How to Tell Consumer Stories that Break through the Noise
What happens when the CEO of an insights and strategy firm known for empathy and storytelling writes a book? You get a page-turner. When Ignite 360 CEO Rob Volpe decided to write a business book, he wanted to make sure it was “a book that somebody would want to read.”
So how did he do that? With dynamic storytelling. “I wanted readers to want to know what happens next, to read the next story, to be intrigued by it.”
In Tell Me More About That, Rob draws on his thousands of interviews with everyday people to illustrate the 5 Steps to Empathy— actions you can use to build a reflexive empathy muscle. Rob recounts how his talks with strangers about brands and daily habits could blossom into understanding of family, relationships, hopes, and dreams. While he was invited into these homes as a market researcher, he left as an expert on empathy.
Rob and I sat down to talk about his book, dynamic storytelling, and how a consumer named Frank changed Rob’s way of looking at the world.
Hear the best parts of our conversation…
How did you get the idea for a book about empathy?
“Nobody was paying attention.”
How is the book structured?
“Each of the [Five Steps to Empathy] are brought to life through a series of stories, and then the book concludes with a return to the scene of the crime.”
Who is this book for?
“The book is really in the personal growth, professional development space set in the exciting world of marketing research and the crazy adventures that can happen there when you get to [meet] strangers.”
In the book, you talk about the 5 steps to empathy. Say someone’s struggling with judgment, what’s a story from the book you would want to share with them? Could you read part of that?
“[It’s a story called] ‘Mother would never do that.’ It is chapter seven in the book on judgment … It’s an example of how I use stories to bring the different steps to life.”
Why did you write the book?
“I wrote the book to make the world a better place and to help in that process.”
In our work, our stories often come in the form of written reports, rather than told stories. You've told many of these stories before, what was it like trying to make them equally compelling in written form?
“As I got into the editing process, [I had to think about] where to possibly build some suspense, where the humor should be coming in or how to hit a punchline. [I had to really] think about things like, "What am I trying to communicate? Where does this story fit in?"
Why should insights professionals care about empathy and storytelling?
“Empathy is so important in every professional role and just to be a good colleague. If you think about how empathy enables, I mean, if empathy is understanding, then by understanding, you're able to communicate better, you're able to be more persuasive, you're able to collaborate, you're better able to ideate. It enhances critical thinking, and it enhances decision-making as a result. It also enables forgiveness. It enables compassion.”
How can we become better storytellers in our work?
“You have to constantly be thinking about it and appraising when it comes to storytelling … How did that story land? Did it generate the result that I was looking for, depending on what the goal was, if you want it to entertain, was it entertaining? Did you persuade? Did you move somebody?"
You can become a more dynamic, empathetic storyteller, email us at hello@ignite-360.com and immerse yourself in empathy and storytelling:
Find out how empathetic you are
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For further reading on how to improve your own storytelling skills check out these reads:
My Recipe For Story Crafting Deliciousness
The 1 Piece Of Data That Will Give You A 17% Edge Over Everyone In The Room [3 Min Read]
Hate, Revenge, Sticky Insights, And Big Ideas [5 Minute Read]
