Story models and common mistakes I’ve learned in 13 years of consultancy—condensed into 7 minutes.
0:00 Classic story structures
0:44 Rick Rubin on getting a point across
1:33 1:33 Sin 1: Thou shalt not bore
2:07 Memorable words are monogamous
2:52 Sin 2: Thou shalt court conflict
3:23 Sin 3: Ask and thou shalt answer
4:00 How much time/words do you need?
4:56 Three Act Structure
5:40 Five Slide Structure—for PowerPoint
Below is a one-page PDF on Dropbox that you can share/print if you have a meeting and need to discuss story structures. No PDF is perfect but these models have been road tested for many years and have won over all kinds of corporates.
Applicable to your pitch decks, videos, or website.
Do tell me your thoughts on this more ‘ambitious’ format. What works? What doesn’t?
This one was inspired by Monty Python’s Holy Grail. I’m thinking of channeling Kill Bill next.
First off, all my storytelling ideas are remixes of what I've found (and forgotten) over the years. For example, I think the 5 slide structure is a blend of ideas mostly from Google Ventures, Carmine Gallo, Andy Raskin, and Blair Enns—and endless variations with clients.