How to Find the Right Story

Imagine a trusted colleague is talking to you. You have a choice between first hearing a 60 second story or a 60 second explanation about some data. Which do you want to hear first? If you are like most people, you’d choose the story first.

Why? It’s because our brains are hardwired to understand narrative. Cognitive psychologist Jerome Bruner suggests that data wrapped in a story has a 22 times higher retention rate. In other words, stories help us focus.

Also, because of the pandemic, many remote employees are languishing, burnt out, disconnected. Now more than ever, your communication needs a human touch. Stories are inherently vivid and offer a welcome contrast to more technical content.

Now the challenge becomes, how can I find a story? Follow these three steps to find the right story:

Step 1: Start with the message

Ask yourself, “What is a message I need to share at work?” What do I want to communicate to my colleagues, clients, and partners?

For example, if you want to:

Convince another team to take a step back and wait on a release. Then that message is: We should hold off on releasing this feature until the bugs are worked out.

Impress a recruiter during an interview, so you convey the message: You should hire me because I bring a unique skill set to the team.

Display data that reinforces that customers are frustrated with a new feature. Then your message is: Our research shows our users are unhappy with this feature and we need to do something about it.

Getting clear on your message will help you get clear on step 2.

Step 2: Choose a story the will bring your message to life

What story can illustrate your message for your audience?

For example, for the message You should hire me because I bring a unique skill set to the team, think of a work project you collaborated on, how you used your unique skill set, and how that benefited the team. This is a success story. For the message We should hold off on releasing this feature, tell a cautionary tale of a previous time you released a feature too early and it had negative consequences.

To help you think through step 2, below are some other common types of business stories.

• Context story: Gives the audience the background behind a change or recommendation
• Genesis stories: How the idea, team, company started
• Visionary stories: What the future can look like with this new idea or product
• Personal stories: an event you experienced that relates to the message
• Teaching stories: A lesson you or someone else learned

Whatever type of story you choose, make sure it’s a specific event rather than general context.

Step 3: Ask yourself: “Where’s the tension in my story?”

Finding the right story means finding a story with tension. For example, why does the following fall flat?

In 2013, our site went down. It was really awful.

You’re left wanting more, right? That’s because it doesn’t have much umpf. It lacks tension.

When a story has tension, the audience starts to care because they might relate to the characters and are invested in the outcome. Here’s the same story again, this time with tension:

On the busiest day of the year, our site went down. Our team was frantic, racking their brains trying to figure out what happened. Meanwhile customers were tweeting up a storm. I’m thinking, Oh no! Did I do something that caused this?

To make your story memorable, identify the tension. Ask yourself:

• What’s at stake?
• How did you or the character feel in those moments?
• How did you or the character react to those events?

Following steps 1–3, you have now found the right story. And finding the right story will not only will make your message easier to understand, but also easier to remember.

In a future article, we will share a structure that will help you build your story so it’s concise and compelling.