WHETHER YOU CALL it an angle, a perspective, or a point of view, it's critical to understand that a story does not exist in a vacuum. A story about an event, person, or idea can be told an infinite number of ways and to an infinite number of audiences. And so, the "angle" and the audience are greatly determinative of what the story should be about.
Many will say this is obvious — but the fact is, most clients often have limited experience outside their normal comfort zone when trying to come up with a story that connects to a goal. Others are natural storytellers, but their expertise in crafting stories only pertains to a specific audience or setting. When they need to tell a story to a different audience, they struggle to find an angle that will intersect with that group. In other words, they have to unlearn what they know.
Too often, there is a misapplication of somebody else's story to an organization. It's fine to draw inspiration from somebody else's photo, video, or text story — but if you just "cut and paste," your odds of success are reduced. Real storytelling begins with listening, observing, hearing, seeing — and then connecting it to a goal for the audience.
A recent client had a tight deadline and a need for rapid content creation. They were good at delivering a message to a specific group - but now, they had to tell that story to a totally different audience. The old way of presentation would not work, and they needed something different, fast.
What did we do? We listened, asked questions, and embedded with their organization to soak up who they were and what they did. We identified --together-- the elements for the story and the subjects.
When you are thinking about a story you need told, keep angles and intersections in mind. Is there a different way of showing this person, group, or issue? How can you find the connections that matter?
If you think about angles and intersections, you are off to a good start.