Lamide Johnson

Storytelling
Secrets

your
that can
Transform

Company
7 STORYTELLING SECRETS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY 1

The time is 6:49pm. in Abuja, Nigeria. It is the 8th day of

September, 2019; and I have just had a glass of diet lemonade (I
am cutting down on my sugar intake). My newfound friend and
brother, Paul, asked me to write a short e-book on Business Story-
telling and give it out to everyone who will need it, for FREE.

“Bros, I have two kids now, and school resumes tomorrow — I

need money!” I exclaimed.

“This is, perhaps, why you must continue to find more ways to
reach as many people as possible. The more people know you
have amazing content, the more you will grow your customer
base” He answered.

I couldn't agree more.

I found it interesting that anyone would want me to give out a
priceless part of my learning for nothing. Even more so, that he
thought it an easy feat for me to grab my laptop and type away,
with no preparation whatsoever — what an honor!

Well, this is the reason you are reading this book.

Here is the deal. I spent two hours writing it. I sat there, in my
living room — listening to “JamJam” with my almost 3-year-old
son — and wrote it. What this means is that you will need less than
15 minutes to read this book, and it is almost possible that this
book will transform your company!

As you read on, I will be sharing seven secrets I have unveiled in

the past eight years that can help you become a great business
storyteller.

Stay with me.

7 STORYTELLING SECRETS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY 2

For as long as I can remember, I have always loved to teach.

I’m not quite sure why I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. I’ll be
very specific — I want to become a professor. I will travel the
world, get into business schools and teach young founders and
business owners how to start and grow businesses. This is my
calling!

When I train people, I always want them to remember me. And I

have learned that one sure way to make certain that I am always
remembered is through telling a story.

In August 2019, I facilitated a session at a World Bank digital

program in Kaduna, Nigeria. I took a session on Business Storytell-
ing. It was no surprise to me that the country representative of the
World Bank Group sent an email to my team, asking for the facili-
tator that took the session as participants would not stop talking
about the facilitator.

They remembered me. They remembered every word I said —

they remembered my session.

Here’s why: I told stories!

I have been raving about the importance of telling stories, espe-

cially as a business owner who consistently deals with loads of
competition and distraction. My reason is simple:

“If you want people to remember you, you need to tell a story.”

Hey, did you catch the story I just told? Hehe.

In this really short but power packed e-book, I will share 7 things
that will improve your storytelling. These principles have been
used for years and continue to stand the test of time.

Buckle down and let’s get started.

Why does
telling stories
even matter?

7 STORYTELLING SECRETS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY 3

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I would not like to take the risk of delving straight into the
principles I want to show you with an assumption that you know
why storytelling is powerful. I would prefer to spend a few min-
utes to explain why storytelling is the core of business.

Here’s why: telling stories is the best way to persuade people.

When you hear a story, the same part of the brain lights up in both
the storyteller and the listener. You remember stories because
they make you feel, and when you feel, you make a decision.

While facts are important, you must tell a story in parallel to the
fact. This is one sure way to have your audience engaged and
remember you.

My mentor in storytelling — Steve Jobs once said:

“The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller. The

storyteller sets the vision, values and agenda of an entire genera-
tion that is to come.”

Stories are powerful! They matter a lot.

Now, let’s look at the 7 secrets to storytelling.

Know what
your audience
wants

7 STORYTELLING SECRETS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY 5

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If you want to tell a story and invite your audience into it,
the first thing you must do is define what they want, as it relates
to your company.

One major mistake companies make is that they either don’t

define what their customers want, or they define 101 things their
customers want.

Imagine getting onto the website of a service provider, and you

are confused for a while because you are unsure if they have
exactly what you want. Hold. . . how come it's the responsibility of
the service provider to tell you what you want?

People like to be told what to do. Strange, but that is the reality.
Tell them to have coke with lunch, and they will. Tell them to
spread blueband on bread, and they will. Tell them to put eggs on
indomie, and they will. Tell them to buy data once they recharge
their phones directly from the bank, and they will!

A business needs to define what the customer wants and make it

very clear, compelling, and memorable.
Position
yourself as a
guide, not
the hero

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The most common mistakes companies make when telling

a story is positioning their product, service, or company as the
hero of the story. If you want to get your customers to engage
with you, you must tell a story in which the customer is the hero,
not you.

The hero is the star — like Spider man, or Iron man. He is the
person that saves the day. Everyone loves a story with a hero in it.
To tell a successful story, you need to make sure it allows your
audience to project themselves onto the characters of the story —
and the character your customer likes to be is the hero.

Here is the hack: as the hero is going on his journey, he meets with
enemies, villains, and obstacles - and once this happens, the hero
needs a guide. Now, like T'Challa's sister, Shuri, in the movie Black
Panther, you come in as the guide who saves the day. This is actu-
ally where you and your product, service of solutions comes in.
You provide the solution to the hero. The story is not about you,
you are just a character in it - you are the hero's guide.

When you tell a story, you must communicate how well you know,
understand, and empathize with your hero and their struggles.
You should demonstrate to them that you are alongside them in
the fight to overcome their problem(s).

People don’t buy products from brands that are positioned as

heroes; they buy from companies that see their customers as
heroes and give them the tools they need to win the day.
Your audience
does not
remember data

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The day I realised this, I was baffled! I thought it was just

me, and my short attention span, I did not realise it was a global
problem.

I was facilitating a pitching competition recently, and immediately

a number of founders had finished pitching, I asked the audience
to raise their hands if they remembered the names of the founders
who had pitched. Just a few hands went up in the air. Then I asked
if they remembered the guy who almost lost his mother to high
blood pressure, and all of their hands went up.

The reason for this is simple. People do not easily remember data.
If they have to, they will link it to a story.

Realising this has made me spend less time talking about data.
Rather, I find a story that will help the audience remember every-
thing I need them to remember.

You will have to wrap a story around that statistic, that fact, and
that data if you’d want your audience to remember you.
Keep
it simple

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This is one reason many stories fail. You want to put so

many things in one post, one caption, one tweet. As you struggle
to make this happen, imagine what your audience will go through
when they engage with the story.

No matter how powerful your brain is, it can only take so much. In
fact, when the brain is confronted with complex data, it automati-
cally tries to simplify it. This is because it is wired to do so!

Do you remember when you were in school and there was a defi-
nition in Chemistry or History that was hard to crack, and you
used mnemonics to remember it? Or better still, tried to para-
phrase it? That was your brain trying to simplify things!

Now, if people continue to engage you and you always make their
brains work hard to simplify things, they will not be drawn to you
again. You are giving them too much work to do!

You must continue to keep a clear and simple narrative. Don’t

include unnecessary details. What you must do is simple: tell your
audience exactly what you want to communicate.

Check the title of this book again — straightforward. I did not try
to find a complex word that will make me sound smart, cute, or
clever. You won’t even click the download button. I know you; you
don’t like stress! Hehe.
Avoid
Jargon

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You are a doctor, and you went to school — we know. You

learnt the scientific names of every problem — we know. You are
super smart and want to show us that you are — we know. Please,
don’t speak in the language of doctors — we don’t know it!

It can be so tempting to want to flex your linguistic muscles. If you

give in, you might feel great, but you’d lose your audience. You
cannot continue to send your audience to the dictionary (or
Google) because you have mentioned a professional jargon they
don’t understand. What you would have successfully done is turn
a story into a thesis.

You must remain original with your language and use of words.
The way you convey your ideas should be crystal clear, and in
your own words. Don’t try to sound like someone else.
If you remain true to your own voice, you will begin to build trust
with your audience.
Begin with the
end in mind

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What do you want to achieve with the story? Do you want

your audience to buy from you or you want them to love you? Do
you want them to follow your journey or you want them to
support you? Do you want them to know you are human or you
want them to stay loyal to you? What do you want to achieve?

A rule of thumb in writing any story is to consider what you want

to achieve and then work your way back to the beginning.

Start with the end in mind.

You can start with some key points. What I do is to first write what
I call the “storyboard” — a collection of bullet points — which I will
use throughout the story and then I begin to build the blocks
around them.

If you want to be a great storyteller, you must set expectations

and then deliver to that expectation in a phenomenal way.

I must say, however, that sometimes, as you work your way to the
end, you will begin to uncover and discover fascinating things.
This is what makes your stories even more exciting.

One thing remains clear: know what the end is and work your way
back to the beginning.
Speak only
the truth

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If you lie, you will get caught. I always say this each time I
take a class on Business Storytelling. The brain of your audience
acts like a detective when you are speaking. I am not sure why this
happens, but as they begin to align your words and experiences
with theirs, finding points of similarities, they also check and dou-
ble-check if you are speaking the truth.

You must be consistent — if you aren’t, you will confuse your audi-
ence and that, alone, will send them away.

This does not mean you should not be creative — you can, but
don’t stray far away from what you truly represent.

Once your audience is confused, they begin to doubt you. Once

that happens, you may have just lost them.
Wrapping up

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7 STORYTELLING SECRETS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY 20

The time is 8:59pm. It is still the 8th day of September,

2019; and I have just completed the challenge. The e-book is done
and dusted, and I am even more proud of myself.

I will celebrate this win, just a little. I will make some pancakes
with grilled sausages for myself. I may give the family some.

Perhaps, I should place a target on this. Can we have a thousand

people download this material?

Well, here is why this is possible. It is possible because of you. It is

possible because you can make it happen. All you have to do is
share, and we can do this together! Share the link with them and
have them download their own copies.

If you need further support, or would like to share some of your

unique insights on storytelling with me, you can reach me at john-
sonolamide01@gmail.com or find me on Instagram at @lamide-
johnson.

If you want me to come speak with you or your team, do let me

know.

I am not far away, trust me.

Great companies tell great stories, and great stories can change
the world!

Go and change your world, one story at a time.

Thanks for playing ball with me.

Many thanks. Much love.

Stay safe. LAMIDE

7 STORYTELLING SECRETS THAT CAN TRANSFORM YOUR COMPANY 1

m i d e
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L nson
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