Today, digital technology is providing a global platform. The platform expands our geographic reach so that readers in Sydney and Warsaw and Seoul and Rio can all access the same web pages at the same time, and with the help of readily available translation tools, we can share ideas and resources.
It may seem counterintuitive, but this exciting technology both enlarges and shrinks our world community at the same time. I publish an Interactive Internet Magazine called Givingyouavoice.com that was ranked in the top 100,000 websites worldwide in its first month, and which gained well over 8,500,000 readers in two years.
People asked me: "How did you do that?" — "How is it possible?"
The answer is simple: I understood that the technology was only a tool, and I used that tool to let people tell their own stories and share those stories with the wider world.
This week, one of my authors told me that she was approached by a stranger at a public event. "I cried when I read your story," the stanger said. "I always look forward to reading the stories in Givingyouavoice.com."
It doesn't surprise me that people will seek out stories because, after all, iIt is our stories that connect us to our past, our present, and our future. It is our stories that bind us together in community and bring tears and laughter. It is our stories that give our lives meaning and purpose.
"At the heart of every success is a compelling story, a "why" that makes the listerner care."
Information is important but it is only one part of communication. Information needs inspiration to move most of us to take action, and it is only in action that change of any kind takes place. Whether it's a buying decision or a hiring decision, the narrative determines the outcome.
Think about car commercials on TV. Very few of them concentrate on the facts of horse power and auto engines. With music pulsing, auto commercials show us handsome men and beautiful women driving gleaming vehicles, and the "story" is clear: If you drive this car, you will be transformed into your ideal self. Or they show cute kids, buckled into powerful machines we can use to transport them safely through a dangerous world. The story again is clear: If you love your kids, you will buy this vehicle.
Rather than making storytelling less important, digital technology has made it even more important. In a noisy world, with increasing market pressures, learning to tell your story with power is even more important than ever.
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