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LEAD WITH A STORY A guide to Crafting Business Narratives that…
LEAD WITH
A STORY
A guide to Crafting
Business Narratives
that Captivate, Convince,
and inspire
by Paul Smith
Chapter 7
Structure of a Story
There are many theories
10-yr old
Beginning
Middle
End
Hollywood
script writer
1.The setup
Catalyst
First turning point
Climax
Final confrontation
Resolution
Business stories need a basic structure
CAR
Context
Most often underdeveloped or skip
This makes story confusing or uninteresting
Provides all backgound to make sense
Done right:
grabs attention
generates interest and excitement
make story relevant to audience
Context must
answer 4 Qs
Where and when does
the story take place?
tells audienc if story
real or fictional
make sure to make
it clear if story is
facutal or fictional
not clearly signaling which
type of story you are telling
can undermine credibility.
If audience is mislead
1 more item...
Who is the main character?
even the most inexperienced
storyteller inclueds a hero
The subject of the story, the hero
from whose perspective the story is told
The hero must be somebody
the A. can identify with
"hey, that could be me"
1 more item...
Hero can be fictional, does not
need to be a real person
Most powerfull main character a storyteller
can chose is himself
Most authenticity
and most of all, A. can indentify
with you, as hero of the story
What does he or she want?
Objective / Treasure being seeked
What is the hero trying to achieve?
What is the hero's passion or objective
Save the world?
Beat competition?
Win the sale?
Not get fired?
Who or what is getting
in the way?
Obstacle, villain or enemy
Peson, high shool nemesis (long standing rival)
Organization: competitior, other deparment
Thing: mountain to climb, copy machine that does not work
many times missing from business presentations
1 more item...
Action
What happend?
Hero battles villain
Problems surfaces
Conflicts arise
Ups and downs
Temporary setbacks
Hero attempts
at a solution
but lessons learned
Result
final stage
function
tell how story ends
explain right lesson
a) say explicitly
if S is told repeatedly
right lesson might get lost
b) let A. consider and debate
more powerfull
than telling it explicitly
Link back to why
told story