Get To Know The 5 S’s of Storytelling

We do a lot of storytelling workshops, keynotes, and coaching, and are especially grateful for the work we get to do in the world. This summer alone we’ve already presented at The State University of New York's Leadership Institute, Swift Bank, the Women Presidents Organization, and non-profits large and small have all invited us in to help them tell their stories.

Defining the terms

Recently I shared the story of how we learned to define our terms when talking about our work. Even “simple” concepts like “storytelling” can mean different things to different folks. At Koppett we take a broad view and say, quoting Jerome Bruner, cognitive psychologist, “Storytelling is meaning,” — a fundamental way our brains make sense of the world. And therefore, we say, the question is not IF we should tell stories in our work lives, but WHAT stories we should tell and HOW we can tell them most effectively.

Here are five things to think about to help tell stories more effectively. When you lean on them, you can create stories that are more focused, memorable, aligned with our intentions, and meaningful.

1.  Situation-fit

The same story for a different audience or at a different moment must be told differently in order to be effective. This can mean everything from the length of the story to the vocabulary to what details are emphasized. If the type of story you are telling and the way you are recounting it are aligned with your audience’s needs and preferences, then and only then, will your story resonate.

2. Shift

Fundamentally a story is a story if there is a change. Identifying a key moment of transformation, highlighting it, framing it, and coloring it appropriately can make or break a story.

3. Structure

Good stories, like well-designed buildings, rest on strong internal frames. In order to feel like a story, rather than just a series of unrelated data points or events, a story must have some kind of cause-and-effect relationship between those events and the change or transformation. At its simplest level, story structure is:

Something is true → Something shifts → Something new is true

4. Specifics

People love to hook into examples that are focused. Once you have your structure, add the right — and right amount — of imagery, data, explanation, examples and metaphors to make it stick and sing. Types of details may include: emotions and inner-thoughts, data and facts, explanations and definitions, and imagery and metaphors.

5. Surprise

Don’t be fooled into thinking that having a strong logical structure for your story means it must be predictable or boring. Just the opposite. Once you are clear on all the elements of your story and how they fit together, you can make conscious choices about what to reveal and what to hold back, how to build suspense and how to create a satisfying climax that supports a convincing and memorable moral.

Do you have a story to tell? Let us know how these tips work for you!