The best stories evoke emotions, create change, and make an impact. The following pointers are what makes your story achieve just that:
1. Relevant
Know your audience and tell a story that speaks to them and resonates with them. That could include addressing issues that directly affect them. The topics should also be current and delivered in a timely manner. As a storyteller, you should master the art of ‘reading the room’.
2. Relatable
The story should be a reflection of your audience’s experiences, struggles and aspirations. Among your goals should be to connect with your audience. People spare time to watch or listen to a story that applies in their day to day lives.
3.Clear Goal
Have a reason behind what you are doing. The goal should be achievable and measurable. Could be seeking to answer certain questions, solve a societal problem, make change in a particular area. This will not only help you stay on course but having clear objectives will help you know how to shape your story. And at the very end you can ask yourself if the story you have at hand has achieved that.
4.Authentic
You can be sure that the audience you’re serving is intelligent. They can therefore tell what is real from what isn’t. Further still, picking out any form of fraud or fake aspects in your story will leave a bad taste in your audience’s mouths. Stories that are real and authentic have a way of naturally driving the point home. It is actually a lot of hard work to build a story around lies and fake news.
5.Credible
Have credible sources and interviewees. Let your story be evidence based. In case reporters or other writers would want to do a follow up or a background research, it should be easy and straightforward to confirm information. Let your statistics be accurate and numbers make sense.
6.Emotional
Know how to get to the depths of your story. Know the questions to ask, the topics to tackle, the angle to take in your story. One way to get people into action is by touching their emotions by addressing issues that directly affect them. Not in a divisive way but a way that is reasonable and not meant to cause harm but a way that projects the truth of the matter and reveals what is truly going on.