A year ago a student of mine went viral.
Her post got 1,800,000 views, 34,000 likes, and over 3,000 comments.
She received a slew of business requests--including speaking opportunities, folks wanting 1-1 coaching, and 2 companies who wanted her to teach leadership training.
So, what made her go viral?
Was it a snappy headline? A well-written post? Was it LinkedIn "broetry" (inspiration porn) that got her those views?
No.
She talked about her Father's suicide.
I say all this to get to one crystal-clear message:
Storytelling is incredible powerful.
And I know that for my student, this wasn't a story for her. This was real, and I want to make sure I get that point across before I continue. She wasn't using this tale for marketing purposes--she wrote this because it meant something to her and I encourage my students to tell ALL their stories in my programs.
But still, undeniably, it was a story. And stories are the most powerful thing humans have ever created.
I read book called 'Sapiens' recently, which is a quick 400-page history of human beings. In one part the author writes:
“Fiction has enabled us not merely to imagine things, but to do so collectively. We can weave common myths such as the bliblical creation story, the Dreamtime myths of Aboriginal Australians, and the nationalist myths of modern states. Such myths give Sapiens the ability to cooperate flexibly in large numbers.”
Storytelling birthed civilization. Without it, there'd be about 7,000,000,000 less people on this planet and we'd still be hunter-gatherers.
A few months after she went viral, my student told me she made about $15,000 - $20,000 since her viral post. All of it started with a story.
I looked back on my own most-viral LinkedIn posts and guess what?
They were all stories too.
As I've done more research on storytelling, I've realized that a great story is almost more addictive for the human brain than sugar.
In the book "Wired For Story," Lisa Cron writes:
"It turns out that a powerful story can have a hand in rewiring the reader's brain--helping instill empathy, for instance--which is why writers are, and have always been, among the most powerful people in the world."
Readers simply can't resist a good story. Stories are bulletproof. They are basically impossible to ignore when written well--which presents a problem:
Many of us don't know how to write a good story.
That's the difference between this LinkedIn Sprint and other programs that teach you how to write just like everybody else. I give you the permission to tell your own story, and you'll unlock a whole new level of LinkedIn because of it.