Whether the Epic of Gilgamesh, stories from the Bible, cave drawings, Harry Potter, Shakesperian plays, or films… humans are designed as story tellers and listeners. Prior to the invention of language, humans likely used charades and pictures. Eventually, the shared understanding of language created

When you think about “powerful stories”, which immediately come to mind?

How often have you pondered or deconstructed the stories that captivate you?

I recently listened to a talk from Donald Miller. Prior to this talk, I had heard of his book Blue Like Jazz, but had never read it… and didn’t realize he was the same author until I googled his name and saw his face.

The talk was partly an alternate telling or breakdown of Joseph Cambell’s fabled hero’s journey from “The Power of Myth”. However, his novel approach and tactical application to branding, marketing, and leadershipwas FANTASTIC.

Below are my notes from the talk.

The Big Idea: How can you use the power of story to grow your business?

The Human Brain CRAVES Story

It doesn’t take much to convince you of this fact. If you have a hankerin’ for numbers, simply look to global box office receipts, book sales, or your combined expenses for anything “entertainment” related.

We spend 30% of our waking time day dreaming. In brain scans, the “daydreaming” stimulation patterns are bare and dynamically change when a the mind is engaged with a story. Clear stories are a pattern-interupt. They are so rare that they capture us.

Everyone wakes up every morning as the protagonist in a life story. We self-identify as heros in our own stories. We have desires, but there are forces challenging and opposing our ability to get what we want.

When we watch movies (e.g. Jason Bourne, Star Wars, Shawshank Redemption, etc.), we are captivated by the hero’s journey because we see ourselves as or want to be the hero.

The reason epic movies are captivating is because the stories are clear. Most of our personal lives and minds lack clarity; they are muddy. We have vague ideas of our journeys and purposes, and we must manage unending interruptions and responsibilities.

The Human Brain DESIRES CLARITY & REJECTS CONFUSION.

This happens every moment of your day, especially as you are bombarded with a seemingly infinite number of requests, needs, messages, interruptions, desires, and notifications. It is impossible for your brain to process everything, so it must prioritize.

Primary Brain Functions = Survive & Thrive

Your brain is always scanning your situation and environment for basic survival. For example, when you walk into a bare or crowded room, your first priority is finding the exits. The number of chairs or people in the room are secondary. Exits (i.e. survival) matter more to your brain. 

Your brain makes millions of split-second decisions to prioritize your survival by investing your finite attention and physical + mental resources, or brain-calories.

When you are burning a lot of brain-calories, your brain will at some point ask “Is this really important information to help me survive and thrive?” If not, it will simmer down, and you will stop paying attention, start daydreaming, and go into rest + recooperation mode. 

Reality: When You are Confusing, Your Customers are Designed to IGNORE You

When your message is confusing, you are basically asking your customers to invest or burn a lot of brain-calories to understand what the heck you are talking about.

People do NOT buy the best products. They buy the products they can understand the fastest.

Apple is always the default example of this. They rarely have the best product. Usually, their products are well-decorated 3-5 year old technology. However, they do not sell features, they sell at a deeper level of the human psyche using story.

When you communicating for change, EVERYTHING is about how your thing will help your audience SURVIVE and THRIVE. Every. Single. Point.

Do NOT give people information they don’t need. For example, a common business trope is to talk about a company’s history (e.g. “My grandfather started the company.”). Nobody cares! This information has nothing to do with the customers (the hero) and has zero impact on their surviving and thriving.

How Stories Work

Every Compelling Story Follows the SAME Structure

A Character (the Hero = NOT YOU!) …

Stories start when a character is introduced. Within 3 minutes, the audience should know what the character wants. This positions the big question, “Will the hero get what he wants?”

Spoiler alert: YOU are not the hero. The customer is the hero.

2 Mistakes Most Companies (and Young Screenwriters) Make

#1. You don’t make what the hero wants clear enough.

#2. You include TOO MANY things the customer might want.

Example: To help you visualize this problem, Miller offers a vivid mental picture. Picture your audience running on a treadmill. Every pertinent piece of information you provide is the equivellant of handing the runner a bowling ball. How many can they handle? They can definiately handle one or possible two. By the third or fourth ball, the won’t just drop one… they will drop ALL of them.

With a Problem …

The problem deepends the story and “sets the hook” and further engages the audience.

This creates an emotional bond between the audience and the hero.

3 Levels of Problems

There are three levels of problems, with increasing impact and depth.

1. External Problem. For example: save the princess, defeat the villain, escape the captor.

• The purpose of the external problem is to manifest the INTERNAL problem.
• The external problem usually manifests a sense of self doubt in the hero, which is relatable.

2. Internal Problem. This is usually depicted by showing a previous failure or deficiency in the character’s history.

• Companies usually sell solutions to EXTERNAL problems. People BUY solutions for INTERNAL problems.
• People are motivated to buy products not because you are solving the problem, but based on how the problem is making them feel.

3. Philosophical Problem. This is the big, epic problem related to the world and human condition.

When writing a great story, you want to resolve all three problems in one powerful scene. For businesses, this is the “buy now” button and process of delivering a great product or service.

“Buy Now” should be framed in a way that resolves an external, internal, and philosophical problems. At this point, your are closing a deep psychological story loop based on how you talk about their problem and how they talk about it to themselves!

Meets a Guide [to Help the Hero Win] …

Intuitively, we know the hero will not able to solve the problem on his own. Usually there is an inciting incident that helps the hero realize this. Eventually a guide shows up to help the hero win the day, conquer the mountain, or defeat the villain. The guide provides the tools, encouragement, and resources needed by the hero.

The Guide Does 2 Things…

1. Expresses Empathy. For example: “I feel your pain”, “I understand”, “I’ve been there before”.

2. Demonstrate Authority. The guide shows they have what it takes (competency, gumption, etc.) to make things better and resolve the hero’s problems.

YOUR COMPANY is THE GUIDE, not the hero!

Everyone wakes up thinking they are or wanting to be the hero. People are not looking for another hero. They are looking for a guide.

Application: On your website and in your marketing, what in your messaging points to YOU being the hero? Get rid of ALL of it! The story is about your customers, not you. You need to understand and communicate THEIR problems and how THEY feel.

Who gives them a plan…

Your customers need you to break down complex information into bitesize bits… it’s a service to them.

And Calls The Hero to Action…

This is text

That Results in SUCCESS or FAILURE.

This is text

Story in Leadership

In the talk, he offered a variety of case studies that I won’t detail here, but here are a few tasty tidbits:

• As a leader, you want to connect and relate with your “average person”, not position yourself as above them, their hero, or a savior.
• If people can’t repeat what you are about (which is really what they are about) … then you will be forgotten. You must give them these words by communicating clearly.
• When you are defensive, you tend to position yourself as the hero. This is the wrong approach.
• When people actively attack or oppose you, you simply need to tell your story louder and more clearly. The negative story will eventually go away as your story drowns it out.
• People make buying decisions based on how they FEEL,
• If your plan has a chart, you are going to lose.
• The success module is what it’s all about! Beat this drum to death!
• When you make people come to you to try and understand YOU, you have it backwards.

The 7 Questions for a Clear & Compelling Story

1. What do the people we lead / our customers want?
2. What are their external, internal, and philosophical problems?
We need to see our products as medicine… people only need medicine where they are hurting.
They are buying our products because something is deficient and sub-par in their lives or businesses.
We need to position our product as the medicine that solve the pain point.
Action: Write down every revenue stream in one column… and in the other column write down the pain that revenue resolves… and start talking about your products that way.
3. Have we positioned ourselves as the guide to the hero?
4. Have we created a clear plan for the hero to win the day?
5. Are our calls-to-action really clear?
6. Have we helped our hero imagine how can improve their lives?
7. Have we identified the consequences we are helping our hero avoid?