leadership

July 18, 2023

15 Storytelling Techniques and How to Use Them

Summary

Learn how to craft compelling narratives, build tension, evoke emotions, and captivate your audience. Whether you're a writer, speaker, or marketer, these proven techniques will help you connect with your audience on a deeper level.

Every great brand tells a story. Every great pitch deck tells a story. Every great career is a story. Amateurs rely on cold statistics. Professionals tell stories. That’s why effective storytelling techniques are crucial for organizations.

Nobody remembers sales graphs or pie charts. Figures don’t influence people. Stories do. TED talk storytelling shows the power of compelling narratives. When you learn how to tell a story in a presentation, you will have one of the greatest powers of all. The power to persuade people.

This guide to storytelling techniques explains story structures and provides a complete analysis of the best storytelling techniques for improving this helpful skill.

Structure and Key Elements of Storytelling

To understand effective storytelling techniques, let’s begin with the structure of stories. Usually, stories follow a three-act structure, popularized by Syd Field in his book Screenplay: The Foundations of Screenwriting.

The setup or exposition: This is where you introduce the characters, the setting, and their challenges.
The rising action or confrontation: This is the part where the problem escalates and the characters face bigger challenges.
The falling action or resolution: The characters have now solved the problems and achieved their goals.

When learning methods of storytelling, it’s important to understand these key elements necessary to successfully narrate a story, whether it’s a presentation or a blog.

1. Central Plot

The central plot is the heart of your story, the spine that supports the entire narrative structure. It isn't just a chronological sequence of events but an intricately woven tapestry of cause and effect relationships. An effective plot isn't solely about creating a logical flow but also about skillfully integrating various story elements - like characters, conflicts, and themes - in a way that feels organic and immersive. It should stimulate the audience's curiosity, inciting them to predict future events and stirring their emotional engagement. Moreover, the plot should resonate with the readers on a fundamental level, allowing them to empathize with the characters' dilemmas, hopes, and fears.

2. Key Characters

Key characters are the pillars around which your narrative orbits. Their dreams, struggles, choices, and transformations form the crux of your story, serving as the audience's emotional anchor. An effective character isn't a two-dimensional archetype but a multi-faceted entity with distinct personality traits, backgrounds, motivations, and flaws. Characters should evolve in response to their circumstances, challenging their own beliefs and values, leading to personal growth or decline. Great stories are inhabited by characters that echo real-life complexities and contradictions, thereby fostering audience identification and emotional investment.

3. Narrative Perspective

The narrative perspective, or point of view, plays a pivotal role in shaping your story's tone, mood, and overall structure. It determines who is relating the story, whether it's a firsthand account (first-person), an external observer (third-person), or an interactive mode of storytelling (second-person). Each perspective offers unique benefits and limitations. For instance, the first-person perspective can lend an intimate, confessional tone to the story, while a third-person perspective allows for a more objective, panoramic view of events. The narrative perspective can add layers of depth to your story, influence its pacing, and help highlight certain themes or character traits.

4. Environment and Context

The environment and context of your story extend beyond mere geographical or temporal backdrops. They are powerful entities that breathe life into your narrative, shaping characters' behaviors, beliefs, and dilemmas. The environment can serve as a mirror reflecting societal values and norms, thereby influencing characters' actions and experiences. On the other hand, the context, which could be historical, social, or political, can underscore the story's themes and subtext. Furthermore, they can create constraints or opportunities for your characters, adding layers of complexity to their journeys.

5. Writing Style and Word Selection

Your writing style is your distinctive voice as a storyteller, which lends texture and personality to your narrative. It isn't just about pacing your story or sequencing events, but also about creating a unique rhythm, tone, and sensibility that resonate with your audience. Word selection, on the other hand, greatly influences the clarity, elegance, and memorability of your prose. The right words can evoke potent images, elicit strong emotions, and provoke profound thoughts, thereby enhancing the reader's immersive experience. Syntax and sentence structure, when utilized effectively, can add dynamism to your narrative and build narrative tension.

6. Conflict Development

Conflict is the lifeblood of your story. It's the obstacle or challenge that your main character must confront and overcome, propelling the plot forward. A well-crafted conflict doesn't merely serve as a plot device but reveals your characters' deepest fears, desires, and moral compass. It should strike a delicate balance between difficulty and attainability, posing a credible threat to your characters yet leaving room for hope and growth. Conflict humanizes your characters, triggering growth or regression, and builds a deeper emotional connection with the audience.

7. Underlying Theme

The underlying theme is the essence of your story, the core idea or message that resonates with your audience long after they've finished reading. It's the thread that ties together the plot, characters, and conflict, offering deeper insights into the human condition. Your theme could be a commentary on societal issues, exploration of universal truths, or a question about human nature. A relatable and inspiring theme will not only engage your audience intellectually but will also strike a chord with them emotionally.

Storytelling Techniques To Apply

Storytelling techniques have an important role in leadership. These techniques will help you craft and convey more engaging stories and become an influential leader.

1. Immerse Your Audience in the Story

Your main objective should be creating a compelling universe that captures your audience's imagination. It's about painting a vivid picture of your story's world through meticulous descriptions, intriguing details, and evocative sensory cues. Use metaphors, similes, and other literary devices to amplify the visual, auditory, olfactory, tactile, and taste experiences. In other words, make your audience feel the warm sun on their skin, hear the gentle rustling of leaves, taste the bitterness of defeat, and smell the sweet scent of victory.

2. Create an Enemy and Hero Characters

Drama and tension lie at the heart of every story, and the hero-antagonist dynamic is a tried-and-true way of stirring these elements. This isn't merely about creating a good vs. evil narrative; it's about exploring the complexities and grey areas of morality. Your hero might not always be virtuous, and your enemy could have redeemable traits. This dynamic should challenge your audience's preconceived notions, encouraging them to question their own biases and moral compass.

3. Create a False Start

A false start can be a powerful narrative technique to subvert audience expectations and inject surprise into your story. It begins with the establishment of a narrative direction that abruptly shifts, shattering the audience's assumptions and luring them into a heightened state of curiosity. The disruptive change could involve a character revelation, plot twist, or shift in the setting. This narrative technique provokes intrigue, keeps your audience guessing, and enhances the story's unpredictability.

4. Start with a Personal Story

Starting your narrative with a personal story is an excellent way to establish a strong emotional connection with your audience. By revealing your vulnerabilities, failures, triumphs, and insights, you foster a sense of authenticity and relatability. This approach invites your audience into your world, making them more invested in your narrative journey. It's essential to keep your personal anecdotes relevant to the story's theme or message, ensuring they contribute to the broader narrative arc.

5. Use Conflict as Friction

Conflict serves as the friction that sparks your narrative into life. It propels your characters into action, tests their mettle, and unveils their true character. By showcasing how your characters navigate their conflicts, you offer your audience a glimpse into their resilience, resourcefulness, and inner strength. It also adds realism to your story, as conflict is an integral part of the human experience, enabling your audience to identify with your characters' struggles and victories.

6. Don’t Give Early Relief

Maintaining a sense of suspense and uncertainty throughout your story is key to sustaining audience engagement. When your hero appears on the brink of overcoming a challenge, introduce a new complication or heighten the existing one. This raises the stakes, intensifying your audience's emotional investment in your hero's journey. It keeps your audience on the edge of their seats, wondering what turn the narrative will take next.

7. Build Suspense

Suspense is the engine that drives your story forward, keeping your audience engrossed from beginning to end. It's about creating a sense of anticipation and uncertainty, making your audience ponder over the characters' fates and the plot's trajectory. Techniques to build suspense include foreshadowing, withholding information, and introducing cliffhangers. Remember, suspense isn't just about shock value; it's about deepening your audience's emotional engagement and curiosity.

8. Converge Ideas

Converging ideas is a powerful storytelling technique where disparate narrative strands or concepts gradually weave together into a cohesive whole. It's about finding the common thread among seemingly unrelated elements, creating unexpected connections and generating 'aha' moments for your audience. These could involve character paths intersecting, parallel plot lines converging, or contrasting themes blending. This technique enhances the complexity and richness of your narrative tapestry.

9. Demonstrate through Action

Show, don't tell - this is a cardinal rule in storytelling. Instead of telling your audience how a character feels or what a situation is like, demonstrate it through action, dialogue, and sensory description. Use specific, concrete details to bring your narrative to life, evoking strong visual imagery and emotional responses. This approach ensures your audience is actively engaged in your narrative, experiencing the events and emotions firsthand.

10. The Hero's Journey

The Hero's Journey is a classic narrative arc that charts the protagonist's transformation through a series of trials, tribulations, and triumphs. It's about taking your audience on an emotional roller-coaster, where the hero confronts their deepest fears, overcomes seemingly insurmountable obstacles, and returns home fundamentally changed. This narrative structure taps into universal themes of growth, resilience, and self-discovery, resonating deeply with your audience.

11. The Power of Three

The Rule of Three is a powerful rhetorical device that enhances the rhythm, balance, and memorability of your narrative. Whether you're describing a character, setting, or event, presenting information in groups of three creates a satisfying harmony that appeals to your audience's cognitive patterns. For example, describing a character as "kind, courageous, and wise" is more impactful and memorable than a longer, less structured list of traits.

12. Use Playful Language

Playful language can inject a sense of delight and surprise into your storytelling, engaging your audience on a deeper, more emotive level. You can play with words through puns, oxymorons, malapropisms, or even invent new words to express unique emotions or situations. This not only makes your narrative more enjoyable but also adds a distinctive flavor to your storytelling voice.

13. Craft a Climactic S.T.A.R. Moment

A S.T.A.R. (Something They'll Always Remember) moment is the high point of your narrative, the dramatic climax that leaves a lasting impression on your audience. It could be a plot twist, a character revelation, a powerful image, or a profound statement. Crafting a compelling S.T.A.R. moment is about understanding your audience's emotions and expectations, then surpassing them in unexpected ways.

14. Intricate Layers of Loops

Layering your narrative with multiple 'loops' or sub-stories can add richness and complexity to your main storyline. This storytelling technique involves weaving different narratives together, with the most important story at the center, surrounded by others. Each loop enhances the narrative depth, offering different perspectives or exploring sub-themes. The key is to ensure all loops eventually close, tying up loose ends and satisfying your audience's desire for resolution.

15. The Significance of the MacGuffin

The MacGuffin is a storytelling device that motivates your characters and drives your plot. It's the coveted object or goal that sets your hero's journey in motion. Although it might not have intrinsic value, its significance lies in the desires and conflicts it provokes. Whether it's a hidden treasure, a secret formula, or an abstract idea like love or justice, the MacGuffin keeps your audience invested in your hero's pursuit and the challenges they must overcome.

Storytelling Applied in the Real World

Storytelling techniques aren’t only for public speakers or celebrities. The most effective methods of storytelling will be helpful in your daily life. These are some of the ways in which you can integrate narrative techniques:

Giving a presentation: Start from the point of view of a user who’s been looking for the solution your product provides.

Engaging and attracting clients: Talk about the origin of your company and the sacrifices your team had to make to create the right product.

Blog: Share some of your failures, how they affected your professional and personal life, and how you managed to bounce back.

Product launch: In a lighter vein, talk about how this product would have changed your life had it existed a few years ago.

Level Up Your Storytelling Skills

Failing to engage and inspire is one of the mistakes managers make. By learning effective storytelling techniques, you can convey even cold facts and strategies in an engaging manner. Maven has several courses on storytelling from some of the best minds in the business. These include: