In this post, I’ll pick up the thread on different purposes and contexts where storytelling may be useful to you. I left you with some short descriptions of Traditional Storytelling, Corporate Storytelling or Organizational Storytelling and Storytelling in Marketing. The list can of course be extended invariably, but I try to keep it short and to-the-point. So, to complete the list, I want to add the following:
Experiential Storytelling
Experiential storytelling is common in the event industry, which is well aware of the potential of storytelling as a tool. I have had several conversations with representatives from the event industry, all of whom emphasize the importance of developing the art of storytelling, the ability to create and convey a dramatic whole, and to use concretization, context, and the emotional plane to clarify abstractions. If you work with experiential storytelling, you are working with the art of using the story as a common thread to clarify/enhance an event. It is a way to create a clearer experience with a greater sense of wholeness than just a “theme” can achieve.
Digital Storytelling
To be blunt, digital storytelling is storytelling that happens with the help of digital media. However, “digital storytelling” is a term used for a more pronounced form of storytelling; a tradition that stems from Dana Atchley, Joe Lambert, and Nina Mullen at the StoryCenter in Berkeley, California. As this tradition has developed, there are some clear distinctions. These stories should be short and personal. They should be based on images, preferably existing ones such as photos, keepsakes — anything, really, you’ll be able to transfer to a digital pic. The images should speak together with the narrative—the storytelling voice. The text should be read aloud by the storyteller and it should be told in the first person. (If it’s about a relative, the first person looks like this: “My grandfather was…”). Joe Lambert and his colleagues have published the book “Digital Storytelling Cookbook”.
Conceptual storytelling
The field of conceptual storytelling is somewhat lesser known than the previously mentioned ones. Conceptual storytelling can be incredibly useful and impactful. You use conceptual storytelling when you want to develop a comprehensive concept that can encompass new product categories, offerings, target audiences, and various channels. Using storytelling as the foundation of the entire idea can help both you and your colleagues working on the concept to understand it deeply and holistically, allowing you to respond to unexpected events and opportunities as well as challenges. It can also help your customers or users understand the offering and what they can gain from it. Under this umbrella, you might include the Background Story; the one you use to get a clear picture of the end product yourself. An example of this is IKEA’s copywriting, which at some time was based on very clear stories about people with needs, goals, and dreams. These stories were not necessarily visible to the reader but served as the basis for the development of the ideas. What remained was the image of the kitchen/living room/bathroom that this person had created for themselves.
Stay with me, and I will come back to you and dive into some of the mentioned areas deeper, with more details.
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