Leave A Lasting Impact on Your Audience By Tapping Into The Power Of “Story Selling”
Have you ever seen America’s Got Talent, or any of the now famous spin-offs of that show? Right before some performances begin the camera will cut away from the stage to give the background certain performers. After, the camera cuts back to the stage, the person performs, the crowd goes nuts, and the clip goes viral on social media.
Tears flow, confetti flies, dreams are realized, and the world seems to be just a little bit brighter for those short few minutes. Then, dozens of other acts go on that you’ll never hear about.
What gives? What was different about that one act?
From the title of this post I’m guessing you already know the answer. We got the backstory of that person who blew us away. Hearing their story before they performed allowed us to make a personal connection with them. We empathized with them in some way, even if the audience didn’t realize it.
The audience’s emotions were built up as they listened to the (typically) heart-wrenchingly sad story of this person’s life. Usually they were bullied, or had zero self esteem, or just plain had a shit life. Either way the judges squeeze a couple of more insights out of them before they start their act and end up owning the stage.
It’s a process that’s been repeated thousands (if not millions) of times, and works Every. Single. Time. Why? Because we’re all humans, and for thousands of years we’ve relied on storytelling to carry on our history and traditions. Before humans developed formal writing, we relied on storytellers and soothsayers to remind us where we’ve been and where we’re going.
Millions of people around the world are talented in the most incredible ways, including you. However, what makes you unique from everyone else is your story, or how you got to this point.
Not all acts that go on stage in shows like America’s Got Talent bring the audience to their feet, but those who are allowed to tell their story almost invariably do exactly that. Every. Single. Time. Just try and watch some of them on YouTube and I dare you not to shed at least one tear.
Anyways, what I’m saying is you can have a lasting impact on people by simply telling them your story. If you go back and look at the other posts I’ve made, each one is riddled with various stories of my upbringing. My parents were Entrepreneurs, my uncle was a dedicated worker, my life has been filled with ups and downs. Either way, those events are what made me, me.
If I simply told you that I’m a business man who has something amazing that’ll change your life, you’d classify me as another sleazy salesman just looking to drain your wallet. That’s not me. I said that selling is a dead “art” and we’ll never do that here. I hate sales. Selling sucks. Don’t do it. Ever!
Instead, we’re going to tell stories and anyone who can relate to my stories should be in our ecosphere. Period. If you don’t relate to us (me) here, that’s OK. There are millions of of other blogs, podcasts, and YouTube channels to subscribe that’ll speak to you, and you should spend more time with them, not me. It’s ok, I won’t be offended.
So back to “Story Selling”. What’s your story, why are you here, what makes you different, and what are you able to give to our community and your audience? Think you don’t have one? That’s BS. No one is born fully grown with no experiences, so what are yours’?
Tell us your story in the comments below and let us know a little more about you. It doesn’t have to be to the level of Shakespeare, but give it a shot. I bet others on this thread are more like you than you’d expect, and now is a good time to connect.
Bonus: Here’s a sample of the show that got the battle-hardened Simon Cowell to cry…I dare you not to tear up after hearing this girl’s story…
Talk again soon,
Thomas Buttino, Story Teller
