A story with surprises can help maintain an audience’s interest. When the events in a story are predictable, listeners may no longer anticipate the next part. To create a surprising story, you can challenge cliches or add suspense. For example, you can tell a product story about how a customer experience resulted in a unique way to use the product.
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# 10 Rules for Great Storytelling (With Tips To Improve)

Indeed Editorial Team

Updated February 3, 2023

People have used storytelling for centuries to entertain and influence audiences with engaging narratives and relatable characters and challenges. Storytelling is an effective tool to persuade others to support your ideas or perform specific actions. Learning the rules of great storytelling can help you accomplish business goals and relate to an audience uniquelyIn this article, we explain what storytelling is, provide 10 rules to help tell a story and offer tips to improve your storytelling skills.Related: Storytelling in Business: Definition and How To Draft a Good Story

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## What is storytelling?

Storytelling is an art form that involves sharing stories in a creative and engaging manner. Storytelling entertains and persuades audiences, and speakers often use it to encourage action or teach their listeners. Stories are an effective tool for businesses to use in marketing campaigns and can help in branding or fundraising. Organizations can also use storytelling to inform people of their purpose and raise awareness for causes that they support.Related: Storytelling: Elements of a Good Story and How To Develop Your Process

## 10 rules for great storytelling

Here are 10 rules you can follow to implement great storytelling:

### 1. Follow a clear structure

It is important for a story to have a beginning, middle and end. This makes it easy to follow and understand, as most stories in the business world follow a chronological structure.. One of the most important elements of your story is its exposition. This provides an introduction to your characters and setting, which can provide context to your listeners. Providing this clarity can help your audience remain engaged. Other important elements of your story include the rising action, climax, falling action and resolution.Related: Narrative Devices: Definitions, Benefits and Tips

### 2. Ensure the audience can relate

If the audience can relate to your story, it can be more effective. Researching your audience to understand their feelings and experiences is useful to craft a compelling story. When an audience feels a connection to the story, they are more likely to engage with the brand and take the desired action. Marketers can use this to encourage people to support a brand or purchase a product.

### 3. Feature likable characters

The more likable the characters in your story are, the more likely it is for the audience to have an interest in the story. It's important to give the main characters positive and realistic attributes, such as honesty and compassion. For example, if you're telling a brand story, then the company is the main character and you can do your best to highlight its best qualities.

### 4. Appeal to an audience's emotions

Emotional appeals can be very impactful. There are six primary emotions to appeal to, which are happiness, anger, sadness, fear, surprise and disgust. Appealing to an audience’s emotions can make your story feel more authentic. You may find it easier to connect with your audience, as emotions are powerful motivators to influence actions.Related: 25 Types of Emotional Appeal Advertising (With Tips)

### 5. Include surprises

A story with surprises can help maintain an audience’s interest. When the events in a story are predictable, listeners may no longer anticipate the next part. To create a surprising story, you can challenge cliches or add suspense. For example, you can tell a product story about how a customer experience resulted in a unique way to use the product.

### 6. Include the necessary information

It's important that your story includes all the information an audience needs to understand the events and characters. To increase clarity, ensure that you include important details and provide context. This includes information about the setting, such as time and location, and character motivations and characteristics. You can also be sure to thoroughly explain the problem and describe how the characters plan to solve it.

### 7. Use your own experiences

It's useful to use your own experiences as inspiration for your story. This helps you to tell an authentic story which may help the audience relate. Being knowledgeable about the events that occur in the story also helps you build a structure in the story because you understand how the story can best progress.Related: The Importance of Self-Reflection and 17 Guiding Questions

### 8. Highlight challenges and how to overcome them

Great stories have conflicts or challenges for the characters to overcome. These challenges help develop a structure within the story and make it more intriguing. For marketing purposes, it can be helpful to consider what may challenge consumers and create a story featuring a challenge the audience may experience.Related: 7 Types of Internal Conflict in Literature (Plus How To Use Them)

### 9. Tell a story with a purpose

Purposes for telling a story include to inform, entertain or persuade. Often a business tells stories to persuade consumers to make a purchase or to inform them of their company or products. Determining the purpose of your story can also help guide the plot.

Video: How To Tell Your Story in an Interview

In this video, Jenn, a career coach at Indeed, explains how to tell your work story in a powerful way to create a lasting connection with your interviewer from a strong first impression.

### 10. Show action in your story

Great storytellers can show feelings and character traits through actions rather than explaining everything to the audience. This technique helps keep your story engaging. Using action verbs and events or dialogue can help tell the story without being passive.

## Common skills for great storytelling

To write compelling stories, many professionals develop certain skills. They may learn these skills through practice, education or technical training. To help you improve your ability to tell stories, try to develop these skills:

- Organization: Organization skills help professionals create storyboards and other planning tools for writing. When professionals organize their stories, they can appeal to their audiences better, as their story has a clear structure.
- Communication: Storytelling professionals have strong written and verbal communication skills. This allows them to be more articulate when describing their story in a speech, advertisement or written work.
- Research: To tell a believable story, professionals conduct research on topics and about their audience. This is helpful when choosing a setting and characters for a story or in creating a story that may interest the audience.
- Language skills: Language skills are essential when telling stories. This allows professionals to use an appropriate vocabulary, proofread their work and follow grammar rules.
- Adaptability: Professionals benefit from adaptability skills when storytelling because the desires of their audience may change or an external circumstance may change their story. For example, if a professional uses actors to portray their story, they may need to adjust their story if one of their actors can't perform.

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## Tips to improve your storytelling skills

Here are some tips to help you tell great stories for a brand:

### Develop interpersonal skills

Interpersonal skills, such as honesty and empathy, can help you relate to your audience. Connecting with the audience is important for effective storytelling. When the audience invests themselves in the story, they're more likely to respond in the way you intend. For example, when marketers use storytelling in advertising, they have a call to action at the end of the story to encourage buying a product or performing another action, such as following the company on social media platforms. There's a higher chance the audience may take action if they engage with the story and you connect with them.Related: What Is Story Selling? Definition and Examples

### Practice telling stories

To improve your storytelling skills, it's helpful to practice telling stories. This is a good way to develop confidence and techniques for public speaking. Practicing telling stories can familiarize you with the structure of a story. You can practice by yourself in front of a mirror so that you can study your mannerisms as you deliver what you have to say. You can also practice in front of a small group of people, whether they be your friends, family members or coworkers.

### Be authentic

Audiences appreciate authenticity and can relate more to a story when it's realistic. Using your personal experiences can help you be authentic. You can also perform thorough research to ensure that your story has realistic elements and is believable.Related: 13 Ways To Be Your Authentic Self in the Workplace

### Choose a medium to tell your story

Choosing the right medium to tell your story can greatly impact its effectiveness. Consider your audience and where you can best reach them when choosing a medium. The way you tell your story can also determine the medium you use.For example, you can publish a written story in a book, blog or on your website. If you have an oral story to tell, you may relay it in person during a meeting, convention or another company event. A spoken story that you’ve recorded is better to share on a platform like the radio or a podcast. Still, digital stories that use animation or film are best shared via social media platforms.Related: Your Comprehensive Guide To Marketing Communication Channels

### Consider your audience

It's very important to understand the audience you tell a story to because it needs to be relatable content for the listeners to be effective. You can learn about your audience through research. This may include gathering feedback, conducting surveys or using social media metrics.

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