1129: Triggers

Business storytelling techniques: 2/30

TRIGGERS

I'm writing this the day after the sad death of Robbie Coltraine. Fantastic actor. For me, he'll always be Cracker, but as Hagrid, he's a fantastic example of today's thesis.

Stories are about change.

Yesterday, I talked about POINTS OF NO RETURN. Today, we're focused on where to start our story ... the triggers of change.

• Harry Potter learns he's a wizard
• Dr John Watson is forced to find a roommate
• The dead walk

In each of these cases, something happens that throws the normal world out of balance and starts the chain of CAUSE AND EFFECT.

Whether you are writing an email or making a quarterly presentation, triggers have dramatic power. They give your 'story' its momentum.

So, when you sit down to write the email (or whatever) ask yourself this simple question:

WHAT'S CHANGED?

And start there.

Because change isn't just the engine of story, it's THE WAY WE GET NOTICED. It's right there in Robert Cialdini's NY Times bestseller, Pre-suasion.

"Whenever we first register a change around us, our attention flies to it."

And storytellers know this.

"This is what storytellers do. They create moments of unexpected change that seize the attention of their protagonists and, by extension, their readers and viewers." - Will Storr, The Science of Storytelling.

In business, we don't make things up, we optimise what we have.

When you find the trigger for your story, don't bury it, avoid it or pussyfoot around it.

Use it.

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This is Business Storytelling Technique 2/30. Follow me to get the daily series.

Challenge:

What change triggered your business journey?

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The Stories Mean Business podcast with Nick Warren.
One Idea A Day, Every Day.

Get deeper into business storytelling:
https://storiesmeanbusiness.com/storybusiness/
https://storiesmeanbusiness.com/podcast