A picture speaks a thousand words. Stories tell so much more, by enriching each listener’s experience and emotions. Facts inform, whilst stories reverberate into the distance and inspire. When we connect facts and a wildly inspiring story into one whole, we have created a new concept/discipline in communications – corporate storytelling. Facts are no longer bare figures but instead we feel emotionally connected to them and the effects that they have. Stories deeply enter our hearts and we remember the feelings for a long time. The point that the drugs companies have raised the price of drugs will very quickly leave us cold and will be quickly forgotten as a fact. However, when this point is connected with a story about a dear grandmother who must choose between getting the medicines she needs or having food to eat, the entire situation is given a new dimension in our eyes and hearts, and in the media.
Top leaders and managers will gain the trust of their public by talking in an understandable language, where they avoid using definitions and concepts taken straight from the marketing manuals. A story that each employee can identify with will resonate significantly more strongly through the company than any other perfectly constructed plan or research. The telling of a story is one of the oldest tools of communication. Each era told its stories in its own way: ancient Egyptians told them with hieroglyphs, and ancient man drew events from the hunt and everyday life on the walls of caves. On any given day, each of us can tell at least one story about the events of the day that offers a message at the end. It is important to separate the important from the unimportant, and to tell the story concisely and clearly with an introduction, plot and solution, as well as an eventual epilogue with a contained point.
Kadei was one of the first to implement this new communicative discipline by developing models and formulas composed of corporate stories that come from the history and tradition of the company, and include its vision and plans for the future. Corporate storytelling firmly connects employees with the company, since they emotionally connect and identify with the story or company. As with any form of communication it is a two way street, so it is important to stimulate your employees to tell their own stories from business that will inspire other employees. Kadei creates corporate stories (from retelling to production), and also teaches the use of techniques of storytelling.
Stories connect and build relations. A story is like a campfire around which all the individuals of the tribe, that is, the company, gather at the end of the day to enjoy the charms of unfettered inspiration.
