Once Upon a Time

• Wildcard
• May 12, 2014
• by Emily Turner

Once upon a time in the land of big dreams—and big hair—also known as Dallas, an accomplished young woman faced a dilemma. How could she leverage years of hard work and experience she had gained and turn it into her dream job? It turns out that the recipe was actually very simple. It required hiring talented professionals and treating them as equals, tapping into her local network to arrange her debut around town, and ultimately signing her first client. All of this led to establishing her own consulting firm. But there is more to this story of business success than meets the eye…

This short introduction illustrates three of our main teachings at Spaeth Communications—the power of storytelling, good words and the use of verbal cues.

“Once upon a time…” is one of the most recognizable verbal cues in existence. As soon as the words are spoken or read, we know exactly what will follow. From our point of view, this is a lesson in and of itself. People love stories and the more personalized they are, the more memorable they become. It is our job as communicators to grab our listeners’ attention and keep it. Which is not an easy task…

The best business leaders recognize the power of storytelling and have incorporated it into their management techniques. They encourage it among their staff and colleagues and expect them to seize the opportunity to share a story whenever they can.

At Spaeth, we wholeheartedly, unabashedly preach this method of communication.

It wasn’t until Merrie’s first client meeting that the magical ingredient in her recipe for success was found. Call it an epiphany, but she finally knew how to tie everything together…

Spaeth approaches strategic storytelling with the same unique methodology we apply to all of our teachings. You must approach communication from the viewpoint of your target audience by asking yourself, “What do I want them to remember?” Stories naturally lend themselves to this technique.

Her newfound insight was the catalyst and a successful business was the result. With a little luck, a lot of hard work and a powerful insight “It’s not what you say, but rather, what you want your audience to hear, believe and remember,” Spaeth Communications was born.

Memorable stories can be humorous, insightful, inspirational, but the best are motivational and call your audience to action. The trick is being able to identify what type of story will resonate with your target audience.