Last week we had at Softway, our annual wrap-up 2022 and sharing vision for 2023 event. It's always a very important time for everyone!

We started by analysing how the last year went: what we did, where we evolved, the strong points and those we want to improve.

It was an essential moment of hindsight in which Maria and Nuno shared with us the evolution in numbers, but above all we reinforced who we are, what drives us and the importance of our people. With the team growing it is essential to highlight our creative spirit, technological expertise and level of service that we impose in everything we do, ... which can be summarized in a "WE CARE" from the definition of the digital strategy to the Go Live of a website and permanent monitoring of your online life. We ended this first moment sharing the vision for 2023 and ambition for the future, we talked about team unity, smart time, smart thinking and evolution of the sector.

Then we had the opportunity to hear about Storytelling or the art of communicating effectively, in a talk by Transformative Storyteller Nuno Moreira.

We reinforced the importance of knowing how to tell a good story, in all forms of communication, particularly when thinking about a website! It is part of the way our brain works, because a good story increases cortisol (distress) and oxytocin (empathy) in our brain. So, a well-told story holds your attention. As companies, we should be especially concerned with captivating, convincing and inspiring visitors through the website, using photos, videos and texts.

What is the basis of a story? Whether it is a film, a theatre, a book, a website or any other form of communication, the ingredients will always be:

• Protagonist: the client who will be transformed
• Objective: what the company wants and intends to satisfy
• Villain: the customer's pain points
• Mentor: the brand, the company, which will boost the transformation of the protagonist
• Reward: the connection to the company/brand and the moral purpose

These are some of the great tips we will be using with our clients.

We moved on to a marvellous dinner and later in the evening took part in the most awaited part of the day: experiencing the immersive theatre The Death of the Raven. An absolutely transformative experience, in which the audience is invited to accompany the actors, who without speaking and by using only their body as the primary means of expression, play their part, in an incredible scenario, to the sound of music and lights, with a very deep emotional and dramatic charge. There are no words to describe how it feels to follow an actor, in a theatre of more than 20 rooms, from the beginning to the end of the plot. You stop being a spectator and start being part of it, being there, living, with the actor, every moment of the story. It takes us out of ourselves, it takes us out of our comfort zone. And, suddenly, we are only there, in the moment. Nothing else exists!

And so we close another Softway event, stronger, wiser and full of energy to do more and better!