Q&A: The Ethics of Fabricated Stories
Q: I’m an internet marketer, and during your recent webinar with Andre Chaperon, I heard you say that it’s OK to make things up in a speech or a story for a sales presentation or email. Isn’t that highly unethical?
A: I understand your concern, but listen again to the recording of that presentation. What I said – and what I always tell marketers and public speakers – is that stories must be TRUE, but they don’t have to be FACTUAL. Fabricating information about the quality of a product, its proven success rate, its testimonials, or about one’s own achievements, accolades and background as they relate to that person’s credibility and expertise — to do any of these things is unethical and unprofessional. It’s also pretty dumb, because a reputation for being untrustworthy can spread very quickly.
But to consolidate characters when telling a story about true events, or to shorten or rearrange timelines, or change settings, or to make up characters to illustrate a typical person who might benefit from a product, a process or a message, or to do anything else to make a story more emotionally involving is fine — as long as you don’t misrepresent whatever it is you’re illustrating or recommending. This is what I believe, anyway.
Michael,
I understand what you’re saying and this does work very well. However, I feel that in a sales presentation about factual elements/events, they should not consolidate characters, shorten time lines etc.
What works well is polishing their speaking and narrative skills to make what might seem an unpromising and/or complicated story into something briskly told, concise and punchy. That involves some good editing, summarising skills, good descriptions and an authentic attitude ie fun, inspiring, regretful, thoughtful.
That can start with the speaker focusing on what s/he learned from a bizarre series of events; or instead of relaying a long, boring set of stories leading to the point they can call the set “a series of events” “that led me to my dream/realisation/inspiration that blah blah, etc.”
I think the only thing here that I would agree with is where you recommend inventing a “typical” person who benefit from the product being sold, as that is really just tying a bunch of features together and not misrepresenting anyone but enabling the potential buyers to identify with or see themselves in that position. I actually did this once with an object and people got it. One guy got so worked up he was ready to buy! I think it was my enthusiasm! ;).In that case it was the object that was given a personality in terms of its capabilities! 🙂
In short, what I recommend here is what many consultants like you like to recommend – focus on the endpoint of the “movie” ie speech – in this, focus on WHAT you want to say first and then and the parts of past adventures, incidents and points of interest about people that illustrate your points well.
Cheers.