Being able to tell an engaging story is a gift. It's a talent, and it can also be complete bullshi*t. In an attempt to state this in the nicest way possible, what I'm trying to say is now everyone can tell a story.
With the development and rise of social media, everyone has become a "journalist," and everyone has something to say. Across various blog platforms, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, any and every human being can post, share, tweet or caption anything they feel necessary. This isn't always a bad thing, but the amount of animal Instagram and Facebook pages that exist is a tad eccentric. My dog rocks, but come on, people. Go save the world or something with your spare time instead. I mean look at this, um WHAT.
Did you see it? "Visual stories." Even dogs are storytellers.
Stefan Sagmeister, an Austrian born graphic designer and typographer, has a strong opinion on storytelling. Sagmeister co-founded the New York based design firm called Sagmeister & Walsh Inc.In 2014, his video "You Are Not A Storyteller" blew up and stirred the storytelling scene (if your ears bleed when you hear profanity, I would recommend not watching).
Many believed and understood that it was about time someone spoke about this issue. The issue is that everyone believes they are a storyteller, especially when it comes to advertising. Sagmeister states that he is critical of the storytelling theme and thinks all the storytellers are not storytellers. Amen, Stefan. I personally liked the profanity in the video; it got everyone's attention.
It used to be that storytelling was left to the experts. That’s no longer the case. Words such as storytelling are thrown around each and every day to teach society that this is how you get people to listen. Storytelling is key. This is what gives journalists and journalism a bad rap. Reporters and journalists used to be the main source of information, and whoever had the best story, was the one that was listened to. Now, it’s nearly impossible to determine who to listen to and who not listen to because what constitutes a "good story" in today's society? And who dictates that?
Let's type "storytelling" into Google. You get the definition that storytelling is the conveying of events, blah, blah, often by improvisation or embellishment. Not a fan of the last part. Honestly, the last part scares me. It is worrisome because of the capabilities given to every person with access to the World Wide Web. Improvisation and embellishment are two practices that can be tastefully handled or completely overdone. The amount of times it is overdone is disgusting. As our abilities to become a "storyteller" have expanded, our abilities to understand when enough is enough has not kept pace; they have veered off the deep end.
Today, storytelling is often used to sell products, not just information. Again, this idea is great, but it needs to be handled properly. We are blessed with access to a wealth of information. It is so easy, as I proved, to "Google" anything. I believe people need to, now more than ever, be media literate and aware, because everyone is a storyteller and some are not telling an accurate story.
In 2014, some believed storytelling would be the biggest business skill of the next five years. At the end of the day, a good story often stimulates action, making the skill of storytelling a promising skill to have.
Bobby Rettew, another great mind on the Internet, is a journalist and the chief storyteller for Gray Digital Group. He posted on his blog that he hates the "buzzword" storytelling. He boldly states (and I agree) that agencies claim they can tell stories, storytelling is a craft and some can be extremely good at it, but you need to be aware because you can end up buying into a really good story that turns out to be no good as a reality. Great writers can create a truth. Great storytellers can touch people's souls.
So all, take from this what you will, but I want to leave you with this nugget of knowledge: be careful, be educated, and know what you’re reading, writing, and saying before you preach it, OR buy it.
