You cannot craft a compelling customer story without the right information. Here is a practical guide to uncovering destination stories that nobody else is telling: The DMC 7 Steps Untold Story Finder.
A destination has thousands of facts, but facts don’t necessarily make stories. The job of a destination storyteller is to uncover the information that makes a traveler stop, wonder, and think, “I never knew that.”
A DMC can be an extraordinary source of such information, provided you ask the right questions. Don’t ask a DMC for a story. Ask questions that uncover it.
The DMC 7 Steps Untold Story Finder
STEP 1 – FIND WHAT VISITORS DON’T SEE
What do most visitors see?
- What do most visitors miss?
- What do locals know that tourists rarely discover?
- What is the destination’s best-kept secret?
- What place deserves more attention?
- What do you wish visitors understood about this destination?
- What is usually left out of the tourist brochure?
- Is there something visitors walk past without realizing its significance?
STEP 2 — ASK “WHY?”
Ordinary things become fascinating when we discover why they exist.
Choose buildings, streets, monuments, landscapes, traditions, foods, hotels, markets, or other familiar features and ask:
- Why is it here?
- Why was it built this way?
- Why does it have this name?
- Why was this location chosen?
- Who decided to create it?
- What problem was it originally intended to solve?
- Has its purpose changed?
- Is there a surprising reason behind its design?
STEP 3 — FIND THE PEOPLE
Behind almost every interesting destination story is a person.
- Who created this place?
- Who discovered it?
- Who changed it?
- Who saved it?
- Who fought to protect it?
- Who opposed it?
- Who has lived here for generations?
- Is there a local character with an unusual connection to the place?
- Who knows this story better than anyone else?
- Is there a family connected to it?
STEP 4 — LOOK FOR THE TURNING POINT
Strong stories usually contain change.
- What happened here that changed everything?
- Was there a moment when the destination nearly took a different direction?
- Has the place ever been threatened?
- Was something destroyed and later rebuilt?
- Was something lost and subsequently rediscovered?
- Did one person make an important decision?
- Did an unexpected event change the destination?
- Was there ever a time when people thought this place had no future?
STEP 5 — SEARCH FOR CONTRADICTIONS
Contradictions create curiosity.
- What looks one way but is actually something else?
- What do visitors commonly believe that isn’t true?
- Is something famous for the wrong reason?
- Was something once used for a completely different purpose?
- Does something that looks ancient have a surprisingly recent history?
- Does something beautiful have a dark or difficult past?
- Was something once somewhere completely different?
- Is there an unexpected connection between two seemingly unrelated places or people?
STEP 6 — FIND THE EMOTION
A story becomes memorable when information acquires emotional meaning.
- What makes local people proud?
- What do they feel protective about?
- What place means the most to them?
- What do locals fear losing?
- What story is still told within families?
- What event do people still remember?
- What makes people laugh?
- What makes people sad?
- What makes people angry?
- What are people willing to fight for?
STEP 7 — FIND THE SURPRISE
- “What would surprise a visitor most about this destination?”
- “What is the one thing you know about this place that a typical tourist would never know?”
- “If you could tell a visitor only one untold story about this destination, what would it be?”
From DMC information to destination story
This process can be summarized in six words:
Ask → Discover → Investigate → Verify → Shape → Tell
The DMC supplies the leads. The storyteller finds the human meaning. And the traveler gets something far more valuable than another list of attractions: a reason to care about the place.
The DMC 7 Steps Untold Story Finder, written by Tor Kjolberg
Take-away
If you learned something from this article, I believe you’ll also enjoy my recent book, “How I’ve Survived as a Storyteller for Over 50 Years: 12 Survival Techniques.” Get your FREE e-book copy by sending me your name and e-mail address, and including “Storytelling” in the subject line. Thank you for reading!
More articles on Storytelling by Tor Kjolberg you may like:
The Anatomy of a Brand Story for Destinations
Brand Stories Are Boring
Travel Stories Designed for the Adult Part of Our Population
Seven Strategies for Increasing Customer Participation in Brand Stories
Stop Selling Postcards