Editorial

Developing Stories With Purpose

The stories we tell help provide understanding about the university and its impact. Making informed decisions about what stories to highlight, how we tell those stories and even specific word choices are important. Here are a few things to consider as you begin to develop content.

• Start by Identifying Your Audience: Identifying the audience you want to reach is the first step in developing content with purpose. The audience determines what information you share and how you share it.
• Determine the Purpose: What's the desired outcome of this story (for example, is it to recruit students or to demonstrate faculty excellence)? Everything we write, everything we communicate should be done with purpose. 
• Consider What Unifies Us: Consider story ideas through the lens of What Unifies Us. Stories should fit at least one of the Unifying Themes, providing ideas for how to communicate our stories with purpose by always connecting the dots to the positive impact the university provides.
• Infuse with personality: Utilize the university’s Brand Personality and Tone when developing the overall style and specific word choices for stories.