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About this lesson
What happens in your story? What happens next? How does it end? Tie it all into your message to make your story work.
Quick reference
Action and the Structure of Your Story
Stories come alive through action, pacing, and strong structure. Here’s how to make sure yours does too.
Describe the Action Clearly
- Once you’ve introduced a problem or challenge, describe what actions were taken.
- Don’t be vague — your audience shouldn’t have to guess.
- Be specific about what you did or what another character did in response to the problem.
Borrow from Blockbusters
- You’re not making an action movie, but you can borrow techniques that make movies work.
- Action adds energy and helps maintain your audience’s attention.
- When you describe what happens between characters, it keeps people interested.
Build Anticipation
- Pacing matters — give your audience a chance to anticipate what’s next.
- Don’t rush. Use pauses to build suspense and keep people engaged.
- A compelling story keeps listeners leaning forward, wondering what’s coming.
Add a Twist When You Can
- The best stories often include an element of surprise.
- Even in business presentations, avoid being completely predictable.
- A small twist or unexpected moment can make your story more memorable and engaging.
End with Resolution
- Don’t leave your audience hanging. Make sure your story has a clear and satisfying ending.
- Let people know how things turned out, how the situation was resolved.
- A strong conclusion keeps your audience grounded and prepares them to receive your message.
Tie It Back to Your Message
- After your story ends, that’s your moment to connect it back to your message.
- Don’t just repeat your original message word-for-word.
- Use new language to restate the point and show how the story reinforces your main idea.
- This reinforces the message and makes it more memorable for your audience.
- 00:04 Once you've established what the problem is, what the challenge is, what action takes place, you're telling a story.
- 00:12 You got to tell people about either what you did or what someone did, what the other character did in your story.
- 00:18 Don't make them guess.
- 00:21 Don't make them wonder.
- 00:23 Describe in great detail what specific action takes place.
- 00:28 Action movies are often the best selling movies around the world.
- 00:31 Now you're not trying to be a movie maker here, but you can borrow the movie makers elements for success.
- 00:39 And that is to really describe in detail the action that takes place between your characters after you've described the problem and you've talked about the actions taken by yourself or the other characters.
- 00:55 Remember, people need to be leaning forward thinking what next.
- 01:01 Don't rush.
- 01:02 Don't be afraid to pause sometimes to let people fill in the gaps and try to figure out what's happening next.
- 01:09 People need to have an anticipation as to what is going to happen next in order to make this a compelling story.
- 01:18 Great stories sometimes, but not always, but sometimes have a surprise.
- 01:23 It shouldn't be so predictable that you knew exactly where we're going from point A to point B to point C to point D.
- 01:31 What's 1 of the worst things anyone would say about a new movie or book?
- 01:35 Oh, it was so predictable.
- 01:38 Now, if you're telling a story for a business presentation, it doesn't have to be as dramatic as some cliffhanger suspense movie, but if you can bring in an element of surprise, it's going to make it a lot more interesting, more engaging, and more memorable.
- 01:56 Your story needs a good ending.
- 01:58 Don't leave people hanging.
- 02:00 Don't leave them wondering, wait a minute, what happened to you here?
- 02:04 Let people know how things concluded, How did things end?
- 02:09 That's when they will be open to you, bringing it back to your message.
- 02:14 If you just go right to your message and you leave a whole bunch of loose ends, you didn't tie them up, you're going to confuse your audience.
- 02:23 They'll be thinking over here while you're over there.
- 02:26 So bring things to an end.
- 02:28 There should be a strong conclusion.
- 02:32 So you finished telling your story.
- 02:34 Now is a perfect time to tie it right back into your message.
- 02:38 Now don't use the exact same language you did when you started it.
- 02:42 Don't say.
- 02:43 And this story proves my point, you don't have to be ham fisted about it, but if you can gently, using different words, different language, tie in your message from the story at the end, it helps solidify your message in the mind of your audience.
- 03:02 Remember, the only reason we're telling the story is to drive home a message that is of specific interest and relevance to your audience.
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