September 30, 2021
Everyone loves a good story.
Stories connect us. They make us feel human. They inspire us.
While they have always been the backbone of books and movies, stories are gaining popularity in business. More and more leaders use stories to inspire teams, customers and investors.
But what makes a business story great?
This article breaks down seven elements of great storytelling.
Stories are great for leaving a lasting impression, but if you try to make your audience remember too many things at once, they won’t remember anything at all. If your story is cluttered with too many ideas, your message might get lost in the shuffle.
So, before you craft your story, think about a solid one-sentence idea. From there, you can start outlining the details.
By structuring your story around a single message, your audience will be able to easily understand what you’re saying without feeling overwhelmed by all the information.
This makes them more receptive and willing to act on your message.
It’s not an exaggeration to say that your first few words can make or break your goal. Within the initial seconds of sharing your story, your listeners decide whether to pay attention to you or their phones. A study by Microsoft found that the average attention span of a human is only 8 seconds.
When you use these seconds to set expectations or give too much context, you risk losing their attention. They’ll be on their phones even before you start with your actual story.
So how can you avoid that?
Start your story right into the action. That is, with forward momentum. You can have your character do any sort of action — stepping, walking, shouting, biking, you name it. This gets people interested in what’s going to happen next.
Examples:
Many people prefer stories that are short and simple. In fact, business stories should take between 1-3 minutes. But even if you want to tell a quick story, you should keep in mind that your audience needs to get to know the main character(s).
If they don’t understand why someone desires something, they’ll find it hard to empathize with or care about that person.
Helping your audience relate with your main character is the best way to get them on board.
Examples:
The more the audience feels like they know your character, the more they invest in your story.
Any great story has to have a challenge that is substantial to the main character. The challenge doesn’t have to be a monumental one, such as climbing Mount Everest or running five marathons. It can be a physical hardship, an internal conflict, a financial crisis, or anything that your audience can relate with.
Examples:
This is the longest and most crucial part of your story. This is the part where you go deep into the emotions.
I’d go as far as saying: “No challenge, no story.”
Emotions is why we remember things. We don’t remember data unless they are attached to an emotional component.
Whether feelings of anger, disgust, disappointment, fear, or just sheer joy, try to include emotions in your story.
But how exactly can you bring in emotions?
One option to add emotions is to SHOW how the character feels:
Examples:
The story itself must affect you on a deep level and leave you feeling something. If it doesn’t, then don’t expect other people to feel something, as well. Why would your audience care about something you couldn’t care less?
This is why it’s important that you choose a story that truly resonates with you.
If you want to inspire people, your story needs to have an element of change. This can be a positive, negative, small or a big change.
Just think about it: How would you feel about a story where the main character starts off miserable, does a few things, and ends up equally miserable. It would not be too inspiring, right?
So when you think about your story, think about how the main character changes throughout that experience.
Examples of change:
Your listeners will be more interested and satisfied with experiencing this transformation.
There’s a reason screenwriters, novelists, and producers put structure in their stories. It helps readers follow the story from beginning to end. It makes for a better experience.
You can apply similar principles to your own story no matter the length. By following a strong structure that reflects the progression of the plotline, you’ll keep your audience engaged and entertained.
While there a plenty of story structures, the most common ones include
While these are great structures, I want to flag that NOT each one of them is well suited for the business context. When leaders have 2 minutes to tell a story, they just can’t go through the 12 steps of the Hero’s Journey.
If you’re looking for a simple, yet powerful structure, we suggest checking out our article 6 STEPS TO CRAFT A POWERFUL STORY. There you’ll find a structure that works particularly well for any business setting.
These are the seven elements of great storytelling.
I know, it is quite a lot. Don’t worry if you can’t incorporate each element in your story at first.
Start by experimenting with one or two elements and once you feel confident, focus on the other elements.
With a bit of practice, you’ll soon be able to incorporate all of the elements in your business stories.
Use these elements to pique your audience’s interest and leave a mark in their lives.
Interested in bringing your business storytelling skills to the next level? Check out our storytelling keynotes, workshops, and 1:1 coaching.
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