Your Story

Think of your answer to “Why you?” as the basis of a really good story. To write your story, you don’t need to be an award-winning novelist or salesperson. Your story simply needs to incorporate five key elements that make great stories great. 

A great story doesn’t speak to everyone; it speaks to your audience — 

Few stories are universal. When you try to appeal to everyone, you typically end up watering down your message. That’s why the best stories are targeted to a specific audience. Understanding and empathizing with your audience is at the heart of your story. 

A great story keeps them engaged —

Andrew Stanton, one of the master storytellers at Pixar Animation Studios, says the secret to a great story is caring. The easiest way to make your audience care about your story is to talk to them about something they already care about: a problem they have. What is their problem and how will you solve it? Once they care, you’ve got them hooked.

A great story makes a promise —

 A story’s promise may be to thrill you, to entertain you or to make you laugh. Your story’s promise is to solve a problem. The bigger the problem that you can solve, the more your audience cares. The core of your story becomes the promise that you have the features and benefits to tackle an important problem and help them succeed. 

A great story paints a picture with details —

Great writers can transport you to a different place or time by providing details so complete that you can see, hear, and feel where they have transported you. The evidence of your features and benefits provides the details in your story. Without detailed evidence that you can solve their problem and deliver on your promise, the story falls flat. 

A great story becomes their story —

Your story must go viral. You need others talking about you and referencing the benefits you can deliver. This is far easier said than done because these storytellers must deeply believe in your story before they stake their reputation on you. If you can get people to believe in you, they will amplify how many people hear it. 

A great storyteller is trustworthy —

A story is only as good as its storyteller. At an early stage in your professional life, you may lack significant credibility among your audience. This is why your design team is imperative to telling your story. The more-established members of your design team possess one thing you can’t help but lack—time. Time enabled them to build a trusted network. You can’t be your only storyteller.