The gift of storytelling has always been an ambition for most individuals. Within the realm of internal communications, this aspiration can be crucial for success. There are multiple facets that create a memorable narrative: the format, sincerity, synchronization, and precision.

ALI Conferences ran a survey asking internal communicators what area of storytelling they would like more training on. The results are the following:

• 48% of respondents answered learning the best storytelling format is an area they would like more training on.
• 23% of respondents answered avoiding storytelling overload is an area they would like more training on.
• 18% of respondents answered communicating sincerely is an area they would like more training on.
• 11% of respondents answered that implementing multi-brand synchronization is an area they would like more training on.

Aside from these aspects, what else makes a great storyteller? A few commonalities are:

• Simplicity. The best stories are easy and simple to remember. If your audience has to spend precious time interpreting everything, their attention can be easily lost.
• Emotionality. Some of the most inspirational and impactful stories offer an emotion to really connect with the audience.
• Honesty. An honest story has a bigger impact than a story of fiction. If the storyteller believes what they are saying, it shows!

Most of the impactful stories that stay with us have an engaging hook from start to finish. By first asking yourself, “what is this story all about?” you can start creating a strong foundation and go from there.

Save The Date: Mark your calendars for our Storytelling & Writing Practices for Internal Communications event on September 28^th-29^th (more details to come).

Check out ALI’s Internal Communications Best Practices group today to hear from IC professionals.