Using the art of storytelling to connect with your audience

We’ve written a lot about the importance of storytelling—how it allows you to directly show the impact your organization has made on someone’s life, and how to tell a good story. And, we’ve also written about some of the questions to ask to get the stories to tell the stories worth telling.

But being able to make a connection with your audience involves more than simply telling a story. Your reader needs to take in the information you’re writing and see it as relevant and compelling to them. They need to be able to understand and relate to the story, even if they’ve never been in that exact situation themselves. 

The best stories make this connection for the reader almost right away. There are a number of different ways to make a connection for your readers. Here are four of our favourites. 

Establish a sense of mystery. We’re all intrigued by the element of mystery because its very nature leaves us wanting to know more. The easiest way to accomplish this is to, early on in your story, make a surprising statement or ask a question. Here’s an example:

 Can you imagine being days away from giving birth to twins when the COVID-19 pandemic started shutting everything down? That’s the situation 21-year-old Sofia found herself in.

 Create contrast. Similar to creating an element of mystery, contrast also allows your audience to feel surprise and intrigue, thereby drawing them into the story. Here’s another example.

 When Krystal Joseph first arrived in Toronto, she was five months pregnant and had her two-year-old daughter, Joshae, in tow. She stepped off a plane at Pearson airport from her home in Antigua with just $700 to her name and dreams of a better life for her and her kids. It was a friend who had convinced her to come to Canada by also promising her a place to stay.

That promise of a home didn’t last.

Foster familiarity. It’s easier to feel a connection when we can put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. By creating a familiar scenario for the reader, they’ll feel a greater connection to the story. Here’s an example that mixes familiarity with contrast.

Like many nine-year-old boys, Joshua is curious and energetic, funny and cheeky. He loves to build, create and figure out how things work. But unlike most boys his age, he has a special condition called pulmonary atresia, a complex heart defect.

Show urgency. This is the key to all successful fundraising stories. Without a sense of urgency, most appeals fall flat. As you tell a story, give readers a compelling reason to be invested and let them know what’s at stake. Here’s an example:

It’s a complete shift in how we do business right now. We’ve had a lot of donors call us and ask how they can help; we need money, plain and simple. COVID-19 is impacting our bottom line.

Intrigued by the snippets we shared and want to see the rest of the story? That’s the power of storytelling. Get in touch and we’ll help you tell your story.