By Erika Flint, BA, BCH, A+CPHI, OB

Tell Stories to Grow Your Business

Once upon a time... A powerful phrase that instantly activates our imagination and prepares us to hear a story.

Stories are an integral part of many cultures, and are used to teach, play, and share.

Storytelling is a powerful way to grow your business, because stories are processed in our brain differently than other language. Hearing stories light up both the language processing centers and the pathways in the brain responsible for the activity itself — as if it were actually happening!

They also activate our right brain by triggering our imagination, and through imagination we are able to step outside of our shoes to see other perspectives which promotes self healing, as well as increases empathy for others. Storytelling is an ancient form of communication that connects us to other generations and creates a collaboration through emotions. We are able to process information more efficiently through stories because they help us organize ideas into an easy to follow web that is more comfortable and predictable than basic facts.

This makes stories more meaningful to our audience, and it helps them to feel something — which means they’re more likely to take the action we want them to take.

If you want to make a powerful point, tell a story.

The Cane Story

People don’t always remember me or the details of what I do, but they always remember the cane story and how it made them feel surprised and delighted with my client’s success.

The following is a true story that I tell at networking events to help people understand what I do as a hypnotist.

“Last week I was at the grocery store in the soup aisle, looking for spicy chicken tortilla soup, when I spot my client - at least I think it’s her. She’s browsing the tomato bisques, and I don’t recognize her at first because she looks so different. She’s lost a lot of weight, which is why she has been coming in to see me for about a year.

She seems happy. I could tell because she is standing comfortably, and smiling. About what, I’m not sure, and I didn’t ask. All I could think about was how nice it was to see her smiling again, and it reminded me of the first time I saw her about a year earlier.

The first time I saw her I didn’t actually see her.

I heard her.

I remember it clearly…

I am sitting in my hypnosis office with the door open, expecting her any minute for her first session, when I hear a swoosh-creak, swoosh-creak, swoosh-creak. It is the sound of someone shuffling down the hall using a walking device.

And sure enough, within moments, she is in the office doorway with a sturdy, 4-pronged cane accompanied by a look of exhaustion on her face.

She lowers herself into the office chair and gingerly places her cane into the corner.

Within seconds she is in tears, describing how tired she is of being overweight and that she hopes hypnosis can help — even though everything else has failed.

I proceed with what I always do with my clients — together we come up with a unique, custom solution to help her lose weight, followed with hypnosis to lock in the changes.

During our session, after some powerful and insightful changes through the hypnosis process, she needs to use the restroom, so she gets up and walks out of my office. And as I am waiting for her, I am surprised at how quickly she returns! I know right away something is different… but I didn’t know exactly what it is.

In unison, we both realize this miraculous moment while looking at each other: she has forgotten to use her cane when she left for the bathroom! A magnificent smile spreads across her face, her eyes sparkle, and in that moment I believe I am meeting my client for the first time - the real her - without the years of struggles and suffering caused by excess weight and unhappiness.

She returns week after week, continuing to lose weight while regaining her life and happiness, and I never saw her use her cane again.

I help people lose weight with hypnosis — even when everything else has failed… and sometimes with miraculous results.”

What makes a story powerful?

It is Captivating and Seems Real

One of the elements of a great story is that the brain can imagine it. Another way to put it, is that it seems real. Here’s how to make a story real:

• Details: It needs to be told with enough details for it to make sense. The details about the chicken tortilla soup, and sitting at my desk are actual details that make the story seem real. Too many unnecessary details take away from the story - finding the right balance is key. I recommend one detail per “scene” of the story to make it real.

• Tense: Ideally the story is told in the present, or always tense. At the beginning of the story, you can say “a few weeks ago, I was in the soup isle at the grocery store. So there I am, looking for soup”. Switching it to present tense causes the brain to imagine it happening in real time.

• Feeling: The feeling we want for our listeners is that they can imagine it happening in their mind’s eye. This does not mean they have to “see” it visually. Only about 30% of people actually see pictures in their mind regularly, and some do not ever see any pictures in their mind. It’s more about the sense of actually being there. What it felt like to be there, how it made you feel, how it made the other participants in the story feel. Include the emotion.

Captivating: all of the above leads up to what we call a captivating story - it captivates your attention. Commands 100% of your attention, and you become fully present in the moment. All of your consciousness is focused on this one story, this idea that you’re sharing. Why is that? It’s using all of your senses - the details, that it’s happening in real time, the feeling, the sentiment. For the brain to hold all of those elements in one moment, it becomes a captivating story. When we’re holding the audience’s full attention can we expect transformation. People come to us for transformation. Help them get there with great story telling, which is hypnotic.