How Skillful Storytelling Increases Call-to-Action Response
Skilled storytelling supports whether readers find your content meaningful and respond to it
Without our talented guest writers, we would not have the incredibly relatable strategies we share with you. Gloria Lesher is our guest today. She is one of the best storytellers I know and a prolific writer. She’s an avid reader, so if you share good writing, she’ll be your best asset.
Whether talking only to ourselves or speaking with others, the way we narrate events can increase a sense of meaning in life. Our listeners and readers are affected in the same way.
It doesn’t matter whether you write fiction or nonfiction—anything from business case studies to executive bios. Your storytelling skill determines how meaningful and interesting readers find your content and consequently, whether they respond to your call-to-action.
As a solopreneur making your living at writing (or trying to), you may wonder how to grow your storytelling skillset. It’s probably one of the reasons you’ve subscribed to Pen2Profit.
So what exactly is storytelling, and how can you become more skilled at it?
What exactly is a story?
A story is a way to structure information so the listener feels a specific impact. It conveys emotion and communicates values. While we listen, we’re transported into another world. We experience that world as real. And so, it’s fair to say that a story requires listeners to participate actively with their imagination.
The reason stories have such impact is because people learn through experience. A story helps your audience remember and learn. Facts, bullet points, and PowerPoints pale next to the person who simply stands before an audience and tells a story from their heart.
This goes for business stories, too. In the best company or organization stories, the heroes and heroines face a challenge and overcome it through courageous action, with the result that things are changed for the better.
Let me tell you a real-life business story about a client of mine:
Travel came to a standstill during the economic crisis that followed the 9/11 attacks, but I knew a travel agency owner who called every single one of her clients and helped them cancel their travel plans or change them. She was able to avoid laying off her employees because her prudent company savings took care of payroll during those crucial months after the worst terrorist attack in our nation’s history. The happy result was that her grateful clients and employees grew more loyal than ever.
Every business story should have a “happy” ending like this one.
The company story
Just like a business person, a company can face adversity or tremendous odds and yet transform itself enough to not only survive but come out on top. To be most effective, a company story should communicate an organization’s reason for existence and articulate a vision that motivates and inspires employees, customers, and stakeholders.
Challenges can be expanded into multiple business stories told through speeches at company functions, features in industry publications, podcasts, blogs, newsletters, applications for awards, and many other avenues.
Here’s an example taken from a nomination letter I once wrote for the ATHENA Award®. This award honors women for excellence in their profession or life's work, for devoting time and effort in their communities to improve the quality of life for others, and for actively assisting women in realizing their full leadership potential.
The nominator — one of my client’s employees — told me the following story, which I ghostwrote at her request into a nomination letter she submitted on behalf of her employer:
On a personal level, I would like to tell you a little about how (nominee) has helped me achieve my highest personal potential. If my six-year-old daughter, Katie, could thank (nominee) for making a difference in her life, she would. But Katie cannot speak because she suffers from cerebral palsy and lacks control over the muscles in her mouth. Katie cannot even eat normally. When my daughter was a baby, (nominee) provided flexible hours for me, so I could provide the care Katie needed and worry about my baby instead of my job. But (nominee) did not stop there.
When our family learned of a clinic in Virginia that could help her perform daily functions that most people take for granted, we were overjoyed. Then we learned that the price tag for sending Katie to the clinic was far from what our family could afford. That is when (nominee) stepped in and organized Touch The Sky, a breakfast sponsored by the Upward Foundation. The speaker was basketball star Meadowlark Lemon, perhaps the most well-known and beloved member of the Harlem Globetrotters. (Nominee) and I also spoke at the event. The breakfast raised over $25,000 dollars—enough to send both Katie and me to the clinic.
In the example above, the letter’s call-to-action was for the judges to give the award to my client, the nominee (she won the award that year).
Those who listen to or read stories that move them emotionally will be inspired and motivated to take your all-important call-to-action, such as: “Add to cart,” “Subscribe to my newsletter,” “Download now,” or “Make an appointment.”
The power of storytelling
Researchers at Reichman University in Israel conducted a study in 2024 on storytelling. In the study, a narrator’s storytelling ability was evaluated by three types of listeners:
A good friend of the teller
A stranger to the teller
Trained coders who watched videos of the teller and the other two participants
In one part of the study:
“… each participant received written instructions to think of a personality trait that characterized him or her, to think of an event that occurred in the last 5 years exemplifying this personality trait, and then to tell a 2-minute story of this event to the other two participants.”
The results, published in The Journal of Positive Psychology, demonstrated that:
“… an overlooked personality ability—storytelling—plays a significant psychological role: individuals proficient in storytelling exhibit a stronger sense of meaning in life (MIL) and endorsement of high-level goals (EHG) compared to their less adept counterparts.”
Research about the purpose of stories suggests that they help make sense of our lives and the world around us. The difference? The Reichman University study examined storytelling skill, not stories in general.
So what can elevate this skill to an exceptional level? The obvious answer is to study and emulate the masters. You may not realize the extent to which even the masters rely on formulas.
Story formulas
Michael Hauge, a script consultant, story expert, author, and lecturer who works with writers, points out that the hero of a story passionately wants something but faces insurmountable obstacles to get it. According to Hauge, the hero wants one or more of the following story goals (I have slightly altered these):
To win something, such as an award, job, business deal, or campaign. In the case of memoir or biography, for instance, the writer’s goal may be to win understanding and respect.
To stop something bad from happening, such as a business merger, an assassination, getting fired, or even a marriage. You may give your side (or your client’s side) of the story to set the record straight, stop others from twisting the truth, and prevent the “bad” thing.
To escape something, such as a substance addiction, a raging virus, a sinking ship, a sour relationship, an unfulfilling job, a war-torn country, an evil person, or even an act of nature. Writers on Substack often write about how to escape failure as a freelancer or solopreneur in “What-NOT-to-do” posts.
To find, recover, rescue, or protect something, such as a long-lost person, a piece of art, a secret document, a stolen artifact, a tarnished reputation—or in the case of journaling, to find oneself through the inward journey of writing.
To solve a problem or get to the bottom of something, such as a crime, and to ensure the perpetrator gets caught and justice is done. Mysteries follow this format, but so do case studies, which showcase how a business met a challenge and succeeded.
Story goals like these matter because they teach us to be better people. In a nutshell, most plots can be described by a formula such as this one:
MAIN CHARACTER wants GOAL because of INNER NEED or MOTIVATION, but his or her attempts to SOLVE PROBLEM are blocked by ANTAGONIST who creates CONFLICT until MAIN CHARACTER overcomes all OBSTACLES and finally SUCCEEDS.
A more concrete example of this storytelling formula from the classic movie or book, “The Wizard of Oz,” might be the following:
Stranded in the magical land of Oz, DOROTHY wants to RETURN HOME because SHE’S UPSET THAT AUNTIE EM IS SICK, but her attempts to LEAVE OZ are blocked by THE WICKED WITCH who TRIES TO KILL HER AND TAKE THE RUBY SLIPPERS until DOROTHY finally realizes her personal power and USES THE RUBY SLIPPERS TO RETURN HOME, where she CLAIMS HER HEART’S DESIRE.
In both Hollywood and big-time publishing, successful scriptwriters, memoirists, and novelists use storytelling techniques. But so do content marketers, salespeople, and copywriters.
Good storytelling skills determine whether a reader believes in you and what you’re selling.
In storytelling, substitute your name (or your client's) for DOROTHY in the formula. You or your client (which may be a company) are the MAIN CHARACTER. What’s your GOAL? Can you find it listed among Michael Hauge’s general story goals (detailed above)? What are the OBSTACLES to achieving your goal? Is there someone or something (ANTAGONIST or CONFLICT) preventing you from getting what you want? How can you SUCCEED despite the odds?
Write it all down. Make use of tried-and-true storytelling formulas. Go tell your story to others—friends, readers, customers, or just yourself.
Keep at it until the learned storytelling skill becomes second nature to you. I guarantee it will have a positive effect on your sense of purpose as well as your bottom line.
Ghostwriter Gloria Lesher is your writing ally. She focuses on myth, mysticism, and Stoicism and promotes writing to yourself, about yourself, and for yourself. Gloria also wickedly explores Jewish and Christian lore from the Book of Enoch, ancient apocrypha written in the third century BC. Her humorous cozy mysteries are kind of like Murder, She Wrote meets The X-Files. She reads on Substack, writes at Medium.
If you feel compelled to leave a thank you tip, we won’t be insulted :) —just click the tip jar. It takes seconds.
Al, there is no better compliment or incentive for us than knowing someone put our strategies to real-life use. A thousand thanks! Nice to meet you.
I agree, it's a terrific piece