Storytelling is a great way to share your personality, expand the reach of your business and build community. So how can you create more compelling stories? Try a storytelling formula!
A storytelling formula provides a high-level overview of information/ events that should be included in a piece of content to share compellingly. The right storytelling formula for your content will depend on what you are trying to communicate. For example, sharing a brief story about the inspiration behind your company will require a different formula than the one used to share the benefits of using a product/investing in a service.
Let’s take a look at a few storytelling formulas so that you can better understand the concept:
Here are some Standard Storytelling Formulas
Before-After-Bridge
Start with the before, identify a problem your ideal client is facing and paint a picture of what that looks like, then move to the after; what would it look like if this problem was solved? Finally, move to the bridge. This is the solution you propose for your client to move from before to after (typically your offering).
Problem – Agitate – Solve
Start by identifying your ideal client’s problem, then agitate – describe it in more detail, offering specific examples that they can relate to, potentially even describing how the problem may escalate if left unresolved. Finally, present your product or service, which will solve their problem.
Star – Chain – Hook
Start with an attention-grabbing statement which you know will make your ideal client stop and notice – this is the star. To keep them interested, provide a chain of supporting facts or supplementary information. End with a hook and a call to action (CTA) to inspire the reader to act immediately.
Storytelling formulas can also be used to share longer format stories with your audiences, such as the story of a personal challenge you overcame or the reason you started your business. This formula is also commonly used to write novels and movie plots!
The Hero’s Journey
In the hero’s journey, the hero (an average person like you and me) is called to do something adventurous or out of the ordinary. Along the way, they are faced with roadblocks and challenges, finally leading to the climax where they must find their most significant source of strength to overcome something (an obstacle, another person, or sometimes even their own limiting beliefs); after this experience, they return home – transformed. The key here is how the journey shaped the hero.
So, as you can see, storytelling formulas are beneficial for creating compelling content that hooks your audience and leaves them intrigued to learn more – about you, your services, or the plot of your story.
A storytelling formula is best coupled with a storytelling framework when creating content. A storytelling framework provides tips for determining the best content to share to give the most value to your audience.
Our favourite storytelling framework is TRUE: Timely, Relevant, Useful, Educational + Emotional (developed by Catherine).
If you want to learn more about this framework, couple it with your favourite storytelling formula, and create content that truly resonates with your audience, check out the Simple Story Setup Mini-Course!
Resources
What type of Content Creator are you? Take the Quiz! – 4 different types of creators, which one are you?
Email: catherine@catherinenikkel.com
Need help telling your story in your own voice? Let’s make it happen. Schedule a consultation with me here
Catherine Nikkel is a content creator, ghostwriter and the founder of Mindful Media. She specializes in helping CEOs, entrepreneurs and influencers create copy that engages and converts. Her work has appeared in Forbes, Huffington Post, Yahoo!, Authority Magazine, FemFounder and more.
