Great stories have the ability to inspire, educate and compel people to take action. For business writers and content marketers, the bar is set even higher. Content is definitely not in short supply these days. As more and more organizations push content via owned, earned, social and paid channels, understanding the elements of a great story can help set you apart from all the noise. This post discusses four key elements found in all great stories.
The 4 Elements
Engagement
Simplicity
Balance
Connection
Engagement
A great story engages. It captivates readers’ attention in such a way, they have no choice but to read the story from beginning to end. Whether your business story consists of a 500-word blog or a 1,500-word article, it is important to include information that is not only relevant to your readers, but is also written properly.
The next time you write a post, blog or article review it to identify:
The ratio of passive-voice to active-voice statements.
Filler words, such as very and like.
Nondescriptive adjectives, such as a lot and good.
Technical jargon.
Run-on sentences or any statement longer than three lines.
Improper punctuation, such as comma splices.
Misspelled words.
When in doubt, hire or get help from a copy editor or proofreader who can help you identify these engagement killers. In addition to using spell check, you can download Grammarly’s free grammar checker, which identifies grammar and punctuation errors as you type.
Simplicity
Have you ever read an article and wondered what truly happened? Did the story come to a conclusion? Were you confused by all the details? Mystery is a great tool for suspense novels. However, most companies are not selling suspense; they are selling a product or promoting a service.
The concept of simplicity, therefore, refers to the story’s ease of understanding. Readers should be able to capture the story’s main idea, summarize its supporting points and identify its conclusion. Any business story that prevents readers from doing these three things, might be too confusing, long or both. To achieve simplicity in your story:
Tell them what you’re going to say — state the main point up front in an introductory paragraph.
Say it — provide (the right) details supporting your main point.
Tell them what you just told them — bring it all together in a conclusion.
A final thought on Simplicity: Including too many details may cause confusion and open the story to the wrong interpretation. What’s worse, you may have missed a great opportunity to engage readers with your message and company brand.
Balance
As stated above, all stories should have a beginning, middle and end. Without these three elements, the story lacks the proper structure to support its content. Balance is achieved when these three elements are in alignment with:
The topic — will the article discuss new desalination techniques, the pros and cons of capital punishment or the latest fashion footwear trends?
The content delivery type — is the piece a research report, technical manual, 800-blog post, magazine story or short feature for the company newsletter?
The target audience's reading level — is the content aimed at beginners, pros or people somewhere in between? From a demographic standpoint, what is your audience’s age and education level?
The publication medium — will the content be printed, available digitally or both? If available digitally, do readers consume content mainly via a desktop, tablet, mobile device or any/all of the above?
Connection
Finally, great stories connect: They transcend words on a screen or printed page and connect people to ideas. To achieve connection, stories need to deliver the right content to the right reader at the right time. This why having a clear picture of who your readers are and understanding their needs are essential. Without identifying these two vital pieces of information, any story (regardless of how well-crafted it is) will not resonate with its readers.
Unfortunately, organizations may not get a second chance to provide the right content to their target audience. All it takes is for someone to unsubscribe from an email list for a potential, loyal customer to be lost forever.
Great business stories follow a pattern. They engage readers with a simple, easy-to-understand message that is properly balanced based on the topic, the audience’s reading level and the publication medium. Furthermore, these stories are delivered at the right time to the right person. Incorporating these four elements as part of your business writing effort will help improve the return on investment of your content and keep your brand top-of-mind with your audience.
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