Memorable stories are well thought-out, informative, and entertaining – all at once. Yet they all have one key element in common: they create an emotional connection with the audience.
To establish an emotional connection, a good story has to have the right structure. In its basic form it goes something like this:
A protagonist (main character) is pushed out of his/her comfort zone because they want to achieve a particular goal. This creates tension or conflict. The main character then meets a guide / a mentor to help them achieve their goal. They begin to implement the new information that the guide is advising, and then we see the transformation. The protagonist has a new life, a new attitude, a new way of thinking.
Those moments of struggle, challenge, and stress are what create an emotional connection with your audience and make your story relatable. Without this discomfort, there’s no tension to drive the story forward.
Be comfortable sharing your own personal story
Many of us don’t realize the power in our own stories. We think that they’re not interesting enough. Many of the leaders I coach think that because they overcame their struggle, it’s no longer interesting – but this is definitely not the case! It’s easy to take the situations we’ve overcome for granted, thinking that everyone goes through the same thing. They might go through the same thing, but each of us react and deal with it differently. In other words, we all have a different story of the same event.
Your story IS powerful. Be comfortable sharing it.
Don’t forget the transformation
The transformation of your story is the most interesting and exciting part, so it’s important not to rush this section.
Allow the audience to understand and feel the change and transformation throughout the story. Use the right language to create symmetry between the beginning of your story and the end, before and after the transformation.
Make your audience come back for more
How many books have you read twice or films you’ve watched on repeat? Even though you know the ending, there’s something about that journey that you want to go on again and again and it gives you the same buzz every single time.
That’s the power of a good story.
If you want to understand more about how to create powerful and memorable stories, download my FREE E-Book: The 6C’s of Strategic Storytelling®.
