A Story Tellers tale

I guess when you put my DNA under the microscope, you would read a story. From the side of my mother, I come from a family of story tellers.

For long, I associated telling a story with entertainment and the realms of fiction. Only to read, at 51, the book of Donald Miller called StoryBrand. This crystal clear book explains how a story has deep roots in history and psychology. That a story is the perfect vehicle to entertain but also to inform, train and inspire the audience and prepare them for a change to come. Like our ancestors, must have used these stories to share and prepare a coming generation for the joys and dangers of the journey of life. And these stories, through all cultures, share elements and compositions. This message resonated with me strongly.

From the roots of these cultural depths, Donald Miller grows a model to analyse facts and create a more compelling story around them. The model is called StoryBrand, and it works for a company but also for a campaign. The model is then put to form in a framework called the SB7 framework. With the framework, you get to see who is the hero of the story and how the hero or heroine fights a way through challenges and dangers with the help of an emphatic and clever guide. The guide gives the hero a plan, a map. Towards a brighter future that transforms the hero into a happier, better, healthier person that steers away from the abyss. The luring threats and dangers of being useless, stupid, ugly or plain lonely. A world filled with dangers, uncertainty and villains.

I just love the book. The story of stories has struck a cord, and it inspired me to start practising the writing. I decided to pivot my career as a technical Digital Marketeer towards Story Teller. The thrill of a good, exciting and enervating story that helps business people connect to customers. I am excited to learn and practice, to build on experience I already have but now can use to bring liveliness, excitement and change to the marketing message.

Thanks to Donald Miller, his book StoryBrand and the SB7 Framework I am back in a long line of Story Tellers.