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Karen Dietz
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Top Biz Story Articles in 2011 -- List & Links
Wow! Since June 6, 2011 I have curated 435 articles of only the best article I could find on business storytelling – how to grow your business, increase sales, improve presentations/ marketing/ branding/ websites, and how to think smarter about using stories in your business.
2012 is right around the corner so what are the top 20 most popular articles in the 2011 collection? Here’s the list, starting with the post with the most views:
- Isn't An Example A Story? A Guide To Sort Out A Story From Other Narrative Forms -- Free Guide
- The Ethics of Business Storytelling -- Free Guide
- If Content Is King, Then Storytelling Is Queen: 18 Checkpoints To Consider
- Draw a Stickman
- Forget About Branded Content, Tell a Great Story
- 10 Common Video Storytelling Mistakes (and how to avoid them)
- Storytelling's Next Chapter: Software Automatically Turns Stories into Movies
- People Don't By the WHAT -- They Buy The WHY (+Story)
- How to Make Almost Every Article You Write Go Viral -- 3 Tips Using Stories
- Neuroscience Proves Why Your [Nonprofit] Stories Move Supporters To Action
- 10 Insanely Awesome Inspirational Manifestos
- 18 Sure-fire Signs You Are A Rookie Business Storyteller
- How to Tell Your Story for Impact: EXCELLENT!
- Five Ways to Make Your Content Stick
- Top 20 Reasons Presentations Suck and How To Fix Them
- Inspired Giving -- Using Stories To Increase Donations -- Free Guides
- 8 Great Examples of Nonprofit Storytelling
- My 29 Favorite Quotes on Stories/Storytelling to Use in Business
- Death by PowerPoint -- Free Download
- Now You See It - Graphic Storytelling Teaches Better Than Text
To see the complete list and links simply:
- Go to the TAGS tab at the top of the Just Story It curated content
- Scroll down the Tags list until you come to top2011
- Select the top2011 Tag and they will all appear on one screen
Enjoy and many thanks for all of your comments, support, and encouragement!
Karen Dietz www.juststoryit.com
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Karen Dietz
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One of the greatest challenges for non-profits today is how to increase donations.
No matter what time of year it is, nonprofits are always faced with the challenge of raising funds. So I have several resources to share with you that I trust will help you find, craft, and share your stories better to make your fundraising more successful.
There's a PowerPoint presentation and audio recording that go together talking about the how and why stories work in fundraising, worksheets to help you develop your non-profits core stories, and an academic article talking about what nonprofit stories must have in order for them to work.
I just added (12/23) the audio file and improved PPT, along with additional resources & worksheets so go grab the latest stuff!
Enjoy & happy holidays ...
The studies are in: If you want to communicate more clearly, use comics, cartoons, storyboards and other graphic storytelling approaches instead of or in addition to text. Comics, cartoons, storyboards and other graphic storytelling devices also increase readership, improve retention and move readers to act. Love this how-to article. It's a great way to have more fun sharing your business stories and it makes an impact too! Thanks Gregg Morris @greggvm for sharing.
Via Gregg Morris
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Karen Dietz
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Image via Wikipedia In a few short years, our ability to forcibly interrupt consumers with our advertising is going to be greatly diminished. There will be more channels, more content across more screens, and many fewer interruptive ads. Yes, we...
What great insights this article has! We already know storytelling is key to successful marketing but the author goes even further when saying, "But the concept of branded content is fundamentally flawed. By definition, branded content doesn’t even need to be good content. As long as we remain focused on creating something “branded,” we are missing the entire reason consumers are watching in the first place. It is a very subtle idea that requires brand managers and CMOs to shake off some of their core beliefs about how we talk to our customers."
And, "It’s not logical to think that consumers will ever volunteer to watch or share our marketing, so let’s stop making marketing and instead start telling stories. We need to unshackle ourselves from old formats and embrace an idea that has existed since humans first began communicating."
Read the article for other great words of wisdom -- along with understanding the bleak future of marketing and advertising if we don't shift business efforts into becoming story-centric.
The only piece that's missing in this post is any discussion about the fundamental dynamic of storytelling: story sharing. It seems the author is still focused on broadcasting stories instead of engaging in swapping stories with customers (i.e. listening to their stories in return).
But one step at a time :) ....
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Karen Dietz
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In my previous post, I touched on content marketing and I emphasized throughout the post the importance of quality content. But what does that mean?
What a great post about using stories to build quality content -- and a fun poll to take at the end too!
I love how the author has organized her thoughts and given us really good tips on using storytelling to build great blogs, articles, websites, ebooks, etc. Her tips are a terrific map.
And then you get to take a quick poll at the end and see immediate results. I'm bookmarking the post so I can keep going back and to see how people are responding!
"Mercury Innovative - a developer of language processing software - is rolling out a new web application that automatically turns written stories into animated movies. Text in Motion™ brings excitement and..." Ooooohhhh -- so cool! I can't wait to try this service out when it arrives. Read more about the ability we all may soon have to turn our written text automatically into digital stories. Thank you Cathryn Wellner @StoryRoute for sharing this article!
Via Cathryn Wellner
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Karen Dietz
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People keep asking me for my favorite quotes about stories or storytelling that are applicable for business, so I finally put my favorites together. I didn't select those I've seen on Twitter so hopefully you'll find some new material here to stimulate your thinking, or use in your next business presentation. Enjoy!
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Karen Dietz
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Creating compelling content is a theme running through the PRSA 2011 International Conference this year. I like this quick article with its 5 bullet points. 4 out of the 5 are all about storytelling and is a quick checklist for developing content that is meaningful and memorable. There are links to videos to illustrate the author's points, making this article even more valuable. Enjoy!
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Karen Dietz
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Here are various examples of what the author is calling visual storytelling or digital storytelling. Well...a few are stories (some are better than others) and others are examples of sophisticated messaging. Even though they are non-profit products, they are very instructional for businesses. Unfortunately I'm traveling and trying to watch these on a slow wireless network. It is very frustrating. So I'm not able to do a thorough review as possible. But watch these videos and tell me what you think about them by leaving your comments below. Is the video an actual story or sophisticated messaging (which can be very clever and powerful in its own right)? If an actual story is being told then does it have the following? - Beginning, middle, end,
- Aperson you can identify with
- A challenge/problem to overcome
- Overcoming the challenge/problem,
- Key message at the end that moves you to some sort of action
- Is the story effective with a strong ending?
Oh, I almost forgot -- at the end of the article is a great list of resources and tutorials to help ANY business or non-profit in creating digital stories. So go grab that list. I'm looking forward to your comments!
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Karen Dietz
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Not everything that is called a story is one. Here's a complete guide to different narrative forms found in business life, complete with a chart. My colleagues and I come across examples daily of companies touting stories that are anything but -- all under the guise of storytelling. So it's time to clear up the confusion. In the guide (co-authored with Lori Silverman) a short story is shared, and then translated into different narrative forms: anecdote, case study, profile, example, and the like. We hope it brings clsarity to what is a story and what is not. Download the PDF and keep it handy!
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Karen Dietz
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We can all tell stories, and some are better at it than others. And it is a skill that can be learned without taking years to master. So how can you tell if you are a great storyteller? Well, sometimes it is easier to to point out the most common mistakes people make first. So here’s a list of the errors most people make.
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Karen Dietz
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TEDx Puget Sound speaker - Simon Sinek - Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action About TEDx, x=independently organize event In the spirit of ideas w...
This is a 2-year old video with fabulous 'evergreen' insights for us all. I love the model Simon Sinek shares with us, explaining how we normally think/talk. He then goes on to invert the model to show us why great leaders are able to create amazing change.
Start 2012 with a bang. Watch the video and use this model to really make the difference you want to in the coming year.
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maxOz
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"In your brain, you have neurons called “mirror” neurons. These brain cells are essentially the “soft-wiring” behind empathy. It’s why you feel sadness when a friend is struggling, and happy when they overcome an obstacle. You experience their ups and downs as if they are yours.
This video explains more about the science behind empathy. You’ll learn why stories work better than stats in your online (and offline) appeals. You’ll learn why pictures elicite a strong emotional response than text."
Don't let the title fool you -- even though this is slanted to non-profits, we all need to know this information.
By watching this video (which takes very complex notions and breaks them down into simple-to-understand chunks), you will learn a alot about empathy. I quibble with a few points, but overall it's a good synopsis.
What is the connection to story? Well, by sharing a story you connect with your audience through empathy. So the more you understand about how and why empathy works, the more you will master business storytelling.
Enjoy the video and let me know what you think!
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Karen Dietz
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It's Friday and we all need a good laugh. I found this cartoon by Tom Fishburne and wanted to share. He's got other great material too so check out his site at http://tomfishburne.com/! Thanks for the laughs Tom.
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Karen Dietz
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Is there are sure-fire approach to making every article you write go viral online?
What a useful article! Don't we all wish our blog posts would go viral? Well, stories are the way to help that along.
Not only does the author make great points about using stories to create sharable material, he also gives several examples from his own 'gone viral' posts.
Don't forget to read all the comments to this blog post also -- there are more great insights there!
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Karen Dietz
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A manifesto can help keep creatives, professionals and many others on course.
It's Thanksgiving and even during these tough times, there is so much to be thankful for. And we can all use a little more inspiration to keep us going.
I hope you enjoy these different manifestos. Keep going. Keep your stories alive -- we all need to hear them!
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Karen Dietz
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Want to improve your storytelling skills?
Want to know what is really involved in crafting compelling stories?
Then RUN -- don't walk -- to watch this video.
You can't teach storytelling skills in 3 minutes. This video -- complete with TED videos of great examples, audience discussions of what worked and didn't work with a story, tips and reference guides -- is 1.5 hours. But it is sooooooo worth it!
In fact, when I teach my biz communication class in Dec. I'll require my students to watch this.
So carve out the time to watch it. Ignore the first 6:40 minutes -- it's just audience intros.
After that, pay attention. You will receive quite a story crafting education that will allow you to tell fabulous business stories.
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Karen Dietz
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Five years after Youtube's birth there's probably not a newsroom in the land that isn't trying to do video journalism in some way or another.
I say 'trying' because, as you'll probably have seen... Want to create videos about your company and its customers? Want to shoot an interview with a colleague or an expert you met at a conference? Then follow these 10 tips about what to avoid and how to create a really good video. It doesn't need to be complicated or high tech, just pay attention to the basic technical issues listed here, and combine it with good storytelling skills. I'm learning to master this medium -- and you can too!
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Karen Dietz
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Draw a stickman and watch him come to life! OK -- it's Saturday and this post is just for fun. Go play with this awesome interactive storytelling site. Try it -- you'll like it!
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Karen Dietz
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As promised, I've posted my ethical guidelines for business storytelling on my site and it is now available for free download. We often forget, or are not aware that there are ethical considerations that come into play at times when we are sharing business stories. Don't stray into troubled waters. And many thanks to my colleagues who contributed to this ethics document.
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Karen Dietz
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The most common reasons that business presentations are usually so awful, along with advice to make your presentations better. This is a quick gallery of photos to go through about problems with presentations. I love that the diagnosis of the problem, along with tips for avoiding it, are included with each image. Just click on the first image to cycle through the gallery. The core message? Without a coherent story, your presentation will fail. So take these tips to heart.
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![Neuroscience Proves Why Your [Nonprofit] Stories Move Supporters To Action @johnhaydon | Just Story It | Scoop.it](http://img.scoop.it/su4vTU3fOS-R7lYs3N89Wzl72eJkfbmt4t8yenImKBVaiQDB_Rd1H6kmuBWtceBJ)
I really like that last question -- curation is a storytelling act
I love that graphic:-) -
Yes, he makes alot of sense, simple, but to the point