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Day 645. Why is storytelling so powerful? Because of emotions. There’s no other way to get decisions fast without emotions. In business, emotions have been banished for a long time. Business decisions are said to be made on hard and cold facts. While it’s somehow true, we all know we can tell any story on any number. Look at who politicians are telling different stories on the same numbers depending they are part of the ruling party or of opposition.
For most people it’s the story that matters. Not the story itself, but the story and the storytelling. How you tell the story is crucial because you will derive emotions from it and emotions will drive decisions. Emotions play on specific part of the brain, generate specific neurotransmitters and influence decision. If emotions were outside of any decision process, marketing would not exist. That’s marketing that drives a part of the sales, the projection you make in your mind, the story it helps you tell yourself. Emotions and stories are intertwined. This is the power or stories, and the power of emotions.
When a startup founder pitches to a VC, it’s a well-known fact that the story matters more that the numbers that are merely « hope-casting ». When a salesperson pitches to a customer, the story matters about why and how the customer will benefit from the usage of the services or product sold. Remember the last time you got a raise, a promotion or made a successful sales. How did you feel? Good? You thought you were the king of the world? Next time, paint that picture to your customer. People do not purchase services or goods for their benefits, but for the experience they will have, for the emotions they will feel. This is how powerful emotions are. Hundreds of thousands of years of evolution have cables any human being like this. Find your customer’s motivation and the sale is made. Selling with emotions is the most powerful sales technique, less taught though!
Laugh, cry, or rant, emotions are the fuel of any human being!
