We still have all things related to persuasion on our minds here at LSB as we look forward to Brandworks 2010.  With this forward looking bent we have, it’s hard sometimes to look backward and figure out how else great techniques of persuasion have always already been part of our culture. Thankfully, Loren Niemi will be at Brandworks to share his expertise on storytelling, one of the oldest and most effective methods of persuasion.

  
We might be hardwired for stories, as George Akerlof puts it in his book “Animal Spirits” because they’ve been with us for so long, or stories might be such a part of our lives, because it’s the only way we’ll learn.


For an old story with rich examples of learning I always return to “The Odyssey.” Maybe it’s because the story tells us a ton about that ancient Mediterranean culture while passing along truths that we can still use. I can imagine a circle of gnarly Mycenaeans hanging out around a fire listening to the earliest version of this story for entertainment, only to be learning some essential truths about their lives the whole time.

 
Essential Truth #1: Don’t mess with the gods
Sending someone on a 10 year journey that should have taken a few months gets that point across pretty effectively. “Turning the shipmates into pigs” is just an elegant artistic touch.


Essential Truth #2: Be nice to guests, or at the very least, don’t eat the company
Showing the exaggerated meanness of the Cyclops, Polyphemus, reminds the audience, that you should always be nice to guests because you never know when you will be a guest in someone else’s house.


Essential Truth #3: Stories are meant and made to be shared
Homer might have his name on the book jacket of “The Odyssey” nowadays, but he wasn’t the first or the last to tell the story. The nature of some oral cultures gives anyone permission who hears the story to be the next one to tell it. That way the best and most appealing stories get passed along with the greatest velocity.


Regardless of the form of the story I am trying to tell, I like to have these questions in my mind:

• Does it embody some truth about you or your brand?
• Is the story worth telling? (Is it different, unique and compelling?)
• Is it simple enough to retell?
• Are others encouraged to join in?

Anything else we should remember about good stories? Feel free to share below.
TK