Alycia de Mesa

#216: How to Amp Up Your Stories for Purpose-Driven Brand Marketing

#216: How to Amp Up Your Stories for Purpose-Driven Brand Marketing

Increasingly more organizations and individuals are doing work to positively impact their communities and the planet. And while getting support from others is often crucial to advancing the mission, it tends to be a very difficult feat. That is why applying story structures and techniques to your efforts are vital to gaining buy-in and ultimately advancing the cause.

There is nobody better to share insights on this subject than my guest, Alycia de Mesa. Alycia is a branding expert, professor, author and sustainable storyteller whose work not only increases her impact, but helps others to increase theirs as well. Through her company, de Mesa Training & Advisory, and the graduate courses she teaches for ASU’s School of Sustainability, she helps current (and future) leaders of purpose-driven brands improve their storytelling skills to have a greater impact in the world.

And while Alycia works with clients and students at all various points of their journeys, she teaches them many of the same fundamental frameworks and techniques. In fact, one of the most persuasive storytelling techniques is the use of Aristotle’s three appeals – Ethos, Logos, and Pathos.

Using terms that activate the sensory memory is one of the key components for the execution of a good story. ~Alycia de Mesa

For example, there was a study done by researchers in Spain that showed the effect certain words had on the brain. What they found is that evocative words (or the use of Pathos) in the narrative had a dramatic effect on the brain and increased the chances that the individual could recall the narrative’s details at a later date. And while utilizing just one of these appeals will increase your chance of influence, when you apply all three, the result is an incredibly compelling piece.

You can take any presentation and use Aristotle’s three proofs and it will make the experience much more appealing because it then becomes truly a human to human experience. ~Alycia de Mesa

Discussed in this Episode

• Aristotle’s “Three Proofs” and why these appeals are important in your storytelling.
• Learn frameworks and techniques to help your purpose-driven brand have greater impact
• When and why to use the power of improvisation in your storytelling
• The importance of  brand positioning in order to effectively tell its story
• The importance of asking questions and gathering input in order to be perceived as a credible and trustworthy storyteller

Resources & Links

• de Mesa Training & Advisory
• Pre-order Alycia’s upcoming book, Leading with Story
• Brand Avatar: Translating Virtual World Branding into Real World Success 
• Before the Brand: Creating the Unique DNA of an Enduring Brand Identity
• Alycia’s Linkedin
• Alycia’s Instagram
• Your Brain on Fiction
• Craft Your Purpose-Driven Brand Story
• Business of Story listeners, please take this short survey

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