Let's talk about heroes because I think one of the hardest things for many organizations to really wrap their head around is that when they go to tell a story, they aren't the hero. You'll feel people sliding back into that paradigm or that kind of habit of talking about the organization is sort of the hero. They're coming in to save the day for their customers or for the folks they're serving as a nonprofit, but you're not the hero.
The hero should be your audience, should be your customer, whoever you're really trying to speak to because they are the ones that need to identify with your story in that way and they won't see themselves as a secondary character or, you know, as the weak character that needs to be saved by the big amazing hero in the story. They're going to identify with the hero role. They're going to identify with their own hopes and dreams. And if you can position yourself as being the organization that helps them achieve those dreams or helps them conquer the villain in their story, then you are intricately woven into their story and a critical part of the story, but they get to stand forward and be the hero.
Oftentimes the place where this kind of reveals itself the most, if you don't get this hero thing, correct, is in your customer testimonials or your kind of impact stories that you're doing. If you approach those pieces as simply a testimonial sits down in front of the camera, they talk all about you, then you're sort of doing it wrong. Those pieces are best if you can talk about them and you can tell their story. And then how you enter that story as a support to them is going to be far more compelling and it's going to be something that your customers or your audience identify with more.
So that's the key thing in your storytelling. When you put stuff on camera, stay focused on the hero being your audience or somebody that your audience can identify and that's not going to be your brand or organization.