The lineup for the 2018 PRSA Southeast District Conference is shaping up to be one of the best ever.

One speaker we’re excited about is Alan Hoffler.

Raised around America’s Space Program, Alan Hoffler has earned degrees in aerospace engineering and applied mathematics, but his true passion is teaching. Midway into his

Why is storytelling so important in today’s communication environment?

In a world with so many channels and so many voices, being remembered is becoming increasingly difficult.  Finding the right channel to reach the right audience at the right time is also a challenge.  Stories solve several of these issues.  They are memorable.  They are easily retold, increasing exposure by soliciting others’ help in repeating your message.  And they are inherently connective, causing people to listen through the filter of their lives and experiences and thus feel that they are involved in the message somehow.

Is there really a silver bullet to storytelling?

By the definition of the term, yes.  Wikipedia: silver bullet refers to any straightforward solution perceived to have extreme effectiveness.  Where the term fails us in the association that it’s some new development or a technological advancement.  Stories are older than written text, but they are straightforward and VERY effective.

Who’s your favorite storyteller and why?

Andy Andrews.  He uses real stories (and boy, does he have some good ones to tell) with amazing detail and emotion as well as modern-day metaphors and fairy tales to touch people and move them to a business goal or principle.  It’s just a powerful and easy-to-read/listen method to get his point across.  Patrick Lencioni does the same thing with business principles.  His “Death by meetings” was so much more fun to read that a lecture on good meeting technique and it changed the way I view a meeting request.

How is storytelling changing?

The prevalence of YouTube has caused two notable changes.  First, if you are copying someone else’s material, you’ll be found out immediately.  People have heard all the canned stories now.  Second, people have probably even heard YOUR stories.  That places a premium on the ability to constantly be improving and changing stories.  I think those that can incorporate more current stories have an advantage in the market.

What can conference attendees expect to learn from your presentation?

I think participants – because we’ll be using the audience to help us extract the skills of storytelling (please still come — I promise I won’t embarrass anyone!) – will realize how easy it is to use very common stories to make a larger point.  The mechanics of storytelling are also a lot simpler than just “being good at it”.  There are techniques anyone can learn to become a great storyteller.

The PRSA Southeast District Conference takes place April 18-20, 2018, in Raleigh, N.C. For more information or to register, visit prsasummit.org.