The Right Story: The secret to spreading your ideas

Unplanned or opportunistic timing of messages includes ‘newsjacking’, taking advantage of current events to promote or advertise your product or brand.

How we lead, changes how people respond and what happens next. Culture is altered when someone shows up with conviction, bringing their unique abilities, pointing to a way forward and inviting people to embark on that journey with them.

These are some of the questions you need to answer about who you are hoping to change:

We must choose whether we want to make weak ties by going broad and shallow, or strong ties by going narrow and deep. We need to decide if we want to be the loudest or most resonant, most visible or most memorable. We can’t be both.

As you look at the Story Compass, you will see that the audience—the who, your number one driver is at its centre. The four other key Story Drivers correspond with the four parts of the Change Journey: attention, connection, persuasion and action.

Before we deliver an effective message, we must consider which tactics are appropriate in which situation. How can we best engage with our audience? What’s the best medium to use? When is the best time to deliver the message? Where is the best place to deliver the message?

In the field of education, unplanned opportunities to convey insight to a student in the classroom are known as ‘teachable moments.’

When is your audience paying attention in general, not just to your message?

So your story’s first key driver must be who. You must consider the beliefs and aspirations of your intended audience before you begin to communicate what you want them to know.