Storytelling with Heart
If your story isn’t getting noticed, you’re not going to where the heart beats.
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
When I’m speaking at conferences or universities about the power of video production & storytelling, I am often asked what my secret is to winning 20 + Emmys. The answer could be a variety of reasons — and most people think it’s the production style or the fancy looking camera. Of course, style and gear is important, but let’s go deeper.
If I had to come up with one reason as to why those stories were award-winning, it’s because they all have heart. They all contain emotion. As the great Maya Angelou once said:
“People will never forget how you made them feel.”
Think about it, we always remember how people made us feel. It might be a favorite elementary teacher, or a college professor, your mom, or your favorite aunt. Whatever the case, we remember them because they made us feel something. They touched our hearts with something they said, or maybe it was a kind gesture, or even a hug.
The same applies to video production and the storytelling process. Stories can make you feel something, but you have to look for it. You have to ignite your empathy. Yep, be empathetic.
What does that mean to be empathetic? Some people might cringe at the idea of being empathetic when it comes to video production. Being empathetic doesn’t mean being all touchy feely, it simply means to be supremely human, to treat others how you’d like to be treated — with kindness and respect.
You have to earn the trust with the people you are profiling in your stories. You do that by honoring their presence, to be present with them in a conversation.
By nature, people don’t like to be in front of the camera, but if your subjects see you as a caring individual, someone who listens and shows respect — well, you’re on your way to capturing authentic emotion.
I want the people who are featured in my stories to know that I truly care about them. Think about it, they’re likely terrified to go on camera. So, don’t make a fuss about the expensive gear or the fancy lighting, focus on them, listen, share genuine eye contact, and listen again. Dare to share some soft skills.
People don’t care until they know that you care!
I don’t suddenly appear in the interview as the big bad executive producer carrying a long list of questions, I am the exact opposite. I want to treat the interview as a conversation, where I listen, and ask sincere questions. I want to honor their presence. I show them that I care as a human first, not a media person.
I call it storytelling with heart — that’s what we’re known for.
Humans are emotional beings, and stories have a remarkable ability to evoke and elicit emotions with us. Critical to a strong engaging story is the ability to forge an emotional connection with the viewers.
If your stories don’t make you feel something, you’re failing as a content creator. A sure way to be average is to create lifeless content. I’ll die on that hill.
If you want your stories to be remembered, go to where the heart beats.
As a video producer, I ALWAYS make sure we bring emotion and heart into the story arc. But, before we do that, we have to identify those people who speak with heart. I call them ambassadors. Those are the everyday characters who breathe life into your story. They pop on camera and speak with conviction. Most importantly, they are authentic.
We find the ambassadors before the camera even rolls. We typically identify them during the creative discovery phase of a video project.
Sure, we need important content like factual information and other imperative details that support a story. That’s all good, but we still need emotion so we can lean into the story arc and transcend emotion to make your video memorable. We need to find some heart, and we need ambassadors who speak with emotion. Why? Because those characters make us feel something — and we always remember those people.
Video Testimonial Produced For The Goodman Group | Video Production MN
“Daddy’s Girl” is a powerful video example where the story arc transcends emotion.
The initial assignment was to gather some testimonials about people who work at Palms of Largo, a retirement community in Florida.
Through our creative discovery process, we learned about a passionate woman named Lisa who works at the retirement community.
We didn’t just stumble upon Lisa, we selected her PRIOR to filming because we were looking for the heart. She’s an authentic character, an ambassador, and we knew her story would be impactful.
We strongly believe that Lisa’s story is a thousand times better than your typical talking head testimonial. The client agrees.
If you want to make an impact with your brand, be looking for the heart and everyday ambassadors who breathe life into your story — go to where the heart beats.
If you want to be remembered, then make people FEEL something. Why?
Because we remember the feel.
That’s how you influence!
Written by Mark Anderson, Chief Storyteller from Creative Soul Video