Why The Devil Is In The Details?

Why The Devil Is In The Details?

Why The Devil Is In The Details? 366 222 Shlomi Ron

 

How can you create a compelling story that celebrates that “sweet spot” between what your brand narrative aims for and what your audience wants and needs, especially these days?

In my new book, I talk a lot about the importance of developing this important skill I call Total Acuity.

“Acuity means sharpness of vision or the ability to perceive details. When your story includes details your audience truly cares about, attention spikes, then emotional empathy builds up that gradually turns into trust and behavior change.”

You would naturally need to review and test these “meaningful details” you discover in your customer research, as you don’t want to blow up details that may carry negative or questionable implications.

The more you test your story the sharper and relatable it will be, once you’re ready to launch.

Now that you get the importance of developing Total Acuity expertise when you plan your story, here is a fun drill I know you’re going to enjoy as a way to perfecting your attention for details.



In this drill, you’ll play the audience’s role. All you need to do is hop on my “Time Machine,” spend 8:35 minutes in 1911 New York and report back.

How does that sound for a light diversion?

No worries you’ll get back – unfortunately – to the same fun 2020 we’re all experiencing these days…

Are you ready?

Care to spend 8:35 minutes in 1911 New York?
Click above to launch your expedition

Well, we’re still working on the actual Time Machine at VSI labs. In the meantime, click on the above image to watch a popular video (over 8M views) that restored a 1911 reel to crisp 4K and 60 FPS through the wonders of today’s machine learning and neural networks.

Make sure you watch the video on Full Screen and on your desktop computer (4k resolution playback is typically not available on phones) to take in all the details.

The result is quite astounding in its vividness.

After watching, simply answer a single question:

What detail/s caught your attention and why? You can also mark down the exact minute in the video as a reference.

Your report will likely highlight details that carry strong personal meanings coming from your “bag of past stories” on one hand and carry some level of relevancy to high priority areas your thoughts tend to dance around these days.

Past + present = informing future behavior.

Feel free to share your answer in the comments below or if you prefer, privately with me: shlomi_at_visualstorytell_dot _com. I am curious to learn what details caught your eye and even more, why.

For a deeper dive into crafting your story with the right blend of meaningful details, please take a look at my virtual training programs.

Shlomi Ron

Shlomi Ron is the founder and CEO of the Visual Storytelling Institute, a Miami-based think tank with a mission to bring the gospel of visual storytelling from the world of art to more human-centric and purpose-driven marketing. A digital marketing veteran with over 20 years of experience working both on the agency and brand sides for Fortune 100/500 brands such as Nokia, IBM, and American Express. He started VSI to combine his marketing expertise with his passion for visual stories stemming from his interests in classic Italian cinema and managing the estate of video art pioneer, Buky Schwartz. At VSI, he helps brands rise above the communication noise through visual storytelling consulting, training, and thought leadership. Select clients include Estée Lauder, Microsoft, and Cable & Wireless – to name a few. He currently teaches Brand Storytelling at the University of Miami’s Business School. Thought leader and speaker at key marketing conferences. He is also the host of the Visual Storytelling Today podcast, which ranks in the top 10 best business storytelling podcasts on the Web. His book: Total Acuity: Tales with Marketing Morals to Help You Create Richer Visual Brand Stories. Outside work, he is a nascent bread baker, The Moth fan, and longtime fedora wearer likely to jive with his classic Italian cinema interest.

All stories by: Shlomi Ron
3 comments
  • Rolf

    There where a lot of details that caught my eyes and ears. So many of them were:

    1. Lots of hats on people.

    2. People were not in a hurry.

    3. The sounds from boats, cars, trams and not to mention horses.

    4. The slight change of color.

    You are absolutely right. It was a time travel!

  • Shlomi Ron

    Thanks for sharing, Rolf! These are all great observations when we contrast them with our age and culture. Regarding colors, these are not the original colors but what algorithms estimated as part of the restoration process.

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