THE ART OF STORY TELLING

Story telling has been part of humanity for ages. When people couldn’t read or write, we spread knowledge through story telling. Story telling has always been a way to connect people and make them relate to you. It’s a way to make people feel what you have experienced and make people see fragments of themselves through your story. This can also apply to business. Whenever you give a pitch, a speech or intruding yourself to a potential investor. How do you capture them? How do you make people feel about the story? You shouldn’t just tell a story you have to make people feel the story. You must make them feel like they’re right there with you. In this essay, I will cover the dip theory which is a tool created by Lisa Nichols on how to move your audience and leave them hungry for more.

WHY YOU SHOULD MASTER THE ART OF STORYTELLING AS AN ENTREPRENEUR

. There are many stories to be told about each phase, each day, week, month, year, and decade of your life.

Tales from your youth, about growing up in your family, about your career, about your travels, about the decisions you’ve had to make along the way, about your mistakes and accomplishments, etc.,

Stories can be used effectively to establish rapport, foster empathy, and promote a business. Stories give company owners a way to stand out in a crowded and cutthroat market and give their brand a personal touch.

People will always choose to hearken to a story over statistics or facts when given the option. Additionally, tales stay with them longer.

Entrepreneurs can use tales to explain why they started their company, what makes them special, the purpose behind their goods, as well as their journey and future goals. In person, online, in marketing collateral, even in our thoughts and the tales we tell ourselves, we can tell stories.

The end goal is to connect to your audience and let them know your why. Using your stories with your why

(Riley Gibson 2012)

THE DIP THEORY

Effectively story telling it’s a way for the person who you’re telling the story to understand your why. Why is this idea important to you? Why should an investor choose you? It’s a known fact that people tend to invest in the person most of the time instead of the idea itself. There might be many people with the same idea and are more qualified than you, but your story is the way you stand out from the masses. The dip theory created by Lisa Nichols is a tool Lisa has used on multiple occasions to get herself life-changing opportunities. Dip Theory is the technique that Lisa Nichols used on Oprah to get 9,782 emails from individuals who wanted her to coach them in their businesses. Lisa Nichols is a well-known entrepreneur, humanitarian, and author. This is how she explains the dip theory:

Start by thinking the letter V the left top corner, is about your current situation known as your resume. It’s what you do with your qualifications, etc. Or what you want to do.

The bottom of the V is known as the lowest point of your life. This is the part where you let people see your humanity and connect with you. Keeping in mind that whatever moment you choose to share should be related back to your subject. For example, if you’re selling an idea of helping young entrepreneurs on their finances using your life story on how you felt when you didn’t have financial freedom as a young entrepreneur might be more relatable than talking about your parents. The people you’re telling the story need to feel the story they need to feel your why.

The top right corner of the V is known as your why. Why do you do what you do? Why does this inspire you? Why did you choose to take this path? Using the previous example, your why could be something in the lines of. “Because I was once a young entrepreneur that made a lot of mistakes and I had to learn everything on my own. Trying to give young entrepreneurs the platform I never had.”

People remember the dip. Dips are another way that people retain the wisdom contained in those stories. They enable your viewers to comprehend the reasons behind your actions. You will completely miss that point of connection with your reader if you just go from who you are to your motivations for starting anything without giving your reader any dip. In such case, whatever you say after that will be ignored by them like background noise.

When you think about successful people like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg, they use the dip theory. They just don’t tell us their resume and the end goal. Instead, they show us what they had to go through to achieve the end goal. A good example is Elon Musk with space X.

(Lisa Nichols 2014)

Conclusion and takeaways

You can use this technique to build your brand. When you are talking to investors, all you need to do to master the art of storytelling is the willingness to take risks. Don’t set limits on how deep the story goes, because the audience might end up missing the point that resonates the most. Don’t be scared to show your humanity. Personally, being as vulnerable as Lisa was in her speech is frightening, but I don’t think it has inspired me to make an essay about the art of storytelling if I didn’t feel moved by her words. The way she told her story made me want to follow her and know more. “Showing the reader instead of telling the reader “. A great story shows rather than tells what happens. Instead of talking about the experience, describe how the experience made you feel. Take the audience with you. Mastering the art of storytelling is all about showing the human side of you by being authentic and vulnerable. You can learn how to master the dip theory by using your personal experiences into your content.

References

Riley Gibson, 2012 3 Reasons to Master the Art of Storytelling | Inc.com

Lisa Nichols, 2014 https://youtu.be/Sl_65PK6rmE

Lisa Nicholas 2012 https://youtu.be/JuKCwS8wmls

Annika Utgaard How to Effectively Tell Your Story | by Annika Utgaard | The Writing Cooperative