Storytelling

Storytelling
o Story-telling is joke telling
o Its knowing your punch line
o Knowing that everything you say from start
to end leads to a single goal
o Confirming a truth of who we are as human
beings
o Were born for stories
o Nothing has a greater affirmation than
connecting through stories
o The greatest story commandment make
me care
o Caring is by design
o The thing is, you have to have a willful
promise
o Storytelling is about the fact that you are
working for your meal
o Its the well-organized absence of
information that you are drawn in
o We are natural detectives
o The unifying theory of 2+2 make the
audience deduct things, dont put it
together for them
o Stories are not an exact science
o All well drawn characters have a spine, an
itch that they cant scratch something
that are moving forward

o
o
o
o

Michael Corleone trying to please his

father
Wall-e find the beauty
Marlon preventing harm
Woody do what is best for his child
These can make you make horrible
choices born with a temperament
and wired a certain way, no changing
it, just recognize it and own it
Stories are all about change and
when change is static, stories die
We are always learning about each
other and ourselves simultaneously
Drama is anticipation mingled with
uncertainty
Have you constructed anticipation? In the
short term, have you made me interested?
Have you constructed conflict?
Storytelling has guidelines not hard and
fast rules
You have to like your main character
Give your character a change, growth
Your character begins with a flaw and
then becomes likeable
We want our main character to become
selfless in the end, thus he has to start
as a selfish person
The secret sauce of storytelling wonder, it
cant be artificially invoked

o Use what you know, capture a truth from

your experience deep down in your core
Secret Structure of Great Talks
o Everybody has an idea
o An idea is powerless if it stays inside
o Many try to convey their idea, but they
reject it
o The difference is in the way that is
communicated
o If you communicate an idea in a way that is
resonated, it will be accepted
o Ideas are most effectively conveyed
through story
o We actually physically react when a story is
being told, but this often dies during a
presentation
o So how is story incorporated into a
presentation?
o Structure
Beginning
Middle
End
o the audience is the hero of the idea
o how does it flow
ordinary world
call to adventure
reluctant to the call
introduction of a mentor
crossing the threshold

o the presenter is the mentor help the

audience move from one place to your
special idea
o likeable hero Encounter roadblocks
emerge transformed
o exposition rising action climax
falling action resolution
o the beginning of the presentation
1) establish what is: status quo and
whats going on
2) talk about what could be make
the gap as large as possible
** contrast the status quo with the
loftiness of the idea, heres the
problem but LOOK at that problem
removed
You want to make the status QUO
and the normal UNAPPEALING
You want to draw them towards
what could be in the future your
idea adopted
You have to move back and forth
Similar to sailing so that you can
capture the wind, capturing the
resistance
3) The last turning point is a call to
action with the idea adopted
How to Pitch to a VC
o What are VCs looking for?

o People
o The entire purpose of a VC pitch, that you
are the entrep that they are going to invest
in
o 18 minute attention span
o Convey 10 different characteristics
Integrity
Passion
Experience
Knowledge
Skills
Leadership
Commitment
Vision
Realism
Coachability
o The presentation
Introduction
Get their attention 10 seconds, go
like a rocket
Grab emotional attention focused
within the first few seconds
Solid upward path, get them to an
emotional high
Body
Logical progression of the entire
presentation
Know about things I can know or
relate to

Validators (information)
Upside
Believable
Anything that you tell me that I
know is not true
Anything I dont understand will
stop the flow of the presentation
without patronizing
Typos, errors, unpreparedness
Content
o Good bullet points
o Better just the headline
o Best only images
Outline
o Company logo
Just the logo
o Business overview
We build x for the y market
o Management team
Who works here
o Market
What is the size of the
market?
o Product
Whats the product?
o Business model
How is it going to make
money?
Selling to who?

o Strategic relationships
Distribution relationships?
Production partner?
o Competition
Who is the competition?
o Barriers to entry
How are you special?
o Financial overview
Financials for the pitch
3 financials
Business model and relate
this to the financials
o Use of proceeds
How much to get?
o Capital & valuation
Whats the money in?
Conclusion
Just show the logo
Top 5 tips
Presenter mode
Use a remote control
Handouts are not your presentation
(handouts give much more)
Dont read the speech
Never look at the screen
How the brain interprets ideas
o The brain works with AHA experiences,
AHA moments

o 1) Its the WHAT detector

o 2) The MENTAL MODEL (locating an object
in physical bodyspace)
o 3) the part that FEELS
o The eyes visually interrogates what we see
to make a mental model
o When we see motion and color
o THEREFORE
Use images to clarify ideas
Interact with images to create
engagement
Augment memory with persistent &
evolving views
How great leaders inspire action
o All great people had a pattern
o They all communicated in the same way
The golden circle
WHY HOW WHAT
What products
How differentiation
Why fuzzy
Why whats your purpose / cause /
belief?
Limbic brain the part that controls
decision making, and not language,
then it just doesnt feel right
o The law of diffusion of innovation

 2.5 innovators theyre comfortable

making their own choices and forming
their own opinions
13.5 early adopters
34 early majority
34 laggards
16 etc
Questions that lead to uncovering the elements
of the story
o The storyteller discovers a story by asking
certain key questions. First, what does my
protagonist want in order to restore
balance in his or her life? Desire is the
blood of a story. Desire is not a shopping
list but a core need that, if satisfied, would
stop the story in its tracks.
o Next, what is keeping my protagonist from
achieving his or her desire? Forces within?
Doubt? Fear? Confusion? Personal conflicts
with friends, family, lovers? Social conflicts
arising in the various institutions in
society? Physical conflicts? The forces of
Mother Nature? Lethal diseases in the air?
Not enough time to get things done? The
damned automobile that wont start?
o Antagonists come from people, society,
time, space, and every object in it, or any
combination of these forces at once.
o Then, how would my protagonist decide to
act in order to achieve his or her desire in

the face of these antagonistic forces? Its in

the answer to that question that
storytellers discover the truth of their
characters, because the heart of a human
being is revealed in the choices he or she
makes under pressure.
o Finally, the storyteller leans back from the
design of events he or she has created and
asks, Do I believe this? Is it neither an
exaggeration nor a soft-soaping of the
struggle? Is this an honest telling, though
heaven may fall?
The mystery box
o The box represents infinite possibility and
potential
o Mystery is the catalyst for imagination
o Sometimes, mystery is more important
than knowledge
o A story is a set of mystery boxes (meet the
droid, meet ben Kenobi, learn about darth
vader, etc)
o Theres a withholding of mystery boxes
(never showing the alien until the end,
never showing jaws until the end, never
opening a toy, etc)
o Theres a half an hour of investment in the
character before the unfolding of the plot
i.e. development of sheriff before the
confrontation with the shark (himself vs
his identity)

 i.e. development of bruce willis before

attacking the enemies
the investment of character is INSIDE
the mystery box
o Whats a bigger mystery box than a movie
theater? Youre full of amazing anticipation!
For a great movie, youre willing to give
yourself to it.
o The creation of media is now ubiquitous, what comes next?
How to tell a great business story
o Decide on the takeaway first what do I
want my listeners to believe/understand/do
after the anecdote?
o Pick the ending that will create that
takeaway what elements of the story lead
to the conclusion / the takeaway?
o Begin with who, where, when and a hint
of direction: indicate where the anecdote is
going
o Intensify human interest by adding context
add emotional power by putting the four
elements (who, where, when, direction)
into a stronger context
o Describe the goals and the obstacles a
goal that the protagonist must achieve and
obstacles that prevent it: what is the goal?
What are the obstacles?
o The decision that made achievement
possible the turning point do not

confuse the decision with the ending of the

story its the decision that caused what
happened to happen
o Provide the ending and highlight the
takeaway how was the goal achieved?
How to tell a good story
o Keep a log of story content
Client wins
Challenges
Times of perseverance
o Match the important points with a story
Convey messages that you want to
have resonance
o Practice
o Dont try to be perfect
Involve vulnerability, struggle, and how
this was overcome show all of the
hurdles
o Use good story structure
Clear moral or purpose a reason to
telling the story
Personal connection
Common reference points give
context and situation that the audience
can relate to
Detailed characters and imagery
enough visual description to see what
Im seeing

 Conflict, vulnerability, or achievement

we can relate to challenges that
people can relate to
Pacing a clear beginning, ending, and
segue back to the topic
10 key elements to a great story
o Why launch the company? What problem
needed solving? What are we committed to
the company?
o Demonstrate uniqueness from other
providers
o Understand the solutions that competitors
provide
o Learn who else shares our problems find
and target customers
o Develop a vision that is emotional and
noteworthy, promote a noble cause
o Declare a grand purpose service is more
important than making money
o Establish core objectives and demand
results
o