The stories we tell

In a December post (Helping visitors to find their way) I mentioned a project I was working on; wayfinding and story telling.  I covered the wayfinding side of things in that post and thought I would cover story telling today.  I won't discuss the project though as it's commercially sensitive at this stage - that's right!  We take story telling very seriously.


Stories are playing a big part in the success of the Hutt City i-SITE Visitor Centre which comes as one of my charges.  Measures of success at the i-SITE are up just about everywhere we look.  Sales and customer service training have been important but the biggest component of that training has been in getting staff to tell stories; their stories.

Stories are a vital part of what makes people, people. Stories through drawings, music, dance, film, art, text, oral and any number of other media have been part of who people are since man took his very first steps.  Have a think about your day today and you will have told and heard dozens of stories.  Stories can be as short as a few words or they can be never ending. 

Without stories we do not have direction or role models or learning.  Without stories we do not have a past or a future.  Stories determine where we have come from, where we are going and who we are.  Stories are as important to the fabric of our existence as the air we breathe and the food and nourishment we consume.

The stories of any town are important for the community to be aware of and to retell those stories to which they have an emotional attachment.  These stories help develop pride and promotion of the community to others within and beyond the community.

The stories that make up the fabric of Hutt City, contribute beyond the boundaries of the city.  The stories of Hutt City’s fabric contribute to a vast patchwork which includes the fabric of the region, the nation and the world.  Giving the stories of Hutt City a regional, national and global context adds to the pride and promotion of the community.

Back at a business results level; our staff are encouraged to tell their stories and others they have heard to give the customers feelings and not just facts for a product.  Customers recall their own stories or use those of our staff to add to their inventory of information in the decision making process.  The stories our staff tell give context to decisions our customers make by giving them an emotional attachment to a product.  A decision to buy, or attend, or do anything, or not, will only be made once customers have an emotional connection and that emotional connection will come from a story.

David Hancock is the visitor development manager for Hutt City, Wellington, New Zealand and would be delighted to receive comments on this or any other topic.
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