If there was a professional field that would understand the power of stories and use them effectively, it would be the Communications Field. Alas, this is not the case. As an off-shoot of my post on Narrative in the Marketing Context, using narrative in the communications field takes its rationale from the argument that to capture a readers/listeners attention, one needs to use stories. This rationale is applied in various communications contexts:

• Speech writing
• Newsletters
• Websites
• Brochures
• Press Releases

A brief look over some examples of the communication outputs listed above will reveal that the field is more "fact reporting" driven than "storytelling" infused. Case in point: I was an audience member at an event where Cynthia Carroll (the newly appointed Anglo American plc CE) presented the opening address. I was eager to hear her speak … she must be a pretty amazing woman after all.

She stood up and moved behind the podium. Shuffling her notes, she began … by reading word-for-word the speech in front of her. It was clearly a piece not written by herself. She was bland and boring as she simply narrated the words in front of her. That was until she realised she was putting the audience to sleep, folded the notes and promptly stepped aside from the podium and began to proverbially speak from her heart – a personal narrative relevant to the event. The mood in the room picked up tangibly and she had the audience eating from her hand.

I wish that the room was full of communications professionals so that they could witness the power of a narrative in a speech. The same applies to written communications: press releases need to be infused with stories, not just facts. This change will aid reporters who need to enliven the bland facts from a press release and turn them into magic for a publication that has a discerning reading audience. Employees will find company newsletters a whole lot more engaging if they encounted just an ounce more storytelling rather than politiking. Consumers will visit your websites and engage with you more if you show a personal side through using stories.

It's really not that difficult … it is a natural ability we have after all.