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Monthly Archives: January 2014


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Create Your Organization’s Face with Visual Storytelling

Photo: Sculpture Per Adriano, work of Igor Mitoraj, Square of Isla de Madeira, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Sculpture Per Adriano, work of Igor Mitoraj, Square of Isla de Madeira, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

“A good picture is equivalent to a good deed.” – Vincent Van Gogh (www.goodreads.com)

Artists know the value of creating compelling visuals to tell their stories. Communicators can use this same concept of visual storytelling to engage their audiences on a personal level.

This article from prnewsonline.com can help you get started on the road to “visual storytelling mastery:” http://www.prnewsonline.com/water-cooler/2013/10/29/6-tips-for-visual-storytelling-mastery/

If you take your own photos, you’ll want to read “Telling Stories” by Phil Douglis, ABC, IABC Fellow and a master of visual storytelling. In his article from IABC’s Communication World, Phil shows you how to engage your audiences and draw them into your story to help them develop a deeper understanding of your organization. For more inspiration on visual storytelling, check out Phil’s “cyberbook” of photo galleries at http://www.pbase.com/pnd1

How do you incorporate visual storytelling into your organizational communication?

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Story Creating Tools Help You Build Meaningful Connections

Photo: BMW Welt, Munich, Germany. Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

Photo: BMW Welt, Munich, Germany. Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

We are the heroes of our own great stories. This Storytelling Job Aid published by the American Society for Training & Development can help you effectively identify, create, deliver and track your stories. Once you uncover and document key stories, they will become the heart and soul of your organization’s brand identity.

Communication expert Park Howell, http://parkhowell.com/, owner and chief storyteller of Park&Co, shares these additional resources to help you create powerful stories for meaningful connections: http://parkhowell.com/storytelling-for-green-advertising-marketing-and-sustainability/how-not-to-become-an-mba-zombie

What are some resources you’ve found helpful to effectively share your organization’s stories?


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What’s Your Story?

Photo: Macau Science Center, Macau, China. Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

Photo: Macau Science Center, Macau, China. Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, License CC-BY-SA 3.0

“After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.” – Philip Pullman, educator and writer, http://www.philip-pullman.com

Although storytelling is certainly not a new concept, it has emerged in recent years as the key to strategic communication programs. Many communication experts like Park Howell, http://parkhowell.com/, have learned how to successfully harness the power of a story for their organizations. For 18 years, Park has been the owner and chief storyteller of Park&Co, an advertising agency in Phoenix, AZ. He and the agency’s sustainable marketing work have been recognized in many publications.

In this video of Park’s presentation, AzBAS Presentation_Park Howell_Storytelling, you’ll learn how to tell compelling stories about your organization or brand. You’ll also learn something about your own life as Park describes “The Hero’s Journey” by the legendary mythologist, Joseph Campbell.

Everyone has a story to tell. What’s your story?


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Kick off 2014 with Strategic Storytelling

Photo: Jon Sullivan

Photo: Fireworks, Jon Sullivan

2014 promises to be a brilliant new year for learning, sharing and implementing best practices in communication. Each month, we’ll focus on a different topic to support your continued quest for timely, relevant and successful communication programs.

January’s topic is storytelling. This week, you’ll learn how to kick your internal communication program into high gear this year through the use of strategic storytelling.

Speaker, trainer and speaking coach Doug Stevenson, www.storytelling-in-business.com, explains how internal communication becomes more memorable through the use of storytelling and shares his “Nine Steps of Story Structure” in this article from IABC’s CW Bulletin: http://www.iabc.com/cwb/archive/2004/0704/storytelling.htm

As you’re getting started with your storytelling strategy, keep in mind that “the beginning is perhaps more difficult than anything else, but keep heart, it will turn out all right.”  – Vincent Van Gogh (www.goodreads.com)

Here’s to you and your success in 2014!