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“Storytelling” sounds fake; try painting with words
Your audience will respond when you put them in the picture. Background, foreground, and action.
Many work messages get ignored because they don’t feel real enough to the receiver. Communication experts tell us to turn them into stories. But stories can feel so fake, to you and the audience.
To make your situation real and spur your audience to action, think how you’d paint the situation. What’s in the background showing where this message comes from? Who’s in the foreground? What’s the action? Where does the painter lead our eyes, and what is our response?
Renaissance painters presented dramatic situations really well. We can learn from them to make our messages land better.
We can use these ideas better when we explore them through real examples:
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