The Art of Storytelling for your Personal Brand

Four simple tips to help you get started

My previous blog shared the Science of Storytelling in Growing Your Personal Brand. The power of storytelling is a science, but it’s also an art. Perhaps you find it intimidating and, instead, stick to the comfort zone of facts. I’m sharing four simple tips to help you build your personal brand storytelling skills.

As I shared in my earlier blog, my Papa was a true storyteller. There were some stories that knocked your socks off. Other stories he retold over and over as part of his repertoire.

One of his favourites was about my then three-year-old older sister, hunting for her favourite fruit, durians, at a local Malaysian market. Papa thought “I’ll pretend they aren’t available today”. It was a family favourite he also adored. But, this national treasure is highly pungent and generally hard work. Unfortunately for him, its smell also mocks any covert mission to deny its presence.

Using her detective skills, my sister said, “…but, I can smell them…”. Taking his hand, she followed her nose, guiding him to them. And that night they enjoyed a delicious feast together.

It was his special story for anyone who’d listen. It showed our origin, a father’s memories and his lifelong love of markets.

So, how can you use storytelling for your personal brand? Here are my top tips:

Tip #1. Create a sensory experience

Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) uses ‘representational systems’. These are the sensory modalities for how people process information.

NLP’s ‘VAKOG’ model includes:

• Visual (sight)

• Auditory (sound)

• Kinesthetics (touch/feeling)

• Olfactory (smell)

• Gustatory (taste)

Adding a sensory experience to your storytelling helps connect with different system preferences.

Take the story of my father and sister I just shared. For the Auditory effect, it contains voices. This includes self-talk known in NLP as ‘Auditory Digital’. For Visuals, it sets the scene of the market and their journey together. For Kinesthetics, it includes the holding of their hands. It bears pungent fruit for the Olfactory dimension. And finishes with a feast for a Gustatory factor.

Worth noting, it works better when modalities are universally relevant. This makes them relatable. Most of us know the smell and taste of apples, for example. So, know your audience’s lifestyle. In his case, my dad knew his audience could relate to all elements and even the notorious aroma as he told it.

Tip #2. Know your personal brand founder, business and customer stories

As suggested by personal brand guru, Mike Kim, in his book You are the Brand, know these stories:

• Your Founder Story: This is your origin story and how it connects with why you’re in your related field.

• Your Business Story: This demonstrates the big problem you’re helping solve. This is the why behind your venture. While Kim generally targets aspiring entrepreneurs, I find this equally relevant to employees. Simply consider the ‘why’ behind your current career focus.

• Customer Story: This shows the transformation of people you have worked with.

Remember, your 'about me’ is not about you. It’s to serve your audience’s problems and aspirations.

Tip #3. Choose a story type

Storytelling expert, Annette Simmons, provides inspiration in Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins. Her book provides a bank of ideas for your storytelling efforts:

• Who-I-am stories: Build trust

• Why-I-am here stories: Explain what qualifies you

• Teaching stories: Demonstrate how new behaviours change results

• Vision stories: Reframe present difficulties to ‘worth it’

• Value-in-Action stories: Demonstrate what the value means

• I-know-what-you-are-thinking-stories: Build trust by sharing secret suspicions, and dispelling objections.

For authenticity-in-action, Simmons also recommends four story types:

• A time you shined: Communicates integrity, compassion or learning

• A time you blew it: Shares vulnerability to build trust

• A mentor: Expresses gratitude and humility, and likely highlights your own values

• A book, movie or current event: Those involved have done the hard work for you. Explain what it means to you and connect its relevance.

Tip #4. Follow a storytelling framework

Branding master, Donald Miller’s Storybrand framework in Building a Story Brand outlines:

1. A character (your audience is the hero, not you)

2. Has a problem

3. They meet a Guide (you). With 1) empathy and 2) authority

4. Who gives them a plan

5. And calls them to action

6. That helps avoid failure

7. And ends in success

It places your audience - be it your customers, team or stakeholders - as the hero on a mission. And as personal branding does best, positions you (the Guide) in service to your people.

So, experiment with storytelling as part of your personal brand. Diverging from “business is business” is not as far-fetched as it may initially feel. Simmons says it best,

“Most personal stories are perfectly appropriate whenever the discussions involve persons”.

I’d venture so far as to guess that your leadership involves people.

So, are you practising storytelling in your business and leadership messages?

PS. Next in this storytelling series - learn the four characters you’ll never unlearn.