The document outlines various storytelling archetypes that can enhance business presentations, arguing that effective storytelling is crucial for successful pitches. It details five key story frameworks: the monster, the quest, the lure, rags to riches, and rebirth, each with its own structure and narrative techniques. The author emphasizes the importance of engaging listeners and creating a collaborative narrative to avoid poor selling experiences.

1. BUSINESS
STORYTELLING
HACKS
how to apply story archetypes to
business storytelling

2. Business presentation is just another form of
storytelling. Some of the stories might be good,
most of the time they just plainly suck.
TRUTH BE TOLD

3. this is your remedy for elaborate selling
techniques. Helps you dispel the storytelling
magic.
IF YOU ARE THE ONE LISTENING

4. use the basic storytelling plots to create a
backbone for the presentation or pitch. As they
put it "people don't hate selling, they hate bad
selling“.
And remember your pitch sucks as much as does
your story.
IF YOU ARE SELLING

5. 5 STORY FRAMEWORKS
…that provide structure and drama
to you business pitch or
presentation. Well go through all
five of them to see what
everything is about.

6. THE MONSTER

7. good vs evil
you can always recognize the
monster narrative through the good
and evil opposition – somebody has
to be the evil incarnate that works
against you and (of course) the
society

8. The most prevailing story type in the market.
Business people and marketers use it a lot. It
comes together with military vocabulary.
It begins: "your biggest competitor is...
planning... attack...must win
battles...confrontation...retreat...tactics...strate
gy...overcome..."
THE MONSTER HUNT
…
…

9. In this case, the presentation follows the
pattern:
1. identify the monster
2.describe how evil it is
3.define what awaits everyone if the monster is
4.not defeated
5.propose a plan
6propose help
7.announce call-to-arms (i mean action)
STORY PATTERN
…

10. THE QUEST

11. effort vs inaction
a quest narrative wouldn‘t be a
quest narrative, if there weren‘t
some clear rewards involved – but
also it entails starting doing
something, i. e. performing a
glorious task that will change the
world

12. We all know that most businesses are risk-
evasive. They won't do anything to break new
ground or even counter-intuitively try to
achieve twice as ambitious goals with business
models that were outdated by 80's standards.
RISK AVERSION
…

13. Change is hard for everyone.
So it has to be the princess, the castle, the
goldmine or anything else shining in the
distance.
You have to shed the light. And then tell that
that they will have to pass the hazardous land
of Mordor in order to get it.
No pain no gain.
THE LURE
…

14. For this narrative you will definitely need:
1. to establish the final reward and its role in
the winners life
2. describe what it takes to set out on the
quest and how much resources it will
require
3. have a map
THE LURE
…

15. THE VOYAGE

16. known vs unknown
voyage narrative means going into
the unknown and accepting the fact
that you are not able to control and
know everything

17. The unknown holds the answers. Only by doing
what has not been done before you can find
the true meaning and move on with your
business plans.
This story is about the fact that no matter how
much you know and how much data you have
amassed, you still have to face risks.
INTO THE UNKNOWN
…

18. RAGS TO RICHES

19. obscurity vs success
we all know those stories about
main characters that clean shoes for
others, but who are destined for so
much more. It’s written in the stars
as they say.

20. It's the story about the rise from insignificance
to viral existence.
This is the story about the magical shoe, the
pumpkin carriage and the prince.
MAGICAL SHOE
…

21. But somebody has to discover you. So you
have to do everything to be discovered, to be
found and put on pedestal.
This story is about the breakthrough. The story
of a startup fed to an aging company.
THE PRINCE
…

22. REBIRTH

23. corrupted vs pure
this is like the ultimate toxicity test –
there is shit in your system and you
have to get it out. The usual
problem is that you don’t know
what’s wrong with you in the first
place.

24. The rebirth story is a bit different from RAGS to
RICHES narrative in a way that it is about
getting back to the throne kind of narrative.
Something became corrupted and rotten
within the company, a curse fell on it - you
have to find it and get rid of it once and for all.
THE CURSE
…

25. This is the derailed giant story. Your personal
Game of Thrones episode where you are the
one who gets his/her revenge.
Let’s admit it – it is also one of the best
consulting story patterns. This is Rocky Balboa
getting in form and getting back his title.
THE COMEBACK STORY
…

26. For storytelling to work, for the listener to believe and
for the teller not to suck, the story has to be told and
constructed together.
The structure and narrative has to emerge as a narrative
that the listener is equally taking part in.
Only then, it would make perfect sense for everyone.
THE ANSWER

27. SEMIOSEARCH.LT
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