Story telling is part of ancient cultures as far apart as the Australian Aborigines and the Inuit Tribes living inside the Arctic Circle. Both civilisations relied on oral communication to pass on life lessons and to share practical knowledge and advice. Recounting experiences, describing adventures and introducing new ideas are all ways in which explorers have influenced more recent generations.
Unsurprisingly, individual tales of sea monsters, giant land creatures, vast deserted landscapes and impenetrable jungles were not readily believed by those waiting back in the home country or city dwelling. It required other witnesses to affirm the truth of these fantastic accounts of foreign travel. That is why travelling in small groups has always been a popular option for many.
Whether travelling by necessity or from choice, encountering different places and people leaves vivid impressions and creates a fund of unique memories that the traveller will store away and inevitably retrieve at some time in the future. The reasons for story telling are many and diverse, but one frequent motivation is to celebrate the achievement of gaining personal travel insights and the opportunity to demonstrate the success of the traveller’s individual odyssey.
Incentive Travel
So, stories can be related face-to-face between individual, with profound effects: it can help you connect with and move your audience, and make your conversation more memorable. That is one of many reasons why incentive travel is powerful as a motivational force within teams and organisations, as well as for the participants.
Story telling as a device is also a potent force in corporate communications. Stories revolve around people, stir up emotions and often have clear meaning. The real power to you of promoting stories about your brand and culture is that it gives your audience information about you which they can pass on to others by the same means. In other words, your reputation grows by word of mouth!
Our event management experience is that on many occasions the feedback and comments from qualifiers returning from an incentive travel programme are a positive endorsement and encouragement to others to work towards the same reward. The power of personal accounts of foreign travel is in the contrast the stories present with everyday working life. They transport the story teller and their audience into another world. It is desirable and different, exciting and invigorating, aspirational and achievable. Shared stories about incentive travel experiences are the best way of stimulating performance improvement, across company teams, individuals and even third parties.
When planning an incentive travel event, start by thinking about the sort of impressions and memories you want your guests to walk away with. A good event management agency can help to shape your programme and include the perfect activities and therefore future talking points, as well as matching your business objectives and generating a healthy return on investment.