The Power of Story Workbook Jennifer Aaker General Atlantic Professor of Marketing @standford.edu
Stories can be a powerful tool for persuasion, critical for understanding customers, working with team members and building brands. Stories help us in decision-making by clarifying what is signal vs. noise. Stories are powerful tools for leaders, who often need to act as editors—shaping the stories told by employees and customers—to align everyone under a shared vision.
stories can be told in a short, six-word form (e.g., Ernest Hemingway: For sale: baby shoes, never worn).
Consider the following different types of six-word stories (and their humorous versions):
Simple description
The summer I learned work ethic. / Mind of its own. Damn lawnmower.
Evocative description
Active imagination as a small child. / Was beside myself; cloning machine worked.
Shows change
A first: finding and losing love./ Longed for him. Got him. Shit. (Margaret Atwood)
Sensational
Realizing I would die one day./ Tick tock tick tock tick tick. (Neal Stephenson)
Other 6 word stories:
Not quite. Aspiring to be quite.
Tonight he packs, tomorrow I pine.
Married the wrong girl, fixed it.
Getting old. Ringtones piss me off.
Think of stories as assets. It is as much a way of life - an organizing frame – as it is a tool. Men who can tell a good story are seen as more attractive and higher status
Why was Solomon recognized as the wisest man in the world? Because he knew more stories than anyone else. Scratch the surface in a typical boardroom and we’re all just cavemen with briefcases, hungry for a wise person to tell us stories - - Alan Kay,VP of the Walt Disney Company
Remember the most effective stories blend fact and emotion. How can you make your user the hero of their own story?
Signature Story - Signature stories are strategic. An intriguing, authentic and involving story with a strategic message that drives growth by enhancing the brand, organization and/or business strategy.
Climax - Find the climax first. Why? It’s the best part of the story to hear—which typically means it’s the easiest part of the story to write. You can then decide whether to use the story’s climax to grab attention or end the story with a bang.
Conflict - The conflict should be the main problem you’re highlighting in the story. Make sure that the conflict ties into the spine of the story and is properly set up in the beginning. Remember to solve the conflict and demonstrate why it’s significant by the end of the story.
Flow - You can choose to tell the story in the way that has the most impact; chronological time is irrelevant. Just make sure your story flows. Focus on answering the questions on people’s minds. Note—you’ll likely iterate on flow in the story structure at least three times.
Delivery - Write out the story and read it out loud. Ruthlessly edit your story to take out the stuff that really doesn’t matter, even if you fall in love with it. Get to the point quickly, but not without stretching out some detail to build suspense and pacing. Give yourself the time to revise, and practice your delivery. Rehearse until you wouldn’t change a single word.
Detail - Provide 2 + 2, not 4. Don’t tell us what the story is about or what the takeaway is; rather, guide us through the story, providing us with the details that we need to come to our own conclusions. DETAIL Let the story speak for itself.
Audience - Know who you’re talking to and understand what moves them. This will make it easier to craft your story. Tailor your story to fit the needs of your target audience. A story’s theme should speak to a specific audience.
Brevity - Brevity allows the audience to make inferences and makes the audience feel respected. Brevity mystifies.
End - Stop the story when you have said enough to convey your message. You don’t always need to answer all the questions in your story. This leaves them asking for more.
Clarity - Keeping your goals clear increases your odds of success and momentum. Seek examples of clarity in the wild and learn from the best.
Big Picture - Step back from your story and ask the obvious questions: What does it mean? Why is it important? How does it change the perspective of the person hearing it or reading it? Your story will gain a greater audience and have more impact if it is unique or unusual.
Other inspiration books on storytelling
The Story Factor by. Annette Simmons
The Power of Personal Storytelling by Jack Maguire
The Art of Storytelling by John Walsh
The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling by Stephen Denning
The Dragonfly Effect by Jennifer Aaker & Andy Smith
Story Telling as Best Practice by Andy Goodman
Improving your Storytelling by Doug Lipman
Story by Robert McKee
Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath
We Feel Fine by Jonathan Harris & Sep Kamvar
How to Cultivate Comedy Mindset
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgpuyGdesd8
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/k1mxpr/comedy-central-presents-rap
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SHqRhMvFmnk
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xgGkt6l-WTM
http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/video/engagement-surprise/n12324
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5qryIjyQJE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pinZNYxQeo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FLGEr1zJYo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CMS9xnBRkc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HbYScltf1c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YDTfEhChgw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WLrYE9HScY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOnF8Q2u3fU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ev4b-19Czzs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4rSKCXqEw0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FLGEr1zJYo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuymvEZ1pkU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxigLdW48LE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfYzlSNHapA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hPZnSfgO1Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=In9XbjyCbnY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaImprOY31k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lQyz0ouDvyk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Msu_rknsuMs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N_utzLojCIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozNKwaqdlA8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4-pT1dCmL0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4SYIfhzMmU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RBJiugdPAZ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgX2HY2iyVQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsL6mKxtOlQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtiMJDtF_cA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6xaj2fC1jI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VELXE7xvVHo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMeXGE_a8Gg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhu7rs3Ihas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL4CL8gMuAo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4At-YkjedgA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4T2GmGSNvaM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOaIFgse4Hw
https://powerofstory.stanford.edu/readings
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