Do you ever take the time to talk to children? I mean, REALLY talk to children, and answer their never-ending supply of questions? If so, I bet you’ve experienced something similar to the following:
Child: Why do I have to go to school?
You: Because it’s important to learn.
Child: Why?
You: Because learning is fun, but also necessary as you grow older.
Child: Why?
You: Because someday you will have to grow up and be independent.
Child: Why?
You: Because you can’t live with your parents your entire life.
Child: Why not?
You: Well, I mean, you could. But you probably won’t want to as you get older.
Child: Why?
You: You’ll want your own life, where you make your own rules and decisions.
Child: Can I play video games all I want?
You: Ummmmm. Technically, you could, but hopefully, you don’t want to.
Child: Why?
And on and on it goes until they become distracted. During one of my many, many attempts to go down this rabbit hole and not dismiss my child’s curiosity, it occurred to me that what she was trying to get me to do was give a BETTER reason for why she had to go to school aside from “it’s important.” She wanted to get to the heart of the matter.
The epiphany came when I was on a recent call trying to understand why my client’s product was so unique and important. I found that replacing “why” with “so what” pushed the client and me to go deeper into discovering their true value. With every answer to “so what” we peeled back another layer of the story to get to its core.
Here’s an example:
Client (in this case, Owl’s Head will be the client): We are a communications agency that, among other things, specializes in the life sciences.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: The life sciences industry is somewhat homogenous. Every company wants to look like its competitors. And, they tend to have a hard time explaining their value.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: If they want to stand out, they need to break the mold, and make their message resonate.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: If they break the mold with us, and allow us to translate their messaging for the right audience, they can attract investors, partners, and talent.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: If they attract the right investor, partners, and talent they will succeed.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: Their success could _cure cancer_ (or insert the MANY innovations the life sciences bring to the table).
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: Cancer results in 1,670 deaths per day in the US alone.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: There is a chance those people can survive.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: Those people are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, kids, friends, and more. They are potential doctors, artists, engineers, entrepreneurs, and more.
You: So what?
Owl’s Head: Their lives are valuable to their loved ones, and humanity itself.
We could keep going, but we already have an inspiring takeaway that highlights the value of Owl’s Head. Saying we are a “communications agency specializing in life sciences” is tactical, and uninspiring. Saying that “we help the life sciences industry translate complex innovation into effective storytelling to attract the right investors, partners, and talent to succeed in their mission to improve and save lives” tells so much more of our unique story, and our value.
If you want to explore this method of storytelling, we’d love to hear from you and work through your unique story. Contact us today. Just don’t get offended if we ask you “so what.” 🙂