Arbab Usmani, Co-Founder, and CEO of UppSkill gives super crisp information about Storytelling Following are a series of question I asked him During recording the Podcast
Question-What is Storytelling?
Answer- Before jumping onto storytelling, let’s first find out what a story is. A story is basically a narrative of a sequence of events which can either be real or fictional. However, if the story is based on real-life truth then it will seem authentic and credible to the audience and they will be able to connect with your brand in a better way. So, it is up to the narrator to make the story credible to the audience. So, to sum up, storytelling can be defined as an art of telling a story.
Question-What is the Science behind Storytelling and How It Affects the Brain?
Answer-The basic science of storytelling is to have a character and you have to build that character through your content. Now, after you have built the character, put it into a conflict situation. Here, the conflict will be a kind of suspense which you have to build not like the one you see in detective stories. Basically, it will be that hook which will keep the audience attached to the story. After that, release the suspense which will trigger any of the 3 emotions; anger, happiness, or shock and in this whole journey of storytelling, three hormones of the brain which are Oxytocin, Endomorphin, and Dopamine which will help audience to stay glued to the story.
Question-What is the Difference between Content Writing and Storytelling?
Answer-Let’s first understand what content is. It is basically anything that will give information or entertainment to the audience. Content writing can be both informative and based on entertainment whereas storytelling is generally based on entertainment. To sum up, one can say that storytelling is a subset of content writing.
Question-What are the Principles of Storytelling?
Answer-There are 3 basic principles of storytelling:
- Character: The storyteller will create a character based on what type of story he or she is telling.
- Conflict: Create suspense related to the character of the story.
- Resolution: Finally, give the resolution or the things the audience wants or you want the audience to want.
Question-How to Create a Good Brand Story?
Answer-In order to write a good brand story, you have to understand the brand identity and brand personality. After that you have figure out your audience and what they want. According to that, you need to create a character that will share a common problem with your audience. Now, you can build the story around the central character and make sure that the release is very strong along with the opening.
Question-What One Should Not Do in a Storytelling?
Answer-Well, over promoting yourself just kills the entire ambience of storytelling. Tell your audience who you become what you are today and for that, you don’t have to brag about your present situation. So, never over promote while telling a story.
Question-Does Storytelling Help in Creating Personal Brand?
Answer-Yes, it definitely helps in creating a personal brand because you are able to connect with the people through your story. Telling the audience about the struggles and the way one overcame it is something that will keep them interested.
Question-What are the Best Examples of Storytelling?
Answer-There are many people who can tell the story exponentially. Take examples of the old celebrities who communicate with their fans via social media or print media brilliantly. Apart from them, you can look at Anirudh Malpani and Ankur Variko. Also, Garry V and Seth Godin tell their stories wonderfully.
Question-How Would You Build the Story of Indian Digital Club?
Answer-The story for IDC has to be knowledge oriented. The story has to be conveyed in a manner that people get to know about IDC and understand their struggle and figure out the benefits they will get from IDC. Convey how the members of IDC go all the way to help fellow members. It is quite simple, once you help people to gain something, that person will create the story for you. You just have to narrate it is a clear and concise manner.