Stories - an experience for your audience -

I agree with the comments above and whole-heartedly endorse the use of personas in business. But unlike the article I think that personas do have a place in business -- if done right. Now that's the trick.

Let's take a page from the world of writing: no well developed characters, no story. "What," you say???!!

Yep, plot is important. But the secret to great storytelling is good character development. Know your characters and the plot unfolds. Know your customers stories and your business plot unfolds.

For example -- Hollywood crafts most of its films these days around a boilerplate plot filled with special effects. Love the special effects. But the plot and characters? Same old same old and mostly boring.

Unfortunately today, most of the biz story articles focus on structure. It's rare to come upon an article focusing on character development like this one does in ways that directly connects its importance to the biz world.

The more you know about your customers, and can craft personas based on good character development skills, the better off you will be. The author of the article suggests forgetting personas and just focusing on your customer stories. Do both actually -- they are important. 

Customer stories give great insights into needs. Personas represent the emotional core of your customers. Two sides of the same coin.

Make sure you read the article so you'll know a bit more about how to gather your customer stories. From there you can craft your personas so they are meaningful and help you generate the results you are looking for.

Crafting personas and developing characters requires excellent listening skills -- not just to understand, but to listen for needs. That means developing empathic listening skills. Search this curation using the 'listening' tag in the filters tab above to get solid articles on how to do this.

Thanks for finding and sharing this Marty and Gregg!

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

so true"t's rare to come upon an article focusing on character development"

Tested and true for building engagement, enhancing customer service, and building both brand and corporate culture.

Tested and true for building engagement, enhancing customer service, and building both brand and corporate culture.

Thoughtful interview on storytelling...

This is a quick article giving sound reasoning for why organizations need to create a storied culture.

If you are a business leader, here is your beginning roadmap for working with stories in your organization.

If you are an entrepreneur growing a business, here is your beginning roadmap for building a storied culture with employees and vendors. 

And if you are a consultant, here's a list of reasons 'why' a storied culture is important that you can use in presentations and workshops with clients.

What else would you add to this list?

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling at www.scoop.it/t/just-story-it 

What a great article that goes a long way in de-mystefying brand storytelling!

I particularly like the emphasis on brand storytelling creating deep affinity if done right, that chemistry is part of the equation, and that it is a strategic imperative, not a promotional tactic. 

With these attitudes in mind, this brings brand storytelling out of the realm of mere transaction into an ongoing relationship between company and customer.

The authors Derrick Daye and Brad VanAuken then go on to talk about the drivers of brand storytelling: purpose, method, and opportunity.

I wish they had included company examples -- good, bad, or indifferent -- to illustrate their points. Nevertheless, their article does help us all know the steps we need to take to either create or further enhance our brand storytelling.

This review was written by Karen Dietz for her curated content on business storytelling atwww.scoop.it/t/just-story-it