Olympic Stories Engage the Audience

Written by Chris Stokes, VP & Creative Director

I hope you had a chance to enjoy the Olympics this year. The best part was the stories. The hundreds of small productions that show a glimpse into the life of our Olympic champions. As storytellers ourselves, we know the power of these. Showing an athlete smiling with their family makes us feel inclined to like them. Showing them sweating hard during a workout helps us appreciate their dedication. The glimpses we choose to focus on create the story.

Some of the stories were epic and played out in amazing ways. The USA’s Women’s Hockey Team had some great stories. These women worked incredibly hard to get to the level of play it takes to medal. Team Canada is always the dominant team, and at the last Olympics the USA lost to Canada. This year’s U.S. team was determined to not have that happen again, but after the end of regulation it came down to a shootout. The best of Canada would get to take shots at our goalie, 20-year-old Maddie Rooney from Minnesota, and she would need to make the saves in order to give the U.S. a fighting chance … Well, I’m not going to tell you what happened next – you will have to watch it for yourself.

Enjoy this climax to just one story that unfolded, and remember you have a story to tell, too, so tell your story today!

WATCH: Full shootout between USA and Canada (on the NBC Olympics website)