How do we turn business material into shareable stories?

Find the stories inside existing material by reviewing case studies, technical documentation and internal communications for achievements that deserve a clearer telling. For IBM, powerful accounts of the company's influence were buried in dense case studies, technical documents and press materials. Those formats held valuable information but were not designed for easy sharing or emotional engagement.

The IBM storytelling platform drew on that existing library rather than manufacturing a new narrative. Complex information became concise stories that helped employees explain the company's real-world impact. Use the same approach to distinguish the value of an achievement from the format in which it was originally recorded. A technical document may contain a worthwhile story even when its language and structure make that story difficult to recognise or repeat.

Connect the facts to familiar experiences by linking a technical achievement to recognisable objects, places or moments in daily life. IBM's storytelling work used those connections to make complex innovations more tangible and relatable. The approach gave employees a way to explain the company's influence through the world around them, rather than relying on technical descriptions alone.

Keep the achievement as the substance of the story; use the familiar connection as the way into it. IBM's concise narratives linked its innovations to everyday experiences and expressed those connections in simple, memorable language. In a 2025 Wynter survey of marketing leaders at B2B SaaS companies with revenue above $50 million, 18% identified incomprehensible buzzwords as a messaging mistake. Prefer a recognisable connection and a clear explanation over language that makes the audience work to understand the achievement.

Create concise versions people can share by distilling each story into clear, memorable language and keeping a consistent central narrative across formats. IBM's storytelling platform used short "story nuggets" that employees could understand and communicate. The stories connected complex technologies with everyday life, giving employees material they could confidently share in professional and personal settings.

For IBM, the content appeared on a dedicated website, social channels, YouTube, internal communications, environmental branding, printed books and event cards. Each touchpoint reinforced the same narrative: IBM's technologies quietly shape the modern world. Apply that principle by giving employees a concise story to retell, not simply access to a long document. Adapt the presentation to the setting while keeping the underlying account of the achievement consistent.