Don’t take serious stories so seriously
If you were trying to convince employees to follow brand guidelines, you could deliver stern do’s and don’ts about how to handle the company logo or warn employees not to use people’s personal photos in campaigns.
Or you could illustrate your message by mocking up an employee’s photo in an ad like this:
That’s how Chatter Monkey (aka senior publications designer Kelley Moore) handles brand education at MD Anderson — by writing hilarious stories to illustrate brand missteps, not by haranguing folks to use the right red in the logo.
An old joke in the speaking business asks, “When should you use humor in speeches?” The answer, “Only when you want to get paid.”
So when should you use humor in brand messaging? Only when you want to get heard.
How can you engage your readers?
As ad giant David Ogilvy famously said, “Nobody ever sold anybody anything by boring them to death.”
Most organizations seem to have missed that memo.
But at Master the Art of Storytelling — our business-storytelling workshop starting May 17 — you’ll learn how to engage readers with a great story, as well as other creative elements like concrete details, description, wordplay and metaphor.
You’ll leave with creative techniques for writing stories that grab attention, communicate more clearly, make your message more memorable and move readers to act.
Save up to $100 with our group discounts.
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