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College of Fine Arts and Communications

Tips for Telling Your Story

WHAT MAKES A GOOD STORY?

Good stories have all or most of the news values below.

  • Timeliness: The story connects to current events, has immediate relevance or lets the audience know of an upcoming event.
  • Prominence: Choose an angle that highlights a prominent person or place.
  • Impact: Find the facts and events in your story that have the greatest effect on the audience. Ask yourself, “how will this affect people engaging with it?” If you’re having a hard time coming up with an answer, think back to why the story is important to you.
  • Bizarreness/Uniqueness: The story stands out and either has special details or is abnormally engaging. Ask yourself, “how is this different from similar stories? What is new or exciting about this event?”

Good stories also have a “hook.” They prove why the story matters instead of just assuming audiences will care. Below are some examples of how to find a hook for your story.

  • “BYU puts on production of Into the Woods” vs. “National stage veteran makes
    directorial debut in BYU’s Into the Woods”
  • “Student wins award” vs. “Student beats out representatives from 50 other
    schools to win prestigious national award”

WHAT KIND OF STORIES SHOULD I SUBMIT?

At the College of Fine Arts and Communications we focus on events and experiences. Below are some examples from each that we’ve shared in the past.

Events: Concerts, award nights, lectures, performances.

Experiences: Achievements/awards, experiential learning, masterclasses.

If your story doesn’t fit into the examples above, we still want to hear about it. We’re always looking for new and interesting stories to share.

HOW FAR IN ADVANCE SHOULD I SUBMIT A STORY?

The short answer is as early as possible. The external relations team needs sufficient time to create content for social media or the web. If we are writing an article about your story we need time to collect quotes, write and edit the article. The more time you give us, the better we can cover your story.

WHAT IS MY ROLE IN GETTING MY STORY ON THE WEB OR SOCIAL MEDIA?

It’s your story, which means you should be the one to take charge of it. The first step is to submit your story using our portal. Tell us how you want your story told and give us all the information you have. As you fill out the form to submit your story, be as specific as possible and keep in mind the news values above. If we don’t have enough information, we will reach out to you over the phone or email. Please be willing to communicate with us about your story. If we don’t hear back from you, we may have to drop your story.

WHAT ARE THE POSSIBLE WAYS MY STORY WILL BE TOLD?

In the College of Fine Arts and Communications we have Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts as well as a college website. Stories can also be shared on individual school or department websites or social media channels.

It is possible that your story can be told at the university level by BYU magazine, University Communications or BYU Radio. We can work with you to pitch your story to university-level outlets.

Your story may also be picked up by local or national news organizations. In the past we have had stories featured in the the Daily Herald and Church News. Again, we can help you pitch your story to these outlets.