At our latest Grow My SME event, sponsored by NatWest International, members heard from Georgie Vance and Rebecca Lane of The Orchard on a challenge many businesses face: how do you make your message stand out when everyone is competing for attention?

The session explored why attention isn’t disappearing, it’s becoming more selective. With endless content available every day, businesses don’t need to create more noise; they need to create stories that people genuinely care about.

A key message from the presentation was that a story is more than content. To be effective, it needs to be:

  • Relevant – it means something to the audience
  • Engaging – it holds attention long enough to be felt
  • Purposeful – it gives people a reason to act

Using examples ranging from adidas’ Backyard Legends campaign to record-breaking rower Kelsey Pfendler’s solo journey from California to Hawaii, attendees explored why some stories travel much further than others.

The common thread? People connect with human experiences, shared emotions and meaningful journeys, not just facts and achievements.

The session also challenged some of the most common communications myths businesses encounter:

  • Posting more isn’t a strategy if the story isn’t resonating
  • Creativity alone won’t compensate for a lack of relevance
  • What matters to your business doesn’t automatically matter to your audience
  • High reach doesn’t always mean high impact

The discussion prompted plenty of questions from attendees and reinforced an important point: every business has stories worth telling, but the best stories start with understanding what people are ready to hear, rather than simply focusing on what we want to say.

As the session concluded, attendees were encouraged to think about one message they’re sharing right now and ask themselves three simple questions:

Who is it for? Why should people care now? And what would make it more human, relevant or useful?

If you’d like to explore how stronger storytelling could help your business connect with customers, build trust and cut through the noise, contact Georgie Vance or Rebecca Lane at The Orchard to discuss how your story could be made to matter.