We have decided to start a storytelling masterclass for the Venture Cafe Summer School for 2019. It was once a week on Thursdays for five weeks for the month of August. The master class was designed by Maria Bahamam the founder of Madam Rotterdam and Mike Rynart the founder of the Dutch Daily News. They have knocked their heads together to bring their expertise of storytelling in the field of business and the creative fields. Each session is titled differently and carries out a different topic. Starting from storytelling in a pitch, how to define a company business, branding and ending with social media storytelling.
The third session is titled “The Story Behind Your Business” , the session was hosted by Maria. She explained why storytelling business is important, to begin with. How to create a story to relate to your customers and finally how to practically write your business story with step by step instructions.
As usual she started off with a short clip below to show case if people are in the right business to begin with.
What is a business, she asked the audience? A business is an organization where people work together. In a business, people work to make and sell products or services. … A business can earn a profit for the products and services it offers. The word business comes from the word busy, and means doing things.It works on a regular basis.
Moreover, she explained that every story needs the 5 C’s.
- Circumstance,
- Curiosity,
- Characters,
- Conversations,
- Conflict
She gave really important points on creating the right story for a business. For example, stop bragging and start relating to your audience, spark the emotional side of your audience’s brain, get your readers engaged through the senses by asking the following questions:
- What it visually looks like?
- What sounds occurred?
- What smells filled the air?
- How did it feel?
She explained how to use the VAKO
- Visual
- Auditory
- Kinesthetic
- Olfactory.
She ended it with giving tips like, start your story in the middle, give your audience what matters. She said “where life happens in chronological order – that’s boring!. Start in the middle, where things are exciting. It’s much more interesting.”
She interrupted the session with an exercise to help the audience members to try it for themselves, some audience members participated by telling the story behind their businesses. It was awesome.
About Storytelling Masterclass Hosts:
Maria Bahamam is an innovative entrepreneur, public speaker, content creator and a woman in Tech. She is CEO and founder of Madam Rotterdam. Madam Rotterdam is a platform that connects tourists, expats, and local businesses together through the use of high tech and AI. Maria is bringing forth the community of Rotterdam and showcasing talent through a series of live stream interviews every Thursday at the Venture Cafe and through a podcast every Friday. Her mission is to inspire people and put more positive content out into the world.
Mike Rynart is a Web Consultant helping people to become more effective online. Mike has been developing for the Web since 2000. He spends his days helping companies to grow their business through engaging tech solutions, and his nights dreaming about how to make tomorrow’s Web sites even better. Mike believes everyone has a story to tell. Your message has the ability to change somebody’s life. Mike’s mission is to help you share yours with the world.
