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Everyone is talking about storytelling - hardly any PR or marketing strategy can do without it. Storyteller Sandra Casalini explains that storytelling doesn't have to be complicated at all. On the contrary: it works in exactly the same way as telling a child a bedtime story. It also works according to certain rules. Number one: the child needs a reason to listen to me. Number two: I have to get the timing right. Number three: I need a common thread. Number four: My heroine or hero must fit the story. And: A face or a name is not yet a story. Number five: It's all about emotions! The child doesn't want to be hit in the brain, but in the heart. All's well that ends well? Not quite yet. 

It is done. The story has been told, the child has listened with wide eyes and has fallen asleep. All's well that ends well. Great. We'll do the same thing again tomorrow evening. Right?

Number six: No child wants to hear the same story twice. Okay, there may be exceptions. But even then, it's over after the second or third time at the latest. If you tell the child the exact same story with the exact same heroes again on the second day, don't be surprised if the child runs away. Simply swapping the heroes doesn't help in most cases either.

Storytelling 2.0

"We were in all the relevant media last year with the event. This year, we even had the better celebrities on site, but nobody was interested anymore. That's totally baffling to us." Not to me. Why should a medium tell a story again that it has already told? And why should an audience listen a second time to a story they already know? There is no reason. But: there are serialized stories. You don't have to invent a completely new story every time. The setting can remain the same, the hero too, even the plot can be similar - if you change the focus. For example, one FBC story worked twice: ski star Wendy Holdener biking. Once with her boyfriend as a couple storyonce - as a sequel, so to speak - with mountain biker Jolanda Neff as a sports story. Just a little twist and it's no longer the same. 

Well, that's about it. Easier than you thought? Let's just say!

Want to know how to tell a story with images or videos? Then get our free practical guide "6 tips for successful visual storytelling".

Storytelling made easy with journalist Sandra Casalini

About Sandra Casalini:
Sandra Casalini has been working in the media for over twenty years and during this time has not only built up a reputation as an excellent copywriter, but also an impressive network. A few years ago, she ventured into PR and knows the business from both sides. Today she writes regularly for magazines such as Schweizer Illustrierte, the parents' magazine Fritz und Fränzi and the high mountain magazine Bergwelten. She also advises clients such as Race for Life and Ferris Bühler Communications on storytelling. She is a co-speaker in the popular Ferris Bühler PR seminarwhich takes place several times a year.