10 Rules of Storytelling Applied to CX
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Earlier this week I was meeting with a team from a Global 100 brand that is about to take one of their product lines in a new direction, and we were discussing how to approach the new type of stories they need to tell.
It was an excellent, open, and inspiring conversation.
But what impressed me the most was that instead of giving the outward facing marketing messaging priority, they were focused on the customer experience and how this upcoming new direction would change the conversations they were having with their customers.
And center to all the discussions was the desire to tell good stories that engaged and resonated.
This reminded me of an article I write for CMS Wire just over a year ago on how ‘Storytelling Drives the Modern Customer Experience,’ in which I laid out my adaption of the 10 Rules of Storytelling as Applied to CX and thought it might be useful to republish those here for any folks who might be interested.
In his excellent book, Story, screenwriter Robert McKee lays out the 10 commandments of storytelling. They are intended for outlining dramatic cinematic story arcs, but I believe they also can be applied to the way we build the customer experience story:
Thou shalt not take the crisis or climax out of the protagonist’s hands: Make sure that you deliver an experience in such a way that the customer feels that they have completed their task themselves based on the knowledge and steps that you presented.
Thou shalt not make life easy for the protagonist: This may seem to be a counter-intuitive one as our role should be to make any experience as easy and intuitive as possible. But we also may need to educate and inform the customer along the way. So think about how we can do that too.
Thou shalt not use false mystery or surprise: Don’t hold back anything that is integral to the customer’s understanding of the process. Reveal information in a logical manner. Make sure that your customers have the information they need to know at the time that they need it.
Thou shalt respect thine audience: Respect your audience’s level of knowledge. Use that data you collect to understand where they are in their customer journey and their history of interactions with you to date.
Thou shalt have a good knowledge of your universe: Give the customer the confidence that we know what we are talking about and the information we are delivering is of value. Demonstrate through consistent messaging, consistent vocabulary and demonstrating that we know our own products and systems.
Thou shalt use complexity rather than complication: In many customer exchanges we need to guide people through an inherently complex system. When we are in this position, break down that complexity into clear steps and topics.
Thou shalt take your character to the end of the line: Every story has a beginning, middle and end. We need to ensure that the customer experience guides people to the result that they desire.
Thou shalt not write on-the-nose dialog: Beware of repeatedly stating the obvious during a customer exchange that will either irritate (or even insult) the customer.
Thou shalt dramatize thine exposition: Simply put, show — don’t tell. Present the customer with logical examples of what they need to do to progress from one step to the next, rather than use long blocks of instructional text.
Thou shalt rewrite: Test your customer experiences. What is it like to take the journey as a customer? Review, refine, rewrite, redesign — and listen to the stories being told about how your customers feel about their experiences.
Alan
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Weekly #CX Thought
If engineers build separate systems that don’t integrate, the user experience also ends up being disjointed and impractical.
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Sitting on the Desk
I’m not actually at my desk this week, as I’m out and about on a mix of client visits and conference attendance, so I don’t have anything in my arms reach to recommend.
But I will second taking a look at Robert McKee’s excellent book, Story which I referenced above.
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Alan Porter
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