Tired of telling your business story? This could help
- Miranda Birch
- May 19
- 3 min read
“I’m bored talking about our journey. I feel I’m saying the same thing over and over. Our stories are losing the magic they had in the beginning.”
It’s inevitable, isn’t it? And it’s something I hear a lot.
It’s not because the organisations I meet are fed up doing what they do. It’s just familiarity breeds storytelling fatigue. They’re worn out by having to talk or post about things like:
how they began
what’s valuable about what they do
why they want to make a difference
But they have to keep sharing their stories. Because whenever they make a presentation or publish a video, there’s bound to be someone in the audience who’s never met them before. What feels worn out to them, is brand new to the people watching.
There are ways round storytelling fatigue
First: I’m willing to bet that there are more strands to your organisation’s story than you realise. I’ll explore this more in another post.
Second: think about recording regular, quick chats with clients, to get their take on why they think what you do is valuable and how you’ve made a difference to them.
Yes, I’m talking about testimonials, but in a way that goes beyond the basic transaction of giving you a lovely quote.
Because in donating their praise, they will:
1 – Open your eyes to an aspect of your value that you have either overlooked or underestimated.
And they will do this every time, I promise.
Because we tend to take our own greatest value for granted. It’s the familiarity problem again. We do what we do every day. No big deal. But then we forget how much it means to people who can’t do what we do.
Sometimes it’s just a question of emphasis: you thought you were saving your client time. And you did. But what they really appreciated was how you kept your cool when the deadline changed. And that tweak in emphasis could make all the difference to your next email marketing campaign. Because now you know what really matters to your clients.
2 – use new words to articulate the value of what you do.
It’s obvious, I know. But if you feel you’re flagging, borrowing their expressions can inject new energy into your content.
Here’s an example
from Georgina Woudstra, founder of Team Coaching Studio. Georgina is expert at creating the conditions where teams of people – often with very different personalities – can have meaningful conversations about the issues that block them.
She’s turned her extensive experience into programmes to help other coaches to master team coaching. This means she’s used to recording videos on her own and in front of an audience. Which prompted me to ask a question that runs the risk of doing me out of a job.
I said: “You’re really experienced at video. Couldn’t you have recorded this content without me?”
(And if you’re up against it, you might be thinking: “Couldn’t I get my clients to record their thoughts on their own, when it suits them? Rather than chasing them to book time with me?”)
Well, you could fire yourself. Of course you could.
But before you enact your own episode of The Apprentice, watch Georgina on why she found having a conversation more valuable than doing everything on her own:
Georgina’s take on the value of conversations gave me:
new insights, rooted in Georgina’s team coaching experience, on why conversations are such an effective way to surface new ideas. Which means the content they create is richer.
new words – like ‘co-create’, ‘relational’ and ‘generative’, to describe that value. I’ve never used these words before, but I will, particularly if I’m talking to coaches.
a new story to tell, which I’m sharing with you right now.
A fresh angle, fresh content and fatigue kept at bay
And if you ever have to explain why you want to book time for a conversation, rather than sending a client a questionnaire, feel free to borrow Georgina’s expert insights and words.
(Thanks, Georgina!)
One last thing
If you’re in coaching (or you know a coach), and team coaching is an area you’re interested in, Georgina has written a brilliant book – Mastering the Art of Team Coaching – which will deepen your knowledge, wherever you are on this journey.
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