Will magical ‘storytellers’ save us from the horrible AI-ChatGPT monster?

Once upon a time, there was a bunch of communicators, marketers and campaigners toiling away happily. Their lives had been a bit topsy-turvy, what with new tools like social media they’d had to master, but things had settled down.

But then along came a monster, ChatGPT.

The monster seemed friendly at first and even helpful, and so very, very smart.

After a while, however, our communicators began to notice something strange: everything they produced with the help of the monster seemed to turn to lifeless and inauthentic stone. Their once-faithful followers, they realised, were becoming disenchanted and beginning to drift off.

And then things got worse. The once-friendly ChatGPT monster turned vicious and began devouring some of our communicators’ colleagues! Were they next?

Fortunately, along came a hero to the rescue.

The talented storyteller – a modern-day bard – appeared on their trusty steed and used their ancient, secret narrative tricks to slay the monster. The followers returned and peace and prosperity once again reigned across the land.

If we are to go by recent articles, this is what’s been happening: Struggling organisations are being rescued from AI chaos by heroic ‘storytellers’.

In late January, The Times of London reported that in a bid to restore audiences and trust decimated by AI slop, firms were hiring ‘storytellers’.

A Wall Street Journal article late last year said that companies – including the National Wild Turkey Foundation! – are “desperately seeking” storytellers.

There is no doubt that marketing and communications of any kind has been heavily disrupted by AI.

But are storytellers the answer?

The benefits of storytelling

There are definitely some pros to viewing communications through the prism of ‘story’.

1. Making others the hero

The first is that it forces you to put yourself and your organisation in context.

The most basic story structure is the hero’s journey:

· A hero/protagonist is leading a normal life.

· Their cozy world is disrupted by a malign force.

· The hero sets out on a quest to defeat this force, facing obstacles along the way.

· They find a guide/mentor to help them.

· During a climactic event, they overcome the enemy.

· They return home with a ‘boon’ – valuable knowledge or treasure they impart to their compatriots.

Obviously, this resonates with almost all businesses and organisations: they create a product/service/solution that solves a pressing and painful problem.

As corporate story gurus will note, the most important thing is that your business/organisation is not the hero of the story: your customer/client is. Your role is the guide/mentor.

Overall, viewed from this angle, there are worse ways to frame your organisation because it forces you to become more customer-centric.

2. Emotion

Another benefit of story is that it helps incorporate emotion.

Interviewees in The Times and WSJ articles talked about storytelling allowing them to come across as “human” and “authentic”.

I suspect when communicators think of story, what they’re largely seeking is the ability to connect with their audience emotionally.

Story, of course, is based on emotion.

Good storytellers create protagonists/heroes about whom we care deeply. We become emotionally involved in their quest, riding the ups and downs, experiencing fear and hope.

B2C organisations have long recognised the importance of emotion. But as the ‘Godfathers of effectiveness’ Les Binet and Peter Field have highlighted, emotion is also vital for knowledge and B2B organisations.

As I’ve pointed out many times, we are all playing two games:

· Long-term brand building (creating awareness and emotional connection).

· Short-term activation/sales.

Emotion, even in B2B, is a core part of brand-building: You make people aware you exist, but you also develop an emotional connection so when people think of your brand, they feel positively towards it.

Story can help here because it reminds us to incorporate emotion into our marketing and communications.

The downsides of storytelling?

That said, I do have some concerns around story.

1. We are saturated in story

As I’ve mentioned before, the dominant mode of communication in society is now narrative. So much so that literary theorist Peter Brooks – who popularised the power of story – wrote a book decrying the dominance of story and how we now turn everything into a narrative. The main danger of story, Brooks notes, is that it detaches us from reality.

Logos/reason is just as important to effective communication as narrative and emotion, particularly at the bottom-of-the-funnel sales/activation phase.

(This applies more broadly to society, where reasoned discourse is being drowned out by narrative and emotion.)

2. Story is often laboured

Also, few people are great storytellers.

To illustrate their main points, great communicators tend not to focus on stories but on pithy messages and anecdotes.

A big risk is that, given their inherent structure, stories become laboured and the audience loses the point. (You could even argue my introduction above was slightly laboured!)

3. Story is not grounded in proven practice

In the WSJ article on the rise of storytelling, one interviewee said that terms like ‘editorial’ are “limiting”.

Really?

The term editorial is actually liberating because it is rooted in reality and long-established practice.

Today, communicators and marketers have too many options and channels, which often means little to nothing (effective) gets produced consistently.

Smart companies have an editorial strategy. That strategy informs an editorial plan – what they are going to produce and when – and they hire professional writers and editors to help execute.

Things get done.

Another interviewee said that storytelling allows organisations to “wrest greater control of their narrative.”

I think that’s called a marketing or communications strategy, isn’t it? Clearly defining your goals, audience, positioning, messages and channels. It’s not glamorous or mystical, but it works.

When contrasted with editorial and strategy, storytelling is nebulous.

Happily ever after

The biggest challenge for communicators today isn’t just AI, it’s distraction.

It’s sticking to a plan and ignoring the latest shiny bauble.

Storytelling is another distraction.

Yes, it can be useful, but it’s not an elixir, nor a cure-all.

Best-practice communication is based on three elements:

· Customer/client/audience centricity.

· Creating awareness + emotional connection (brand building).

· Delivering powerful reasons to buy/engage (sales activation).

Organisations and leaders who create a strategy around these three elements, then plan and execute, are the ones winning success and living happily ever after, even in today’s AI-saturated marketplace.

And, of course, if you want to come across as truly human, get humans to do the work!