Before he was the bestselling author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey was a businessman trying to understand why people struggle to change.

He was riding the New York City subway on an uncharacteristically calm Sunday morning when a man walked in with his three kids.

The kids were yelling, throwing things, and bothering the passengers.

But the dad didn't do anything.

He just sat there with his eyes closed.

This irritated Covey, so he leaned over and confronted the guy.

He said calmly but firmly — get your kids under control.

The dad opened his eyes, startled. “Oh, you're right. I guess I should do something about it. We just came from the hospital where their mother died about an hour ago. I don't know what to think, and I guess they don't know how to handle it either.”

Covey's irritation vanished in an instant.

He no longer felt the need to control or correct the situation.

Instead, he felt deep compassion—for the father, for the children, and for their pain—and even tried to comfort the newly widowed father.

At that moment, Covey understood why people struggle to change.

Brand Messages That Are Felt Get Remembered

The subway story became the introduction of the book's core message: You can't change your behavior unless you first change how you see it.

What's interesting about Covey's subway ride realization is that it's far from original.

The concept of changing your perspective to change your behavior shows up in psychology, philosophy, and popular proverbs long before Covey wrote about it in 1989.

But that didn't stop The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People from becoming one of the bestselling non-fiction books of all time.

The subway story made millions of people trust Covey's message.

They felt it, so they believed it. And as a result, they were open to trying the habits Covey outlined in the rest of the pages.
The trust the story built laid the groundwork for the wisdom to take hold, paving the way for ordinary people to make lasting change.

When sales are slow and engagement is low, many of my clients, students, and readers assume they have a messaging problem.

They think they need to be bold, original, or extraordinary to cut through the noise.

But it's not a messaging problem.
It's a delivery problem.

Profound messages don't change minds, win hearts, and inspire action.
They may help people see what you do and what you stand for.
But they don't help people understand how it's supposed to help them.

Truthful messages wrapped in a story change minds, win hearts, and inspire action.

Because when a message is felt, people trust in your expertise and trust you to provide them transformation they desire.

StoryCraft Storytelling Framework:

How To Share Your Brand Message Through Storytelling Content

If you know you could be doing a better job of telling stories that explain your expertise, where should you start?

1. Find your bookends. When I was in my early 20s, I dated a pilot. We'd take long weekends to explore new places, trying local cuisine, perusing mom-and-pop shops, and—did I mention?—eating the local cuisine. No matter where we went, it always started with a flight plan. You have to know where you're starting and where you're landing for all the good stuff in the middle to happen. In storytelling for social media, it's smart to start your story as close as possible to the end. This avoids the #1 killer of good stories: a setup that drags with boring details.

2. Teach It Without Preaching It. To share a message people feel—not just understand—get to the heart of why it matters. Good questions will reveal the emotional and logic impact behind the words. When I was a journalist, I developed a series of questions that guided experts to articulate the deeper meaning in the message so the articles were inspiring, not advertorial. What are the right questions to ask to tell a memorable brand story? Check out 3 Questions To Find Your Most Compelling Personal Brand Stories to see what I use.

3. Build Up to the Aha Moment. It's not enough to have a strong message. Without a story structure that keeps people's attention, they're never going to make it to the end to internalize the message. Formatting a story to hold attention is the most difficult part, but I do have a helpful hack. Every line in the middle of your story should answer one question and raise another. This is how you connect the dots, taking an audience from A to B while building tension along the way until you reach the climax, when you give people the resolution they're now dying to hear.

4. The Language of Leadership is Specific. Lastly, you'll write and edit for impact. Yes, you'll need an interesting hook that grabs attention, but that's not the only word choice to consider when your goal is to make people feel the message and take action. Most people know Brené Brown from her work on vulnerability, but as a storyteller I find her work on the language of leadership much more actionable. In her book Atlas of the Heart, she tells a story from her time as a waitress. On busy nights, the staff had two phrases: 1. “I'm in the weeds” meant: I'm behind, but I can manage if I get a little help. 2. “I'm burnt” meant: I'm done. I need someone to take over completely. The specific wording matters because it tells people what action to take.

How you tell your story ultimately dictates how your audience will feel, what they'll remember, and whether (or not) they'll act.

Moral of the Story

Oftentimes the only difference between a story that falls flat and one that leave a mark is knowing how to tell it.

The ripple effect of telling your story goes so much further than the sales you'll inevitably make by explaining your expertise clearly. Stories touch hearts, inspire perspective shifts, and stick with readers for years to come. You have stories that can do that for your message. To help you find and share them, I offer 90-Minute Strategy Sessions as well as a self-paced Short-Form Storytelling Course designed to guide you through how to share engaging stories on social media.

Thanks for reading!

Cyndi