Pacific Ocean Sunset via jxb345 on Flickr
I had a poetry professor tell me once “don’t tell. Show.” We were supposed to write a poem about the color blue. I picked a trip to the California coast. She wanted me to show what that smelled like, felt like, looked like, sounded like. She didn’t want a true story– she didn’t want me to simply inform her. She wanted me to tell a story about the peace I felt watching the sun slink into the Pacific. She wanted a story about Truth. She wanted me to inspire.
When you tell stories about your product, are you informing or inspiring?
If you’re informing, you’re telling true stories about the product. But you’re not telling me why I should care.
If you’re inspiring, your product is telling stories about Truth. You’re making meaning, and connecting me with it. That’s way better than some lame feature dump.
The best stories inspire and inform.
P.S. If you’re not quite sure, you’re probably telling Truthiness stories– the kind of stories that give all marketers a bad name. So stop it.
P.P.S. Check out Tom Nies excellent Change This Manifesto about True stories, Truth stories, and storyselling.