{"id":13271,"date":"2022-02-04T16:40:37","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T16:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/?p=13271"},"modified":"2022-02-07T10:37:13","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T10:37:13","slug":"storytelling-for-business-forget-hollywood-and-find-your-narrative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/kbs-news-events\/2022\/02\/storytelling-for-business-forget-hollywood-and-find-your-narrative\/","title":{"rendered":"Storytelling for Business: Forget Hollywood and Find Your Narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"

To celebrate <\/strong>National Storytelling Week,<\/strong><\/a> we caught up with Kent Business School alum Matthew Woodget, Founder and CEO of <\/strong>GoNarrative.<\/a> and expert in <\/strong>storytelling for business.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Storytelling is the structure the human brain uses to retain, recall and share information and we\u2019ve used it since the Stone Age. Sharing stories is part of everyday life \u2013 not least of all in business. It\u2019s the way we present the ethics and goals and build a brand, using a narrative. In the era of social media, a businesses\u2019 story has never been more accessible or important.<\/p>\n

Matthew Woodget is a Kent Business School alum who developed a passion and insight into the art of storytelling. Ten years ago, he established a business, Go Narrative.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI studied Business Administration at Kent and ended up working in Marketing at tech companies. I\u2019ve always loved telling and writing stories – I am Dyslexic and have ADHD, so it hasn\u2019t always been easy, but I\u2019ve written sci-fi novels and am obsessed with movies and the stories within them.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was when Matthew was appointed Chief Storyteller for Microsoft Dynamics that he started to delve into it as an art form and realised businesses were mostly doing it wrong.<\/p>\n

‘Hero’s story’<\/h3>\n

\u201cResearch led me to Hollywood \u2013 the classic hero\u2019s story for instance \u2013 so many attempted to use this structure to promote a narrative and failed. Why? Most businesspeople don\u2019t have the time to become an expert in crafting entertainment stories. Storytelling in business is different, you\u2019re trying to change people\u2019s minds. Businesspeople need a different set of tools.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Matthew created Storytelling for Action™<\/em> \u2013 a set of frameworks to enable businesses to easily build a narrative to impact their current and future customers.\u00a0 His 3D Story™ Frameworks sets out three simple areas to formulate an interesting and engaging story for potential customers \u2013 desire, difficulty, and denouement, the Story MeET™ Method pads that concept out with suitable morals, essential emotions wrapped up in the business and the truths held by a business.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou use these frameworks to extract ideas, do the research and due diligence and layer it in,\u201d he explains. \u201cYour stories get nuanced and detailed \u2013 and unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

More recently, he developed a new framework for big ideas \u2013 brands and narratives that shape a business or organisation as a whole. It is called TRIPS Storytelling™ Methodology \u2013 which stands for Transformation, Reasons to believe, Innovation, Problems and Stories.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the story for business \u2018why are we doing this?\u2019, the framework builds strategic narratives for an entire brand\u2019s meaning. What is their big story, why did they get into this in the first place?\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n

Matthew is now on a mission to help every businessperson on the planet to become a good storyteller.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you get good at telling small stories, the rest will fall into place,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ll use them everywhere \u2013 the start of a presentation or on a meeting with a boss. The big stories, the narratives will follow suit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Matthew\u2019s Top Tips for Successful Storytelling in Business<\/strong><\/h3>\n