Once
upon a time, a former CBS newsman
devised a new strategy for telling
a company's story:
classic storytelling. Robbie
Vorhaus founded his own Public
Relations firm based on this
principle.
He shares the story of how it
works in this interview with About
Public Relations.
APR:
Exactly how does storytelling
relate to PR?
Robbie
Vorhaus:
Public relations is a form of
classic storytelling, but for
business. It is pure non-fiction
-- truth -- told in
the exact same context as any
other story form, such as movies,
novels, advertising and
journalism. Essentially,
storytelling, and that includes
PR, is having a point of view or
theme, focusing on one person or
thing (the hero) and taking your
audience on that hero's journey
through trials and tribulations to
arrive at some new point, but now
changed. It doesn't matter if
you're promoting a country,
company, product, person or cause;
if you tell the story with the
same structure, elements,
archetypes and path of all great
stories, your message will be
heard and acted on. And, in
business, whoever tells the best
story wins.
APR:
What are the components of an
effective story?
RV:
First,
you need a strong beginning, which
is always the hero's ordinary,
believable world. Then, add
the middle, which is the hero's
journey into some extraordinary
world. And the end is the
hero's return to his ordinary
world, but changed, very changed.
Other components of an effective
story are a compelling point of
view or theme, such as
"nothing takes the place of
persistence," or "true
love never dies," or
"it's all in the
delivery."
APR:
What is an example of storytelling
done well?
RV:
In fictional storytelling, Titanic,
Ghost, Romeo &
Juliet and West Side Story
are exactly the same story: true
love never dies. In classic
storytelling for business, I
immediately think of Domino's
Pizza: A young man who grows up in
an orphanage goes into the
Marines, returns and buys a small
pizza store in Ypsilanti,
Michigan, thinking he can make
more money delivering pizza than
waiting for customers to come to
him. He opens other stores,
buys out his brother for the price
of a VW, and builds the company
into a $3.3 billion dollar global
enterprise. He sells it for
$1.1 billion and is quoted as
saying "I want to give all my
money away and die broke."
The theme here is: nothing takes
the place of persistence.
APR: What is an
example of storytelling done
poorly?
Robbie
Vorhaus: Walk with me through
any news organization's assignment
area and pick up any of the
hundreds of recently faxed press
releases. I visit my friends at
newspapers, network and local news
organizations, and radio stations,
and I'm stunned at the poor
grammar, spelling errors and
complete lack of any apparent
writing skills. There is a huge
disconnect between journalists and
public relations practitioners
because of the lack of writing
skills and storytelling ability.
Imagine some unkempt person
walking up to you at a party and
saying in a sloppy voice,
"Hi, my name is Bob. Let's
talk about me."
APR:
How does one develop storytelling
skills?
RV:
First, stop trying to sell. Learn
how to engage an audience, not
manipulate it. Second, read
some books on writing non-fiction
and journalism. My favorites
are still "On Writing
Well," by William Zinsser,
and "The Elements of
Style," by Strunk and
White. Finally,
practice. Find someone who
has no vested interest in your
story and tell it. Be
prepared for what that person has
to say. In comedy, the saying is
"if they don't laugh, it's
not funny." In public
relations the same is
true. If your audience
doesn't get it, they won't buy it.
APR:
Are clients receptive to the
storytelling approach?
RV:
Our clients, yes. Companies
that didn't hire us, no. Usually,
CEOs who understand the importance
of telling their brand story to
myriad audiences, such as
customers, media, employees,
analysts, the trade, government
and even competitors, find our
approach exactly in line with
their goals. For example, Buick,
the company that started the
world's largest corporation,
General Motors; Bertolli, a 100%
agricultural product, the world's
leading olive oil; and Lipton,
founded by Sir Thomas Lipton, the
world's leading tea brand, all
have magnificent stories that
deserve to be told well.
APR:
How do the media respond?
RV:
Both the media and our clients are
happy. The media get a good,
compelling story; our client gets
incredible coverage. It's
win-win.
APR:
What's your best storytelling tip?
RV:
Know your story, know your
audience, and tell your story
better than anyone else. And don't
forget to smile.
Robbie
Vorhaus, president and CEO,
Vorhaus & Company Inc.,
founded the New York City based
public relations firm in 1989
when he left CBS TV to create a
new model for public relations:
classic storytelling for
business. He can be
contacted at vorhaus@vorhaus.com,
or visit the firm's Web site at www.vorhaus.com.
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