How to tell – and sell – your story better: seven golden rules

In February we welcomed a whole bunch of storytelling supremos to our Good Stories event. 

We heard from WR Partnership's Briggy Kiddle, who reminded us to stop seeing sales as an opportunity to talk. Get away from the pitch. Ask questions, then more questions. Hand over the control of the conversation – however uncomfortable that feels. (For more detail on this approach and why it's so effective, read more from Briggy's colleague here.)

Limited budget, limited time, lots of audiences, too many channels... sound familiar? No wonder the Comms on a Shoestring workshop, delivered by Sophie Hobson from the School for Social Entrepreneurs, was especially popular. Define your audience, Sophie advised, and be very wary of making assumptions about them. Then, instead of splashing posts, emails and adverts in every direction, find out what those people read, where they hang out online, and what their main motivations are. Then figure out what to say.

In a panel on getting your brand out there, The Soap Co's Diane Cheung told the audience to share "titbits that people can connect to." For example, her company markets its products with the tagline, "every bottle sold creates one hour of employment".

For a one-minute recap from these speakers and more, watch the video above.

Video shot and edited by Hatty Bell.

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