3 levels of empathy that are essential for electric storytelling

“Storytelling conjures emotion, drives inclusion and leads with empathy,” says Miri Rodriguez, author of “Brand Storytelling” and guest expert for a recent Ragan webinar titled “Storytelling in Disruptive Times.”

Successful storytelling actually starts with empathy, she argues. Without it, you can’t create deep connections and a shared experience—the very foundation of storytelling.

So how can you build your empathy skills? Start by recognizing there are three levels of empathy, she says. Here they are, along with brand storytelling examples of each in action:

1. Cognitive empathy. “Understand your audience is human and that people are going through challenges, especially during the pandemic,” Rodriguez says, who also heads up Microsoft’s global internship program.

 The Corona beer brand is a good example. “They stopped all communication and marketing during the pandemic because of the name,” she says. “They also realized their tagline—‘live fully’—wasn’t appropriate from a human perspective at the time.”

Sales suffered at the first, “but the brand built emotional equity over time because they recognized that people were suffering—and sales later picked up,” says Rodriguez.