How do you engage stakeholders with storytelling?

1 Know your audience

Before you start crafting your story, you need to understand who your stakeholders are, what they care about, and what they need to hear from you. Research their backgrounds, interests, goals, challenges, and expectations. Use empathy maps, personas, or stakeholder analysis tools to create a profile of your audience. This will help you tailor your story to their needs, preferences, and emotions.

2 Define your purpose

Next, you need to define the purpose of your story. What do you want to achieve with your stakeholders? Do you want to inform them, persuade them, inspire them, or motivate them? Do you want to share a vision, a problem, a solution, or a lesson learned? Your purpose will guide the structure, tone, and content of your story. It will also help you measure the impact and success of your story.

3 Choose a relevant theme

A theme is the main idea or message that you want to convey with your story. It should be relevant to both your purpose and your audience. A theme can be expressed as a single word, a phrase, or a question. For example, if your purpose is to persuade your stakeholders to adopt a new technology, your theme could be innovation, transformation, or why change is necessary. A theme will help you focus your story and make it memorable.

4 Structure your story

A story needs a clear structure to be engaging and coherent. A simple and effective structure is the three-act model, which consists of a beginning, a middle, and an end. The beginning sets the scene, introduces the characters, and establishes the conflict or challenge. The middle develops the plot, shows the actions and reactions of the characters, and builds the tension or suspense. The end resolves the conflict, shows the outcome or consequences, and delivers the message or lesson.

5 Use descriptive language

To make your story vivid and compelling, you need to use descriptive language that appeals to the senses and emotions of your stakeholders. Use metaphors, analogies, imagery, and sensory details to create a rich and immersive experience for your audience. Avoid jargon, acronyms, and technical terms that might confuse or alienate your stakeholders. Instead, use simple, clear, and concise language that they can relate to and understand.

6 Practice and deliver

Finally, you need to practice and deliver your story with confidence and enthusiasm. Practice your story aloud several times, preferably in front of a mirror or a friend. Pay attention to your voice, tone, pace, and body language. Make sure you sound natural, authentic, and passionate. When you deliver your story to your stakeholders, make eye contact, smile, and use gestures to engage them. Invite feedback, questions, and comments to create a dialogue and a connection.

7 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?