Once they head north of that number, 94% say they can't keep up. Each day most of us are in a message absorption deficit.
If you’re struggling to find a way to crash through the barrage of messages your co-workers receive and make the problem you are working onstand out, harnessing the power of storytelling can help.
Storytelling can help you capture attention and cut through message overload
Donald Millar in his book Building a StoryBrand says, “A story is like a flight simulator for the brain. It allows us to get inside the action and anticipate how we might react in the same situation."
Storytelling wields greater influence over people compared to presenting mere facts and figures. Utilising stories allows you to connect with any audience, motivating them to take action. In fact, storytelling possesses such immense power that once you adopt this skill, you will discover that influencing others and achieving your project goals becomes significantly easier.
A compelling story narrative enables individuals to interpret facts and grasp the broader context. Concepts that might otherwise be disbelieved, misunderstood, or dismissed become captivating and significant when viewed through the lens of a simulated personal experience: a story.
And if you’re the one telling the story, you can influence the way your audience interprets the dull parts and facts. This makes good storytelling a very powerful tool.
So how do you tell a good story?
To master the art of storytelling, you need to understand what constitutes a compelling narrative. Essentially, a good story simplifies the complexities of a topic, and leaves us with a sense of understanding and clarity. By offering a compelling narrative, stories help listeners organise their thoughts and comprehend your message effortlessly.
To truly influence an audience about a project, your speech, presentation or email should encompass seven distinct elements. The ProjectStory framework in this article is an adaptation of the method described in Donald Millar’s book Building a StoryBrand.
The elements of a compelling project story are:
A CHARACTER has a CHALLENGE which leads you to have an IDEA that can deliver RESULTS and offer a PLAN to take ACTION and avoid FAILURE.
Character:
The character in your story is the person or people that have a problem. They can include customers, employees, suppliers and the public. It’s important to have a focal point of who is suffering and needs help to overcome a challenge and return to their peaceful lives.
In your story the character must be portrayed as the real hero to have influence. They are the ones that need to face and overcome a challenge, with your help.
Challenge:
The story starts with the Character living in peace whose life is disrupted by a bomb like situation that brings to an end the happiness and success they were experiencing. This bomb is the Challenge or reason the Character needs to take action. Stating the Challenge as a problem you understand for the Character shows empathy and builds trust.
Here’s where you establish the ‘baseline’ of distress your Character is now experiencing. By talking about challenges and problems in the context of people that are directly experiencing them, we deepen their interest in what we can do to help.
Idea:
Your role is to support the Character to take action to overcome the Challenge. To gain their attention you share an idea you have that may help the Character take action to address the Challenge.
To identify ideas use strategies that help you get to the root causes of a problem. Once you understand the root cause(s) of a problem you can identify ideas on how to solve it. One strategy is to ask the 5 Why's. Asking WHY something is a problem at least five times will help you arrive at the real cause.
Results:
Everybody wants to be taken on a journey somewhere.You need to tell them or elicit from them how good life will be once your project is complete. It requires stating clearly the positive outcomes of the project for the Character and other stakeholders so it becomes a compelling destination they want to travel to with you.
This is where you set the new ‘benchmark’ for what life will be like for the Character once the project is completed. Painting this picture in enough detail to have the Character understand and buy into it puts you in the drivers seat to influence them to work with you on a Plan and take Action.
Plan:
For our Character to support us we need to provide them or develop with them a plan that shows how they can overcome their Challenge with your help and achieve Success. What they are looking for is a clear path that takes away any confusion they might have about working with you and making their life better.
Action:
In all stories, it’s the Character that takes action to overcome the Challenge and achieve Success. They need to be challenged to the point where doing nothing is no longer an option. In a marketing sense this is like a customer’s ‘call to action’. It’s where you clearly communicate the steps your Character can take to work with you to complete the project and return to a peaceful and happy life.
Avoids Failure:
Stories come alive when we know what’s at stake. If nothing is to be gained then nobody will care. Your communications will have impact and influence where you can clearly show not acting will have a ‘cost’ or some other negative outcome that is worse than supporting you with your project.
Three Questions to Start With
When you sit down and start thinking about how to approach stakeholders you need to influence, ask these three key questions:
What does the person with the challenge or problem want?
What is obstructing them to overcome the challenge and getting what they want?
What will life look like for them if they don’t get what they want?