For Stories That Inspire Action, Know When Your Brand Is at Its Best

Clients often ask how I know which of their stories to tell. It’s a valid question. These are brands that are known for delivering memorable, transformative experiences – in other words, they have a lot of lovely, inspiring information to share with audiences. 

But telling a brand’s stories is an exercise in clarity. The messages that will resonate the most deeply with an audience are those that are both authentic and uncontrived, and well-aligned to the audience’s desires.

Let’s begin with authenticity. Simply put, when a brand is authentic, it is expressing its purpose and unique attributes – its best attributes. 

The same can be said for individuals. Last year, I participated in a presentation by bestselling author, researcher and coach Marcus Buckingham, called “How To Present The Best You.” It was, as Mr. Buckingham’s talks always are, an upbeat take on knowing and playing to one’s strengths for personal fulfillment and team success. (Don’t miss his new book, Love + Work, a must-read for all who want happy, productive work lives.)

For example, when asked by a potential client what your weaknesses are, be real. Don’t try to spin a strength as a fake weakness (a la “I am too obsessed with details”). Instead, says Buckingham, be honest so that the client knows that you know yourself: “I’m not at my best when I have to spend a large percentage of time on administrative tasks,” for example. 

Of course, the other, juicier side of this, is knowing when you are at your best. Clarifying this helps you achieve fulfillment, and sharing it with those who are directly impacted with you, fosters respect, understanding, and fit. Think “I do my best work when clients give me the opportunity to infuse layers of depth and emotion into their messaging,” or “I’m at my best when supporting a brand that believes in the power of moments to transform people.”

Knowing when a brand is at its best is critical when supporting the clients who retain me to develop narratives that inspire audiences to action.

The first area I explore when a client approaches me for strategic storytelling, is which aspects of a client’s brand or product are wholly unique, meaning that they can’t be delivered in the same way anywhere else. 

This is also another way of articulating the same core question that helps us connect as individuals seeking to understand and play to their true strengths: when is a brand at its best?

For example, one might say that Jaguar is at its best when a driver is ensconced in the soft driver’s seat of her F-Pace, hands on the endlessly touchable steering wheel, inwardly delighting in the fact that the car actually seems to purr – with terrific pickup – even in “eco” mode during a quick jaunt through the neighborhood.

Sometimes, evidence of a brand’s best is not always its most obvious stories. As columnist Jeffrey Steen writes in Inc., when Apple CEO Tim Cook responded with empathy and not a shred of salesmanship to a customer who told him her husband’s Apple Watch helped catch a life-threatening health condition, he exemplified one of the brand’s key understories: “Apple is committed to improving the health and wellbeing of people all over the world.” 

But if your brand has to reach, stretch, or spin its stories into more, they’re contrived, and people will see that inauthenticity for what it is. Here in Miami, we see countless ads for residential buildings using the word “luxury” in the copy – but the physical reality of the buildings betrays that claim. 

Knowing who you’re talking to is the other critical element of knowing which stories to tell. I call this effect “storyfit” – the skill of meeting the moment and the audience with the right text, tone, and timing. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine is a master of storyfit. With awe, the world is watching him redefine leadership in the face of unimaginable violence, through powerful storytelling ranging from selfie videos shot on the streets of Kyiv to impassioned pleas via videoconference calls with world governments. 

And if all of this leaves you feeling baffled, an experienced brand narrative expert can help you define, write, and share your brand’s best stories, so that the world knows the very best of what you have to offer.