Transform Your Video Stories: Boost Emotional Impact Now
Storytelling for your organization is non-negotiable, but video storytelling is optional. Video is a powerful vehicle for sharing your stories. Yet, not every organization will choose this option. For those reading this article, I want to help you avoid wasting time and money on flat video stories that don’t drive impact.
This article provides practical tips for making your video stories more emotionally engaging, whether you’re already producing videos for your organization or looking to start.
Why Do I Care About Emotive Storytelling?
While filming an origin story for a BairStories client, one of the owners mentioned feeling like she was talking to a friend.
This interview was my first time seeing her in person and our third time ever talking.
Our storytelling approach made her feel empowered and safe to share her story entirely. I enjoy telling other people’s stories because I get to offer the gift of being seen and heard.
Reflecting on this meaningful interaction, I’m reminded that the power of emotional connections extends beyond personal relationships and into marketing and communications.
Therefore, connecting on a deeper level with your audience is necessary.
Three Reasons to Connect on a Deeper Level
Brand Clarity
The clarity of your brand is the understanding of your organization’s purpose, values, identity, messaging, and positioning by your target audience.
Most nonprofits are unmistakable in their purpose and mission. However, the organization’s value often lives in the shadows of the cause. Those values, the pillars of your organization, attract people with a shared worldview.
Consider election years; each candidate’s values align with supporters, creating a sense of belonging and community.
When your organization boldly lives its values, it creates a space where others can feel at ease and safe and enjoy being part of your community.
Community Building
In our personal lives, once we’ve met someone and liked them, we start doing things to strengthen that relationship. It’s the same with your organization.
Your efforts, from newsletter updates with impact stories to in-person gatherings, deepen trust with your audience.
Support (Money, Time, Promotion)
Finally, as trust and admiration grow, your audience decides to commit to their relationship with you through time, money, or even word-of-mouth promotion.
- Money: Donating to support your cause.
- Time: Skills-based Volunteering or Time-Based Volunteering.
- Promotion: Spreading the word through word-of-mouth.
This deep connection leads to loyal donors because they feel admiration, like they are contributing to solutions, and are grateful for the work your organization does (Classy, Why America Gives, 2022).
Now that the importance of emotional connection is established let’s determine how to prime your video stories for connection.
How to Make Your Video Stories Emotionally Appealing
Film and video storytelling are vessels for fostering emotional connection. To make your stories emotionally engaging, you must first embrace human feelings.
Implementing the practical tips below will not benefit you if you avoid human feelings. Separating emotions from your video stories or overall messaging is to be inhuman.
4 Steps for Creating Engaging Video Stories That Resonate
- Determine How You Want Your Audience to Feel: Your desired emotional impact will guide every story decision.
- Find A Heart of Your Story: Identify the key person serving as the vehicle by which your audience travels through your story.
- Structure for Engagement: Organize your story to prompt unanswered questions, leading the audience to discover what’s next and, thus, continue watching.
- Share Sensory Details: Follow Annette Simmons’s advice and tell a story that activates your listener’s imaginations, making them see, hear, smell, touch, and taste your story.
Real-Life Examples of Emotive Video Storytelling
Reducing Medical Waste
At BairStories, we told the origin story of how the Retina Center of Minnesota reduces medical styrofoam waste.
If you’re like me, your thoughts about styrofoam are likely nonexistent except for its disturbing screeching sound. Other than that, styrofoam is as dull as watching gorilla glue dry.
But we got a room of 200 people to care about styrofoam by leading with Geoffery’s (Retina Specialist) vulnerability about his annoyance and guilt over plastic use.
Ripple of Cars
Ripple of Cars is a story created for our client, Environmental Initiative. Like step #4, we chose a central character to serve as the story’s heart about the interconnectedness of cars, clean air, and community economics.
We crafted the story so the Heart draws the viewer emotionally while the Environmental Initiative shares programmatic information.
This docu-style film helped boost donations for Cars for Neighbors and expand the Environmental Initiative’s clean-air car program through new partnerships.
Turn Flat Stories into Connection Moments
If your goal is to inspire and drive impact, you need to tap into the limbic system, which is responsible for emotional reactions and creates positive emotional connections.
Facts and information alone won’t get the job done. You need to touch the heart to move the mind.
For organizations big and small, emotional video storytelling is a valuable tool for connecting with your audience, inspiring action, and increasing visibility.
When you focus on curiosity, emotional connection, and novelty, you’ll create stories that resonate with your audience while sharing the heart of your message and values. Want more tips on creating emotive video stories? Download Bair Stories’ free storytelling guide to build community and boost donations without relying on cold data.
About the Author
Danami-Maurice Champion
Story Director, BairStories
Danami is a Story Director at BairStories with over a decade of experience in emotive storytelling and brand strategy. He focuses on environmental justice and has a proven track record of elevating empathy and community engagement. Danami is also known for his successful behavior change campaigns and musical talents, including receiving the prestigious McKnight Artist Fellowship grant and featuring his music on the CW network’s “All American” show.
