Unlocking hidden stories: why storytelling should be part of everyone’s role

How to make every employee a communications champion
Whether your comms team is large, or you have a single specialist, organisations should no longer isolate communications to people with PR or marketing in their job title.
Every member of your team has the insight and experience to offer truly authentic stories about your projects, business and the people you are positively impacting. While the comms team has a role in shaping the stories, colleagues can play a crucial role in bringing them to life.
Stories are crucial to drive your messages home and spark interest amongst your key stakeholders and potential new clients.
It’s worth engaging the entire business to help you think creatively about the stories you tell, and how. It can ensure what you are saying is authentic – and encourages a genuine response. You’ll also gain fresh perspectives of what your company really does, and how it can contribute to key conversations.
Here are our tips for uncovering hidden PR gems, and telling stories from every layer of your business.
Crystallise your strategy
Before you engage the rest of the business you want to ensure you’re finding the stories that will best support your messages and resonate with those you most want to sit up and listen.
In other words, you’re going to need a comms, or story-telling, strategy.
We use the CHATS method with our clients to consider their approach step-by-step.
If you need support with this, get in touch to discuss how we can help.
Once you have developed your strategy, make sure you communicate this with your teams. It will help them to understand why you are looking for interesting and inspiring stories, and keep everyone moving in the same direction.
Different points of view – for 20/20 vision
We’ve been in several workshops with clients that include staff at every level. They’ve produced the richest story ideas. Each team member has a different viewpoint, bank of experience and insight into every nook and cranny of the organisation.
A diversity of views and voices can enrich an organisation’s story. Whilst the CEO can crystalise their business message and use examples from their many years of experience, the apprentice can share their newfound knowledge and enthusiasm with a younger audience.
And these different viewpoints can be quite literal. Your finance director will have an insight into the profits and losses, whereas your crane operator will have a bird’s eye view from the sky. Both are interesting and valuable.
The construction team with boots on the ground may have had an inspiring conversation with a passerby, who has special memories or a personal connection with their site. A volunteer with your charity will speak to people with unique, lived experiences.
Creating a space to share and capture these insights can be a game-changer for humanising your stories. And you’ll never know what you might uncover until you start listening.
Break down barriers – and break the ice
Some of the best ideas flow in a more relaxed environment.
If you get your team together to combine ideas, remember, no idea is a bad idea. The wider the scope and the greater the acceptance, the deeper your pool of stories and experiences will go.
To set up for open conversations, we suggest an icebreaker. Yes, this can send shivers down people’s spines, but there’s a reason that they’re so widely used – they work! You want people to feel confident speaking out loud in a room, and once they’ve said a few words of introduction, people tend to share more freely.
At a recent workshop, we asked colleagues to share something they are proud of. From buying a house to completing an epic hiking challenge, this prompt helped to warm up the room and allowed people to feel more comfortable with each other.
Keep it moving
Encourage all team members to keep thinking about the people, projects and partnerships which could help show what you’re doing, and who you are positively supporting.
Think about how your teams communicate internally. Can there be a regular slot to share highlights from the week? If you keep the spark ignited, stories will continue to show up. Remember, you’ll need to remind people what you need from them.
We can help you engage your teams
Contact us to find out how we can help create fertile ground for the best stories to come to life – and how to measure your success effectively.
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