Greatness is a complicated business, largely because it can be very subjective; as often is the case, the genius of a person is lost in the shuffle of polarising views held by swaths of the public about him or her. Especially in the age of social media, legacies are being re-litigated in real time. Great people are not so because they are without flaws; it’s their ability to shape genres, inspire generations and tell stories through their craft that stands them out. This past weekend brought back some amazing childhood memories, and I couldn’t help myself. When it comes to slicing and dicing ideas in the most creative ways, I’m bad – you know it.

Got To Be Starting Something

You cannot tell a story that remains in your head; it’s the decision to author a book that turns your memories into a memoir. I meet clients all the time who have a story that they have preserved in its most pristine manner in their head, and once they get the opportunity, they commission their book projects immediately because it feels like a weight being lifted off their shoulders. In Maya Angelou’s I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings, lies a most profound quote, “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you”. Many people worry about how songs they haven’t recorded won’t be accepted, they overanalyse books they haven’t begun to write, and they criticise movies that principal photography hasn’t commenced. You can’t redirect a car that is parked; it has to be in motion before you can change direction. Serendipity happens when you find what you really want in the quest for what you originally wanted. Don’t always wait to learn before you do; you can learn while doing. Once you start telling your story in whatever form, it’s easier to refine it along the way.

Do You Remember The Times?

Nostalgia is a very strategic way to connect with your audience when telling a story. There is an entire business model built around helping people relive pleasant memories, and great brands know how to leverage this effectively. I wrote last year about how a brand like WWE milked John Cena’s retirement partly as a nostalgia tour, other times they would reference the famed Attitude Era that was headlined by ‘Stone Cold’ Steve Austin and Dwanye ‘The Rock’ Johnson. Dufil Prima Foods does this with their leading product, Indomie – one of their current ads (Mama Do Good) is simply a contemporary iteration of their previous ad. There is a reason why Osita Iheme is the king of memes on today’s internet; he embodies a time when most people watched movies on VHS, and actors gave some of their best performances. The term “Old School” used to be a slur, but most people now embrace it. Today, you hear of old school costume day, old school themed party, old school playlist, etc.

You Are Not Alone

The story you tell has to be very relatable; you have to convey to the audience that you see them, you hear them, and you understand them. Basically, you have to communicate with them in a language that they are familiar with. People love to see themselves in a story or the characters; they want to take ownership of certain narratives. Jesus came from heaven, but his ministry was on earth; he and the people he came to serve were literally worlds apart. So he deployed cultural intelligence; he began using parables or anecdotes to communicate his agenda. The parables of the Prodigal Son, Mustard Seed, Sower, Talents or Good Samaritan were not real-life events but stories that incorporated the agrarian, religious, communal and economic themes of the day. Jesus himself gave the game away as he approached the end of his time on earth: “I still have many things to tell you, but you can’t handle them now.” Translation: I have had to restrict myself to telling you things you could relate to; there is some other stuff I couldn’t share because it would fly over your heads. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is one of the reasons Paul has to become QB1 so he can really articulate and declassify some of those esoteric truths.

Beat It

One of the surest ways to manage expectation is to always under-promise but over-deliver in your storytelling. People should get more value than they paid for, and you should constantly beat the standards that have been used as benchmarks. This hack is something I take very personally; whether I’m writing for free or for a fee, I give my best work regardless because quality storytelling is one of my non-negotiable signatures. People should see my name associated with a story or anything else and expect excellence by default; you should have the same mindset. Many storytellers struggle with their sophomore projects because their audiences feel cheated in the first instalment; people want to know why they should trust you enough to become repeat customers. This brings us to the small matter of quality control and internal audits. I recently saw a movie critic reviewing a very popular movie at the cinema, and he sounded so disappointed; the movie had big names that could draw audiences, but the screenplay and continuity were terrible. Many people want to replicate the successes of others, but they don’t put in the systems to deliver amazing productions. HBO’s Game of Thrones had us all in a chokehold because the storytelling and production value were insane. If you’re going to tell a great story, tell it properly.

Annie, Are You OK?

Following the alleged drowning of an unidentified young woman in the River Seine, Resusci Annie or CPR Annie, a training manikin used widely for the training of healthcare personnel, was developed by Norwegian toy maker Åsmund Laerdal in 1960 to teach mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. In the unfortunate event that your story falls flat or doesn’t get the buzz you expected it gain, here are some things you can do to bring it back to life.
• Admit where you went off the climb. It mustn’t be done publicly or stated explicitly, but you should be able to point out the things that didn’t work internally.
• Pivot. Play around with some narratives or characters and make it seem like a natural swerve, story arc or character development – effectively blurring the line between facts and fiction.
• Let it go. Sometimes, when a story is on life support, and you have done everything within your power to keep it breathing, and it’s still not showing signs of recovery, you have to make a tough decision. Your sunk costs should not make you hang on to something that wasn’t meant to be.

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