How can storyboarding help you connect with your audience?

1 Define your purpose and goals

Before you start storyboarding, you need to have a clear idea of why you are writing and what you want to achieve. Your purpose and goals will guide your decisions about what to include, how to arrange, and how to present your content. For example, if your purpose is to inform, you might focus on providing facts and evidence. If your purpose is to persuade, you might focus on appealing to emotions and values. If your purpose is to entertain, you might focus on creating suspense and humor.

2 Analyze your audience's needs and expectations

Once you have defined your purpose and goals, you need to consider who your audience is and what they are looking for. Your audience's needs and expectations will influence how you tailor your content to suit their interests, knowledge, preferences, and attitudes. For example, if your audience is young and tech-savvy, you might use more visuals and interactive elements. If your audience is professional and academic, you might use more formal and technical language.

3 Choose the best format and style for your medium

Next, you need to decide how you will deliver your content to your audience. Your medium will affect how you format and style your content to make it accessible and appealing. For example, if your medium is a blog post, you might use short paragraphs, subheadings, and images. If your medium is a video, you might use voice-over, music, and animations. If your medium is a speech, you might use gestures, pauses, and rhetorical devices.

4 Create engaging scenes and transitions

Now, you are ready to start storyboarding. Storyboarding is the process of creating a sequence of sketches or images that represent the main scenes or points of your content. Each scene should have a clear purpose, a focal point, and a connection to the previous and next scenes. You can use storyboarding software, apps, or tools, or simply draw on paper or cards. The goal is to create a visual outline of your content that helps you see the flow, the logic, and the impact of your message.

5 Get feedback and refine your draft

Finally, you need to test your storyboard and get feedback from others. Feedback can help you identify the strengths and weaknesses of your content, and suggest ways to improve it. You can ask for feedback from your peers, mentors, or potential audience members. You can also use self-evaluation tools, such as checklists, rubrics, or questions, to assess your own work. Based on the feedback, you can revise your storyboard and your draft until you are satisfied with the result.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?