2 steps to telling great stories

Read time: 2 min. (make sure you click "show images.")

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What's fries without salt?

Sure, carbs + fat is a tasty combination. But without salt, it's all kind of meh.

What are ideas without stories? Sure, ideas can be valuable. But without stories, people just won't consume them.

A story = a gateway to a person's brain

If you want to influence people with your work, you have 2 options. You can lecture them. OR you can tell them personal stories.

• Stories are relatable.

• Stories are easy to remember.

• Stories, like a virus, pass from person to person.

Humans are wired for stories. But telling stories is surprisingly hard for our overthinking brain.d.

The secret sauce to great stories?

Let's dissect.

Stories are basically a series of events.

But a series of events is boring. What makes a great story?

It's the struggle. The sacrifice. And the resolution.

Winning. But having sacrificed something.

If it was just about how you won, it would be just bragging. And people wouldn't care.

How to tell great stories

I find The Dan Harmon Story Circle particularly helpful.

1. A character in their zone of comfort

2. wants something

3. so they enter an unfamiliar situation

4. to which they have to adapt

5. in order to get what they want

6. yet they have to make a sacrifice

7. before they return to their familiar situation

8. having changed.

Want + Sacrifice + Change = A great story

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Micro changes, micro-stories

You don't need to change from Clark Kent to Superman at the end of your Story Circle though.

Tiny changes count.

An emotional change. A new perspective. A new goal.

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Here are 2 practical steps to start telling great personal stories to promote your work:

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Step 1: Get vulnerable

This step is surprisingly hard. Perhaps the hardest thing about stories...

To tell great stories, have a touch base with your:

• mistakes

• struggles

• shortcomings

This is where good stories are seeded.

Remember: Want + Sacrifice + Change = A great story

To go from "want" to "sacrifice," something should have gone wrong.

Next, you'll do something that sounds controversial.

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Step 2: Get in their shoes

When telling personal stories, it's easy to get carried away as if it's about us.

BUT to be able to use storytelling as a tool, we've got to nail what's in it for them.

The "change" you're going to compose your story around. How is it relevant to your audience/customer?

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Practice

What's a micro-story you can tell me about yourself or your business? You can reply to this email and let me know. (I read & respond to every single reply.)​