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A few years back, I fell hook, line and sinker to the temptation of calling myself a storyteller<\/em><\/span>. The aspiration became official and I got myself designated ( fortunately there was no push back from any quarter) as Chief Storyteller<\/em><\/span> at our organisation ISD Global<\/strong><\/span><\/a>. Little realising the onerous responsibility that I was taking on.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Why Storytelling?<\/em><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n We have been telling stories<\/em> <\/span>for as long as we\u2019ve been human<\/em><\/span>\u2013<\/p>\n They are an absolutely essential part<\/em><\/span> of our day-to-day communications.<\/p>\n Storytelling<\/em><\/span> can do wonders for a business such as:-<\/p>\n turn a brand into a legacy<\/em><\/span>,<\/p>\n create a robust marketing strategy<\/span><\/em>,<\/p>\n generate profit<\/em><\/span> and..<\/p>\n win the loyalty<\/em><\/span> and affection<\/em><\/span> of audiences<\/p>\n Storytelling conveys purpose<\/em><\/span>, and..<\/p>\n brands with purpose are the ones that ultimately stand out<\/p>\n and capture consumer\u2019s hearts<\/em><\/span> and wallets.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n ” Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make, but about the stories you tell “– <\/b>Seth Godin<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A story without conflict is like a symphony without crescendo\u2014technically music, but nobody’s holding their breath.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The stories that haunt us, change us, and refuse to let us sleep aren’t the ones where everything works out easily\u2014they’re the ones where something meaningful hangs in the balance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Filmmaking<\/span><\/em> and storytelling<\/em><\/span> are tweedle dee and the tweedle dum. For years we have been exposed to what is called ” The Hollywood Paradigm<\/em><\/span> ” which translated to films following a default journey of begining with a set up<\/em><\/span>, moving onto conflict<\/em><\/span> and then culminating in a resolution(climax). <\/em>That said, if your story can\u2019t walk on its own two legs, don\u2019t expect the audience to carry it on theirs. So,stop embalming weak plots with fancy prose; nobody remembers the makeup on a corpse.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At conferences and presentations a lot of us are keen to establish our identity, get our word out( our story) and then get onto the core of the matter(if at all)- but, the audience is not that keen to know how great you are but to understand what you can do for them. So, stop falling into the ‘ hero trap<\/em><\/span> ‘.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Aesop’s Fables<\/em><\/span> and our grandma stories<\/em><\/span> were all about begining with ‘ Once upon a time<\/span> <\/em>‘… and ‘ then one fine day<\/em><\/span> ‘.. ‘ because of which<\/em><\/span> ‘… ‘ till such time<\/em><\/span> ‘..’ and ever since then<\/em><\/span> ‘… You see the parallels here. This is what is called the Story Spine<\/strong><\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n Storytelling<\/em><\/span> connects us, helps us make sense<\/span> <\/em>of the world, and communicates<\/em><\/span> our values and<\/span> beliefs<\/span><\/em>. The best stories are vertebrates<\/em><\/span>: they walk, run, fight, and endure because they\u2019ve got bones beneath the beauty.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A good story<\/em><\/span> makes us think and feel<\/em><\/span>, and speaks to us in ways that numbers, data, and presentation slides simply can\u2019t. Plot<\/em><\/span> is what happens. Spine <\/em>is\u00a0why\u00a0we care<\/span><\/span>.<\/span> Don’t give your audience the itinerary without the destination.<\/em>The spine<\/em> <\/span>of a story is its northern star<\/em><\/span>, quietly guiding each sentence home.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n A spineless story is like a handshake with no grip\u2014forgettable the moment it ends, because nothing was ever truly at stake. Spineless storytelling will look like gossip wearing a tuxedo.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n At the end of the day, stories don\u2019t live because you told them beautifully\u2014they live because they stood up when it mattered. If your story doesn\u2019t have a spine, don\u2019t bother dressing it up; the world doesn\u2019t need another limp tale in designer clothes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A story’s spine is its non-negotiable truth. It’s the unwavering core that makes every twist, turn, and character matter.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n So, let’s stick our neck out for having some spine in our stories<\/em><\/span>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n ENDS<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most stories die young\u2014not because they weren\u2019t beautiful, but because they were born spineless. A few years back, I fell hook, line and sinker to the temptation of calling myself a storyteller. The aspiration became official and I got myself designated ( fortunately there was no push back from any quarter) as Chief … Continue reading “Hey Story, Have Some Spine!”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1027","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.sureshdinakaran.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/sketchplanations-the-story-spine.png\")
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