The golden rule of storytelling is simple:

Stories are always about people!

If you’re talking about prices, processes, ingredients, features, or data, you’re not talking about people.

If you’re not talking about people, you’re not telling stories.

If you’re not telling stories, you’re not connecting.

And if you’re not connecting, you’re not selling.

Wait…

“Selling” doesn’t necessarily relate to money. If you’re not telling stories, you’re not selling your influence, your ideas, your relationship-worthiness OR your products or services.

And “people” can be talking animals or space aliens. Metaphorical people are still people.

If you’re not selling because you’re not talking about people, you’re not getting what you want.

Benefits—outcomes—are inherently connected to the people who experience them. 

The outcomes that people truly care about are survival-related; they’re driven by our primitive animal brains’ concerns for: food, love, shelter, sex, status, safety, and family. 

Though we’d all like to make more money, what we’re really driven by is what we can do with the money: buy food, shelter, status, safety, and take care of our families. And achieving those ends makes us better candidates for love and sex—which fulfill our biological directives to procreate and perpetuate our species (as clinical as that may sound).

How can you use this golden rule of storytelling?

Simple.

Any time you want to create a message that motivates, focus on people. 

Don’t brag about how affordable you are.

Don’t bloviate about your five-step process.

Don’t bother your prospects with your organic ingredients.

Don’t burden your audience with technobabble and jargon.

Inspire people to become interested enough to ask about your features by talking about the benefits to them.

Stories are always about people.