I finished Influence the other day and have a lot of insights about it, which I am still digesting. However, today, I read something very powerful in The Tipping Point.
A Grassroots Movement Example
In the book's conclusion chapter, Gladwell discusses a woman in Southern California who created a grassroots movement to improve the health of Black women by educating them on diabetes and breast cancer. She initially attempted to capture them after church service but wasn’t successful. So she decided to go where they are in a captive audience setting—the hair salon. She trained the stylists on engaging their clients in typical conversations that cleverly weaved in the information.
This is powerful because it showcases much of what I have been learning over the past few months. The top point is to know your audience/avatar, where they are, and how to engage with them at their level. Most businesses (and non-profits) fail to do this, let alone do it well.
The other big point is not to drone on endlessly about your product/service/message and expect people to understand what you are saying and perform the action you want them to take. People must be engaged in a story—they will remember stories, not abstract data/statistics/information.
The Power of Storytelling
The most powerful message I took away was something along the lines of tacking the knowledge onto a story to make it stick. Just wow.
There is so much important information in this short segment that I read this morning, and I am still working it all out and trying to organize my thoughts in a way that can be useful to us for our business and our clients. One of the ways I think that can be helpful to our clients is sharing the story with them to showcase how incredibly important an avatar is to the success of their mission.
Ponder This
- How do you tailor your message to effectively reach and engage your audience?
- Have you found storytelling to be an effective tool in your business or personal life?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
Books
- Thinking Fast and Slow
- Influence
- The Tipping Point
- Mindset
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