Stories | what makes ideas come alive

I was talking with a man that has a big idea yesterday. He wants to change how we used social media - and to make it "work" it better for those business and organizations that can't afford to hire experts.  I applaud his idea - but I told him he needed to start creating the "story" about how his idea will do what he "thinks" it can do.

Stories aren't about creating false impressions, they aren't about "marketing" or advertising - they are about people.  And at the end of the day, it all comes down to people - what they do, what they think, how they feel.

We've all heard the saying "sell the sizzle, not the steak" - but I believe it has to go deeper than that - it has to go to the essence of "why you steak in the first place".  What's the story there - can you help the "reader" see themselves in that story.

If you have a deep desire to change something, and a way to change it - then think through the story of how that can happen.  Create a feeling, create the mood, create the motivation for some to say "Yea, I want that, I can see myself doing that (or buying that, whatever)".  Create the story behind all the people involved - in the big idea I mentioned, there are multiple people that would benefit - they all have a story, write it for them

Stories are more important than you think - start thinking about the story-line you want to create and then start writing it.