What’s Your Thanksgiving Story?
Our US readers will spend the next few days in thanksgiving. Happy Thanksgiving to each of you!
You’ll be encountering a healthy (?) serving of family and friends, many of whom will want to know the latest about your work and how it’s going.
Sure, you could say, “Our online giving is up over its level this time last year.” Or you could cut to the chase and admit, “We’re losing donors faster than the mashed potatoes are disappearing!” But no one really wants to hear your shop talk, and you know they’re just being polite by asking … while in their heads they’re really musing, “Why does she do what she does?”
So why don’t you surprise and delight them instead? When the inevitable “How’s work going?” question arises, tell them a story about your organization instead. It’s good fundraising practice … a chance to hone your skills and you might actually engage your listeners.
We all know that stories engage … whatever the purpose of the communication.
What’s the story you would tell about your organization … or about the ‘Why?’ of your involvement? [BTW, this works for consultants too.]
If you need help getting your story down, take a look at this article (focused on story telling in videos and the engagement engendered by different types); it talks about seven basic story types:
- Overcoming the Monster — the winner in terms of driving interaction rates
- Rebirth
- Quest — another winning type for driving interaction
- Journey & Return
- Rags to Riches — folks love to watch, but don’t interact
- Tragedy — best to avoid, especially over Thanksgiving dinner
- Comedy — produce the highest interaction rate (but does comedy suit your situation?)
So, what’s your story?
Tom & Roger
P.S. How do you know your story’s a good one? Nobody interrupts you in the middle and asks, “Pass the giblet gravy, please.”
P.P.S. Again, Happy Thanksgiving!
Behavioral Science Q & A
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