Video Storytelling Leaving Labels Behind

Photo courtesy: Twitter (@RobBiesenbach)

Photo courtesy: Twitter (@RobBiesenbach)

There’s always room for improvement with your video storytelling. I’ve won Emmy awards, Telly awards and I’m still learning everyday. My lesson this week came via an actor.

Well, an actor/marketer/speaker/writer. Rob Biesenbach is a busy guy. I met him at a PRSA event a while back and we’ve stayed in touch. He’s dynamic and very insightful. He’s also the only guy I know who’s written a business book and has a profile on imdb.com… albeit a short one. :-)

Rethinking your labels

Anyway, I loved his most recent newsletter, “Market Yourself Like A Godfather.” He writes about a different way to tell your story. I encourage you to read the whole thing, but I loved a few of his bullet points about highlighting actions instead of labels…

  • I’m low maintenance vs. I get my own coffee.
  • I’m dependable vs. I haven’t missed a day in 7 years.
  • Our quality is the highest vs. Our customer reviews average 4.5 stars.

Saying and proving your video storytelling

I really love those examples. How many times have all of us given our elevator pitches and mentioned labels? In video, we get away with it thanks to an old adage… say it, prove it. For instance, in our T60 elevator pitch video, I say we’re expert storytellers and back it up with a shot of an Emmy. Say it, prove it.

That’s good… but I like Rob’s point more, and there’s no reason you can’t combine his idea with say it, prove it. It’s making me rethink the way I talk to people about what we do.

Not to mention, I’m coaching business owners every week… helping them tell their stories. These are suggestions I’ll be keeping in mind. I might even give Rob credit… more than imdb.com does anyway.

–Tony Gnau

Tony Gnau is a three-time Emmy-winning journalist. He is also the founder and chief storytelling officer at T60 Productions. T60 has won 11 Telly Awards for its work over the last eight years.