Storytelling in Technical Marketing

In technical services, storytelling is a core skill for helping clients understand the value of your work. Every project has the structure of a story—with characters, a challenge, and a resolution—and using familiar story patterns makes complex work easier to grasp. This article explains how to frame real-world projects using classic story types, why the client should always be the hero, and how to address problems without placing blame. It also shows how small changes in tone and language can turn dry technical descriptions into meaningful narratives.

Stories are needed for your web site, your proposals, and your project profiles. In particular, you will need them if you ever do presentations to new clients. If you have ever sat through a presentation with 100 slides of individual projects and stared at the clock, you’ll know why a few carefully chosen project stories can make a bigger impact than your entire library of projects in a sitting. This video gives you an inside look at how stories are built and why they make your work more meaningful to clients.

Writing a winning engineering award submission isn’t about documenting a project — it’s about strategy, alignment, and storytelling. This video breaks down how to choose the right project, understand the purpose behind an award, follow judging criteria precisely, and translate technical excellence into a compelling, evidence-based narrative. Using a real award program as an example, you’ll see how the same project can be framed very differently depending on what judges value.

In technical services, your work deserves to be understood — not just on a technical level, but on a human level. This prompt set builds your storytelling skills so clients, reviewers, and stakeholders can see not just what you did, but why it matters. You'll practice rewriting dry descriptions, finding the human impact, replacing flat language with vivid synonyms, cutting away fluff, and even prompting AI to elevate your writing.

Storytelling isn’t just for novels or movies—it’s a critical skill in technical services. In Twennie’s 20 Rules of Storytelling, we explore the essentials of building powerful narratives: creating clear structure, keeping the stakes high, surprising your audience with unpredictability, and weaving in emotional resonance. These rules aren’t abstract; they’re practical tools to strengthen proposals, presentations, and workplace communication.

Award submissions often fail not because the project isn’t impressive, but because the story isn’t clear, disciplined, or judge-centric. This template uses a sample ACEC Project Awards submission for the Confederation Bridge to show how winning entries are structured — from framing the challenge to demonstrating impact, innovation, and measurable results. You’ll see how technical excellence is translated into concise, compelling narratives that align with award criteria, making it easier to replicate success for future submissions.