Persuasive storytelling

Editor's Notes

• #4 Story Arcs: episodic storytelling media seen in TV, comic books, films, video games. The purpose of story arc is to effect change. For ex, lonely man falls in love and marries or poor woman goes on an adventure and in the end makes a fortune for herself. In monomyth, human begins in ordinary world, receives a call to enter the unknown world of strange powers/events, must face trials, survive severe challenge, and if he/she survives it may achieve a great gift then decide if it wants to return to ordinary world which will probably face more challenges on return journey. If he returns successfully, the boon or gift may be used to improve the world. Ex. Prometheus, Lord of the Rings. The problem is that they’re both for narratives.
• #6 What does persuasion look like, it hasn’t really been visualized. Duarte is a writer, speaker, and CEO of the Duarte Design, the largest design firm in Silicon Valley. Well-known for her three best selling books and works with TED Talks to improve the quality of the presentations at the events, and spoken at several herself. Drew the shape out and realized it worked when she overlaid it over Steve Job’s iPhone launch in 2007 and contrasting with that, Dr. Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech. It worked! This is the basic shape. Basically, the length is time, and you can see that there’s several turning points, which I will walk through with you.
• #7 You start your speech or presentation stating what currently is, “You know, here are the facts. Here is what brought us to this point. Here is the historical events. Here is what you’ve been told, and here is what we all know is true.” And you basically lay that down. Then what you do is you’re supposed to shock the audience with your perspective. Sort of what you call an inciting incident in the movies, where the audience is suddenly out of balance. Your idea so contrast with currently reality that they are stunned and have to contend with what you are telling them to do.
• #8 So you have to make sure this gap between what is and what could be is significant and meaningful and powerful. This is the most important part of the presentation because this is your big idea, and the rest of the presentation you have to move them and they want to see how you prove your point. Call to adventure: create an imbalance by stating what could be juxtaposed to what is.
• #9 And so the middle of the presentation has to move back and forth. Here’s what is, but here is what it could be. Move back and forth between those two perspective and create interest. Tell them your perspective, tell them alternate perspectives, tell them whats happened in the past, whats going to happen in the future, and create this sense of rhythm. They should have beats. The last turning point should contain a “call to action”, it should summarize what is going on and what finish line the audience is to cross.
• #10 But don’t end with CTA, End your talk with explaining how the world is going to be with your idea adapted, or spread, with everyone believing how you believe. That can be very powerful. It can be poetic or dramatic as long as its real clear what the world is going to look like
• #11 Also, take into account that you cannot just overwhelm people with information, you have to insert little bits of stories. So that it creates another sense of interest and rhythm. In other words, contrast story and information. After you leave them with something they will always remember, your audience is going to ask themselves if they agree with you or not and contend with what you left them with. So those little dashes signify what is “becoming”, give them tools that you can help them with to understand everything you just said, so they will “become” and pro-create and share your idea that you had from the very beginning.
• #13 Before we start with the process we have to figure out the big idea! Remember we want to move people. What are we trying to accomplish by making this video or presentation for our audience. Example: the world can save millions of gallons of water.
• #14 Try your audience like king! Design a presentation that meets there needs and not just yours. We have to pick one and go with it. Try to have a picture or description of that persona. Give the example of janitor client from GA assembly presentation (in your notebook). WHAT CAN WE DO FOR THEM. Obviously if we hire a video production agency or company, they will know these steps of techniques before they start rolling, but our responsibility is the audience and interviews if we need to do them.
• #17 Get the board! Use example of new hire that we did the day of the lunch n learn.