Think about a story that has stuck with you over the years. What made it stick? Did it inspire you? Scare you? Motivate you? Who told you the story? All great stories have one thing in common, they stir up emotion. Great storytelling causes you to feel connected. Storytelling allows us to share experiences, learn, and build connections. A great storyteller does more than share information, they help you relate to it. Think about great storytellers throughout history, Shakespeare, Stephen King, J.K. Rowling, Walt Disney, they are all masters of the craft. The power of their stories stays with us.
Inspiration is a common theme in stories. The emotion we feel when we hear a great story inspires us to fear, try, love, or improve. We think about ourselves in the roles of characters and their stories stir us. Nonprofit communication is, at its best, storytelling. Through effective communication, nonprofit organizations can bring their mission to life by introducing stakeholders, across all levels of engagement, to the impact the organization has.
Facts play an important role in nonprofit storytelling. Facts are the data that drive impact and connect key points in organizational messages. Telling the story of a person who benefited from the services of a nonprofit is amplified when key facts are woven in. Highlighting where a person began and ended because of the services offers more context for the value of nonprofit’s work. Adding data about the impact, in the greater context of the problem, tells an even more compelling story. Let me give you an example.
I help the National Center for Construction Education and Research inspire donors to support new craft training programs in high schools. Each new program provides access for 20 students to learn construction crafts. If new students enroll at each level of high school, that program can serve 80 students per year. Over a period of five years, 400 students who would not have had access to craft training programs have now learned a trade and earned industry-recognized credentials they can use to get a job. If we were to highlight one student who benefited from the program, described their life circumstances, and shared how their situation improved because of a new job that was only made possible through this training, we would have told an impactful story. When we couple that with projections of the number of people, like the person featured, we humanize exponential impact. Those are stories that stick with people. When a story becomes sticky, it inspires action.
How an organization positions information is important. Each fact on its own is valuable but combined, they are powerful. Good communications strategy requires intentionality. Organizations can benefit from the power of stories by thinking about the audience they are connecting with. By identifying the needs of that group, and thinking about what that group values, the organization can inspire action. One strategy I recommend is to craft communications that meet the target audience’s needs but also amplify their understanding to drive home key points in a memorable way. You don’t just want your stakeholders to read your messages, you want them to remember them, share them, and act on them.
