What’s Up with That?

Telling your story means asking some tough questions.

My post title comes from a tough question posed to me in the comments section following a post about Storytelling on the excellent Copyblogger blog. The post and challenging comment came from James Chartrand, whose work I respect – even though I wasn’t too keen on the tone of his question (Note to self: blogging takes thick a skin; work on that).

The question itself: “What’s up with that?” can be a great way to think about the statements you’re making and stories you’re telling:

“Company is a leading, global, something or other in the whatsis marketplace”

What’s up with that?

“Our products/services are unique”

What’s up with that?

Or to James’ point: “Erratic posting makes me think the blog isn’t in this for the long haul.”

What’s up with that?

Are all your statements and stories true? Do they make sense from your customers’ point of view? Would anyone outside of your company understand them? Agree with them? Be willing to repeat them?

What’s up with that?