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Everyone is talking about storytelling. But what exactly is it? If you try to read up on it online, you get the impression that it's something incredibly complicated. It's not. On the contrary. It's quite simple. We explain it to you together with storytelling expert Sandra Casalini.

Even Wikipedia makes it complicated: "Storytelling is a narrative method with which explicit, but above all implicit knowledge is passed on in the form of leitmotifs, symbols, metaphors or other means of rhetoric." You only understand the station? It gets even better. All you have to do is enter the term "storytelling" into Google. You will be offered "toolboxes for brandtelling" or "development of a concept for the gradual implementation of the storytelling approach". 

This may sound impressive to some people. However, at least as many people who are impressed by such statements feel put off by them. As a result, many people who could use storytelling firstly have no idea what it actually is and secondly cannot imagine that it could be of any use to them. That's a shame. After all, hardly any PR or marketing strategy today can do without good storytelling. A good storyline not only increases the chances of success, but also quite often saves a lot of effort and money, which without storytelling is quite often invested quite pointlessly. 

FBC offers neither "toolboxes" nor "implementations of the storytelling approach" - in other words, we already do that. But in a way that you can understand. Storyteller Sandra Casalini, who often works on our storylines, explains the basics of storytelling to you. And in such a way that everyone is guaranteed to get it. Here we go: 

Bedtime story instead of marketing strategy

Storytelling is not something you can study. You can learn it - but not as a profession. So what gives me the right to call myself a storyteller? Well, everyone actually has the same right. Everyone who has ever told an anecdote, at the regulars' table, in a wedding speech, as a diary entry, and so on, is a storyteller. Yes, it's that simple: storytelling means telling stories. No more and no less.

I am a journalist. Telling stories has been my profession for many years. And I am a mother. I have years of experience in bedtime storytelling. Believe it or not, the latter qualifies me more for professional storytelling than anything else. Because watch out, here comes the first storytelling hack, and it's also the most important: every - EVERY - audience works exactly the same as a child! Content and storytelling methods are adapted, but the rules remain the same. So forget "media", "sponsors", "customers". Your audience is a child. And every child loves stories. So let's get to the rules.

The reason why

Number one: The child needs a reason to listen to me. The fact that I have a story to tell is not enough. I have to offer them a story that they want to hear. To do this, I have to try to put myself in the child's shoes. For me, the "Princess and the Pea" may be a big deal. A child who is particularly interested in knight stories will find it hard to get excited about it. 

Or, as a very successful media man once said: "The worm must taste good to the fish, not the angler!". Of course, it is not always easy to put yourself in the shoes of your target group. What does a potential customer want to hear? And what does a medium want? But it's not that difficult. You just have to ask yourself the right question. Namely: "What would I want to hear if I had absolutely nothing to do with the product/project I want to sell?".

And what's next? Sandra Casalini reveals in the second part of her blog.

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.