Why Internal Storytelling Doesn’t Always Travel
One of the challenges many PR professionals face is persuading clients that not every internal update makes a good media story. Announcements such as a new director of sales, a departmental restructure, or the launch of a new division can feel highly significant to those inside the organisation. But the wider world doesn’t always share that perspective.
If you’re writing for a niche trade publication, where readers may directly interact with the new team or product, storytelling like that may well resonate. In broader contexts, however, it’s often less compelling.
That’s why we encourage clients to use what we call the “window exercise.” Imagine standing by your office window and looking out onto the street. Internally, the announcement may feel vital. But if you were to stop a passer-by and explain it, why should they care? Too often, the honest answer is that they wouldn’t. Their reaction would likely be a shrug.
The Reverse Window Exercise: Finding Hidden Gems
This exercise isn’t just about tempering client enthusiasm. It’s also about uncovering stories that organisations overlook because they’re too close to their own work. Many businesses assume their day-to-day activities are routine or unremarkable. In fact, they may be sitting on powerful stories that only need reframing to shine.
A Case Study: Turning Dry Tech into a Tangible Narrative
Years ago, we worked with a company specialising in data compression – at a time when information had to be stored locally on devices rather than in the cloud. When asked about potential stories, the company insisted they had none. They could cite impressive compression ratios and technical statistics, but saw nothing newsworthy.
On further probing, however, they revealed that one of their largest clients was the US Navy. Their technology had enabled the Navy to take all ship blueprints and manuals – previously cumbersome, paper-based, and slow to access – and make them searchable on handheld devices.
This was a game-changer. Instead of crawling in and out of hazardous, hard-to-reach spaces multiple times to check instructions, engineers could carry everything with them. It saved hours, reduced risks, and made naval operations more efficient.
What the company saw as “just another contract” was, in reality, a story of innovation that saved time, money, and even lives. It was all in the storytelling – they assumed it was pretty routine. We didn’t.
Why PR Professionals Play a Crucial Role
This example underlines the value PR professionals bring when they step back and ask the right questions. Clients may fixate on what matters internally, but skilled communicators can spot the external hook – the part that connects to wider audiences and makes journalists sit up.
The window exercise works both ways:
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Outward-facing: It helps curb unrealistic expectations when clients want coverage for something only meaningful inside their business.
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Inward-facing: It helps uncover hidden gems – stories that clients assume are mundane but can be framed as innovative, impactful, or human-centred.
Top 3 Tips for PR Professionals
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Use the Window Exercise Regularly
Ask: would a passer-by care about this story? If the answer is no, you may need to reframe it or accept it’s an internal comms piece. -
Dig Beneath the Routine
Clients often undersell themselves. Probe gently with questions like: “Who benefits from this?” or “What’s the biggest change it has enabled?” The real story often emerges from impact, not process. -
Translate Features into Human Benefits
Statistics and technical achievements may impress internally, but journalists and readers connect with outcomes. Always ask: how does this save time, money, or improve lives?
Final Thought
Every organisation has stories worth telling – but they’re not always the ones clients expect. As PR professionals, your role is to help them distinguish between internal milestones and external impact. By applying simple perspective-shifting exercises, you can guide them to craft narratives that resonate, inspire, and land with journalists.
The next time a client insists that a new hire or internal restructure deserves front-page coverage, invite them to look out the window – and then look inward. They may just find that their most compelling story is the one they never thought to tell.
