Microsite Makes a Case for “Storytelling Techniques” in Business Communications

The Hoffman Agency today announced an interactive microsite called “The Periodic Table for Business Storytelling.”

The concept of “storytelling” has been trending in the communications industry for several years. Virtually every communications consultancy touts its storytelling expertise short of saying, “Hey mister, step into our tent and see how storytelling can change your life.”

There’s just one not-so-little detail that no one talks about. When it comes to business communications, storytelling by its classic definition — a narrative with a start, an end, and something going horribly awry in between — often can’t be applied.

Whether it’s content on a corporate website, a presentation or talking with a journalist, telling story after story doesn’t make for a persuasive communications. Plus, inserting failure into narratives isn’t exactly a natural act for companies.

Yet, given a choice between dull or interesting, people will gravitate toward interesting every time (unscientific research showed 37 out of 37 people preferred “Game of Thrones” over CSPAN).

That’s the genesis of this Periodic Table of Business Storytelling and this microsite.

By borrowing the same techniques found in storytelling, fiction and nonfiction alike, business communications become more interesting and thus more persuasive.

Equally important, these storytelling techniques offer a repeatable process to improving content development. You don’t have to be an Ernest Hemingway to tease out an anecdote in the copy.

“We strived to develop the microsite as an academic and industry resource,” said Lou Hoffman, CEO of The Hoffman Agency. “Hopefully, universities will link to the site, and professors will offer feedback on how to advance the site with their students in mind.”

The microsite is available at www.storytelling-techniques.com.

About The Hoffman Agency

One of the few independent communication consultancies with global reach, The Hoffman Agency brings the best of both worlds to its clients — the high touch of a boutique, with the sophistication in services associated with the mega shops. The firm, which marks its 30-year anniversary later this year, operates nine offices across Europe, the U.S. and Asia. www.hoffman.com

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