TL;DR: Stop summarizing your business achievements. To make people truly care, drop them into a specific moment. Use this five-step method: state the Location, describe the Action, share the internal Thought, show the physical Emotion, and use a snippet of Dialogue. This simple shift turns a boring update into a story that sticks.
Your Brand Has a Story. Are You Telling It?
Your brand has a story. But are you telling it, or just listing facts?
We see it all the time. Companies talk about their “synergistic solutions,” “Q3 growth,” and “innovative paradigms.” But those words don’t connect. They don’t make anyone feel anything. People don’t remember facts and figures; they remember stories.
The good news is, you don’t need to be a novelist to tell a great story. You just need a simple framework to turn a flat business update into a compelling narrative that feels human.
This is the exact method we use to help brands find their real voice. It takes five minutes to learn and will change how you talk about your business forever.
The Core Idea: Stop Summarizing, Start Immersing
The biggest mistake brands make is summarizing.
- Summary: “We had a tough challenge with a client project, but we worked hard and delivered a great result.”
- Story: “We were in the main conference room, staring at a whiteboard that was completely blank…”
See the difference? The first one tells you what happened. The second one puts you in the room where it happened. That’s the goal. Here are the five simple steps to get there.
Step 1: Start with a Place (Location) 📍
Begin your story by telling your audience where you are. Don’t overdo it. Just a simple anchor is enough to let their imagination start painting the picture.
- Instead of: “We were thinking about a new feature.”
- Try: “I was sitting on the office floor at 10 PM, surrounded by pizza boxes…”
This simple detail makes the story feel real and grounded.
Step 2: Show What’s Happening (Action) 🏃
What were you physically doing in that location? Action creates forward momentum. It hooks the reader and signals that something is about to happen.
- Building on our example: “I was sitting on the office floor at 10 PM, surrounded by pizza boxes, sketching out a user flow on a napkin.”
Now we’re not just in a place; we’re in the middle of an action. We’re part of the process.
This is where you build a real connection. At a key moment, share the raw, unfiltered thought that was going through your head. This vulnerability is what makes a brand feel human and trustworthy.
- Adding the next layer: “I was sitting on the office floor at 10 PM, surrounded by pizza boxes, sketching out a user flow on a napkin. And I just kept thinking, ‘Is this even going to work?’“
Suddenly, we understand the stakes. We relate to the doubt and the hope.
Step 4: Make Feelings Visible (Emotion) 😊
Don’t just tell people what you felt. Show them. How did that emotion manifest in your body? Showing is always more powerful than telling.
- Instead of: “I was so happy.”
- Try: “I felt a huge grin spread across my face.”
- Adding to our story: “…I just kept thinking, ‘Is this even going to work?’ Then, I drew one last circle connecting everything, and I felt a huge grin spread across my face. This was it.”
We can see the breakthrough moment, which makes us feel it, too.
Step 5: Use Real Words (Dialogue) 💬
Dialogue makes a story feel alive and present. Even a tiny snippet of what someone said can bring an entire scene to life. Keep it short and impactful.
- The final piece: “I felt a huge grin spread across my face. This was it. I picked up my phone, called my co-founder, and just said, ‘I think I’ve got it.’“
In one line of dialogue, we feel the excitement, the partnership, and the turning point of the entire project.
Putting It All Together
Let’s compare the before and after.
- Before: “We developed an innovative new feature after a challenging development process that ultimately proved successful.”
- After: “I was sitting on the office floor at 10 PM, surrounded by pizza boxes, sketching out a user flow on a napkin. I just kept thinking, ‘Is this even going to work?’ Then, I drew one last circle connecting everything, and I felt a huge grin spread across my face. This was it. I picked up my phone, called my co-founder, and just said, ‘I think I’ve got it.’“
One is a forgettable line in a press release. The other is a story people will remember.
This framework works for everything: your “About Us” page, a client case study, a LinkedIn post, or even how you explain your business at a dinner party. It’s how you build a brand that feels unique, natural, and real.
It’s how you build a brand that feels alive.