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Why Is Storytelling Back in Vogue?

October 25, 2011January 31, 2023 Dana PhelpsBlog, Public Relations, Trends

Want to know the latest trends? Tune in on Trend Tuesday!

If you ask me, storytelling never went out of style. Perhaps calling it storytelling did, but let me tell you, it’s baaaaaaaaack.

On my way to Orlando for the PRSA International Conference, I noticed that Spirit, the Southwest Airlines magazine, features The Art of Storytelling as this month’s cover story. At the conference, master storyteller Soledad O’Brien talked about storytelling in her opening keynote. While she had several great tips (see last week’s post, Interview Tips from Soledad O’Brien), I like what she said about using stats.

Take a stat and turn it into a story, Soledad said. She gave the example of a telling a story about the homeless. The average age of people living in homeless shelters is 9 years old. That stat alone is not the story. Interview three 9 year olds living in a homeless shelter and ask them how they got there — now you have an interesting story.

The day after I returned from Orlando, I was having coffee at The Morning Times with my friend and savvy communicator, Ilina Ewen. We found ourselves talking about storytelling, and Ilina said that she’s been helping companies think about how they tell their stories (versus just saying what they do) for years.

Next week, I’ll have the opportunity to tell one of my favorite stories, Myrtle Never Threw Away Her Postcards, at the 2011 Public Relations and Marketing Seminar on November 1, hosted by NCPRSA. I’d love to have you join me as I introduce Myrtle and share what I’ve learned about promises, potential and people from 80+ postcards written over the span of 50 years.  Hope to see you there! In the meantime…. tell us a story…

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5 thoughts on “Why Is Storytelling Back in Vogue?”

  1. kristy says:
    October 26, 2011 at 1:38 pm

    So true Dana! I happened across this short “Story” about one of my favorite things . . . the Belties @Fearrington Village? youtu.be/Ndfv7YbKE78

  2. Abbie S. Fink says:
    October 26, 2011 at 1:27 am

    Some of the best memories I have of my grandparents are the times when they told stories of their childhoods, how they met, their likes and dislikes. My only regret is I didn’t record those stories.

    I hope the art of storytelling is never lost.

    And just because, here is the link to my blog about you telling me about Myrtle. I feel lucky to know the story.

    http://hmapr.com/?p=4367

    1. Dana Hughens says:
      October 26, 2011 at 1:48 am

      Aw, I want to hear the story of how your grandparents met! And thank you for taking the Myrtle journey with me. I love that you get it.

  3. IlinaP says:
    October 25, 2011 at 4:28 pm

    I agree that storytelling never went out of style. Content is everything, and a good storyteller can make any topic engaging.

    I think you need a screenwriter to turn Myrtle into a movie.

    1. Dana Hughens says:
      October 26, 2011 at 12:57 am

      You aren’t the first to suggest a Myrtle movie! We definitely have to find time for me to tell you the WHOLE story soon.

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