Storytelling with You

chapter 4form a story

You've identified your audience, formed your message, and crafted your plan. Before we start building content, though, let's pause to spend time contemplating story and explore how we can incorporate the art of storytelling into our communications. I'll begin by outlining a typical approach for business presentations, then contrast that with the potential power of structuring with story. After discussing how I think about story and its shape, I'll highlight the important role of tension and walk you through how to use the narrative arc as a model for restructuring and further refining the plan we set for our communication.

Why did we just spend all that time creating a storyboard only to change it now? you might ask. That's a reasonable question. However, the work I led you through in Chapter 3 was not for naught. Brainstorming potential content immersed you in the full details of the situation and caused you to look at the specifics from multiple points of view. As you edited your sticky notes, you had critical debates with yourself (and possibly, with others) on why to include some pieces and which topics or paths don't aptly serve your intended audience or message. You curated a vast array of possible content into something more targeted and manageable. These will be the building blocks for your story.

Additionally, through sharing your storyboard for feedback, you articulated your logic: the pieces of the puzzle you've chosen to focus on and how they ...