Story DetectiveHow to start noticing and decoding stories

(and putting them to use)

1. Digital Context: Brands and stories

● What is a brand?

● What is the brand's story?

● And how do we (as consumer) know the story?

● Why vocabulary and 'concept' vocabulary matters

2. Story Toolbox

● point of view

● the difference between plot and theme (action and ideas)

● what is structure, and do we need it?

● voice

● why do we care?

3. Telling the Story

● Know your goal

● Know your audience (customer) and their context

● Know your tools (not every social media platform suits every purpose)

● Storytellers are curators!

1. Brand & Story

Coca-Cola: “To benefit and refresh everyone it touches.”> Refresh the world

US Air Force: “To defend the United States and protect its interests through aerospace power.”> Kick butt in air and space

Southwest Airlines: “The highest quality of Customer Service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and Company Spirit.”> Better than driving

Nike:“Authentic athletic performance.”> Just do it

Mission + Magic = Mantra

Mission versus mantrafrom Guy Kawasaki’s Art of the Start

Mission + Magic = Mantra

The magic is the story

A successful brand is memorable for many reasons.

The visuals● Simple in form and colours● Character

The words● Distinctive● Clear● Concise● Targeted

The story● The emotions it elicits● Well-told (authentic and crafted)● Humanity● and more ...

A brand is simply a curated interface with the world.

It is a broader narrative that we write across media.

It tells a story to the people it aims to help,through the art of

Select + Arrange

Which words will I use?

Which concepts will I become known for?

Which problems will I solve?

How do I want to be perceived?

Where will I tell my story and to whom?

How will I start a conversation?

Libby: with no curation, selection or arrangement

Libby: curated, selected, arranged

We always have a choice about what we communicate.

Our power lies in mindful selection and arrangement of words, ideas, images, and concepts.

When we have brand guidelines such as standard vocabulary and a concept cloud (our VOICE)then we are on our way to standing out from the crowd.

Did you know …

George Lucas employs a Story Continuity Cop?

Leland Chee, in Wired onlinehttp://archive.wired.com/entertainment/hollywood/magazine/16-09/ff_starwarscanon?currentPage=all

2. Story Toolbox

Just like the captain of a ship ...

Readers / viewers need to feel safe.

They need to know you have a firm hand on the tiller.

Whose story is it?

Why would we ask this?

It’s about positioning.

The reader/viewer/client needs to know that your perspective is clear.

They need to know that you have chosen your lens, and you are telling YOUR story.

Point of View (POV)

Try this writing exercise:

Two housemates are in the kitchen. One of them makes a cup of coffee.

Now tell two versions of the same event: from each person’s point of view, using 1st person. “I …”

POV (1st person)

1. He’s making a cup of coffee, but he hasn’t asked me if I want one. Why hasn’t he asked me if I want one? Did I do something wrong? Wait, I don’t drink coffee. He probably knows that.

2. I’m so tired. How am I going to get through the day? This cup is cold. If I leave now, I can get a take-out coffee on the way to the funeral.

POV (3rd person)

1. Angie sat at the table and looked at Frank. Frank’s hands were shaking. He didn’t look good. She wondered if he’d even noticed her come in. She was dying for a cup of tea.

2. Frank fumbled for the spoon but dropped it. As he stood up, he steadied himself by placing one hand on the bench-top. He hoped Angie wouldn’t say anything; that – just once – she’d keep her mouth shut. He glanced at the clock.

Activity

Think of two characters at the supermarket.

One is buying in order to cook a Mexican meal.One is buying for a child’s birthday party.

What choices do they make? List 3 things they’ll put in their trolley.

Seems like a no-brainer, right?

But what they choose tells us a lot about their story.

“I want to cook Mexican.”“I need to make fun food.”

They SELECT and they ARRANGE their choicesin order to fit a STORY.

As an outsider (viewer, reader)their ACTIONS tell us about their IDEAS.

Show me, don’t tell me

NO …

Angie sat down on the chair at the kitchen table, and wondered what was going on. She felt a mix of emotions: embarrassed, ignored, and generally unhappy. Frank didn’t notice her, and she wasn’t about to start crying in front of him. But still she was so upset, until she thought she could get a cup of tea and a muffin.

YES …

Angie sat at the table. She watched Frank silently for a moment as he stirred his coffee, and concentrated on his spoon so as not to let her tears fall. The spoon went around and around so many times she was surprised it hadn’t already dissolved. Her gaze wandered to the teapot.

NO …

Angie sat down on the chair at the kitchen table, and wondered what was going on. She felt a mix of emotions: embarrassed, ignored, and generally unhappy. Frank didn’t notice her, and she wasn’t about to start crying in front of him. But still she was so upset, until she thought she could get a cup of tea and a muffin.

YES …

Angie sat at the table. She watched Frank silently for a moment as he stirred his coffee, and concentrated on his spoon so as not to let her tears fall. The spoon went around and around so many times she was surprised it hadn’t dissolved like a sugarcube. Her gaze wandered to the teapot.

OBJECTS and ACTIONS are tangible … and telling.

Where’s the ACTION?

PLOT(action)

vs.

THEME(idea)

Movie PLOTA teenager leaves his home planet to fight with

the rebels and save the universe.

vs.

THEMEGood versus evil; logic versus intuition; coming-

of-age

Literary Fiction PLOTA woman walks across the room.

vs.

THEMEMarriage; ageing;

the place of women in society

PLOTA woman moves out of her flat.

vs.

THEMEFinding happiness; the things unspoken

STRUCTURE

A story is a journey

Westerners are used to the 3-act structure, which dominates Hollywood and TV,

but not all cultures recognise this

STRUCTURE

Greek story, according to Aristotle:

beginning, middle, and end – the protasis,epitasis, and catastrophe

STRUCTURE

can be as simple as:

A > B > C

Each event must have a knock-on effect:

Because of A, B happened. Because of B, C happened.

STORY FORMS

Monster in the house: JawsGolden fleece: Star Wars, Wizard of OzOut of the bottle: Liar, LiarDude with a problem: Die Hard, TitanicRites of passage: Days of Wine and RosesBuddy love: Dumb and Dumber, Bill and TedWhydunnit: JFK, The InsiderThe fool triumphant: Forrest GumpInstitutionalised: American Beauty, GodfatherSuperhero: Superman, A Beautiful Mind

From Blake Snyder, Save the Cat

So if we’ve seen all these stories before, how do I make something new?

VOICE

It sets you apart from everyone else.

The age-old story structures and tropescan be told differently.

All the

clever Plotting technique in the world

won’t necessarily save your story

Why should we care?

Yes, why should we care?it’s often the UNIVERSAL THEMES that keep us reading, regardless of whether the storyworld is comprehensive enough to be made into a Lego series (LORD OF THE RINGS, HARRY POTTER) or the plot is intricately woven (KRYPTONOMICON, AND

THEN THERE WERE NONE) or designed for cerebral gymnastics (IQ80, FINNEGAN’S WAKE).

Not everyone can relate to day-to-day life in Panem (THE HUNGER GAMES) but we can all relate to (or at least empathise with) fear, courage, oppression …

● voice

● point of view

● storyworld

● characters

● the prose

● the text on the page - typos? no thanks!

● The Big Life Themes - love, life, death, revenge,

poverty ...

Just tell it your way

3. Telling the story

How?Some comms basics …

● Know your goal (why am I telling this story?)

● Know your audience (customer) and their context

● Know your tools (not every platform suits every purpose)

● Storytellers are curators! (They select and arrange words

and ideas on different platforms according to the

audience's needs and expectations ...)

● The springboard story (good for blog posts – 'show don't

tell')

● SAFETY is important (game design, storytelling, coaching)

It’s not about

Problem > Solution(obstacle > resolution)

Engagement comes from the shared journey,not the neat ending.

Ask the question.Open the conversation.

A story can’t livein a bubble

context matters

You can use real world goings-onto set the stage for your story.

Make it relevant.

Why does your story matter to you?Why is it exciting?

Where can we find empathy?

Some resources

storytellers in actiongetstoried.com Michael Margolis

The Springboard Story, Steve Denningstoriesforchange.net

the theoryStory, Robert McKee

Save The Cat, Blake SnyderReady, Set, Novel, NaNoWriMo

Trailer for every Oscar-Winning Movie ever (by Cracked)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbhrz1-4hN4