Why we need the ability to tell a good story
**Everyone loves a good story, and a good story has a contagious effect. ** **
The ability to tell a good story is not only important for directors and novelists, but also for us ordinary people, whether it is for branding, financing, job hunting, selling a product, seeking a promotion, or even looking for a date, we all need this ability.
Note that ** the essence of storytelling is not to create a fictional story, but a narrative logic **, how to use a coherent and reasonable way to present the facts of the organization, which is the essence of storytelling.
**Today’s post will introduce you to two popular storytelling templates - **
First template
Template logic
Pixar, the famous animation studio backed by Steve Jobs, has released many excellent animation works, and their storytelling ability is undoubtedly top-notch. Pixar screenwriter Emma Coats has shared a Pixar storytelling template, which goes something like this.
“Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.”
The Chinese text reads.
Once upon a time, there was a ___, repeating ___ life every day, suddenly one day, ___ happened, because of that, it ___, because of that, it ___, Until finally, it ___.
As you can see from this example, not only Pixar, but most Hollywood commercial movies follow a similar simple narrative template. Take, for example, Pixar’s rival DreamWorks’ animated movie Kung Fu Panda.
- once upon a time, there was a panda, Po, who loved Kung Fu.
- every day repeats the boring life of and Papa Goose selling noodles; 3. suddenly, one day, the panda is in the middle of the street.
- Suddenly, one day, a kung fu competition was held in Peace Valley, and Po accidentally won the title of Dragon Warrior**; 4.
- Therefore, Po had to learn kung fu and practiced hard under the guidance of Turtle Immortal; 5.
- The villainous Panther escapes from the prison and challenges the new Dragon Warrior to a fight.
- In the end, Po uses his kung fu skills to defeat the Panther with the help of the Five Warriors, and peace is restored to the Valley of Peace**.
Again, this is a typical and powerful storytelling template!
Concrete application
Using this logic, investor Ashwin Kumar has turned it into a presentation logic for entrepreneurs looking for VCs.
| Pixar Logic | Presentation Logic for Funding |
|---|---|
| Once upon a time there was ___ | Problems in this area |
| Every day, ___ | existing solutions |
| One day ___ | Your solution |
| Because of that ___ | Because of that, ___ |
| Because of that, ___ | Evidence for the excellence of your solution |
| Until finally ___ | How much of the market can you eventually capture in the future? |
If you’re looking for venture capital, how do you convince an investor to give you a large sum of money? Remember the iron rule of investing: investors are not stupid.
Pixar’s formula can be applied exactly the same way.
1. Once upon a time == the current need to solve the problem
You need to state what problem you are trying to solve, for example.
Meituan: There is a strong demand for people to be able to eat what they want at home.
Tesla: Smarter mobility has always been the pursuit of lazy people.
2. Every day=Current solutions
Current solutions, what solutions already exist and why they are not good enough, for example.
Meituan: Before Meituan, people could only order food from familiar restaurants by swiping their face and calling the restaurant, but they couldn’t order whatever they wanted. There was very little choice.
Tesla: highly intelligent cars? You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s a matter of personal safety.
**3. One day = your solution.
At this point, you need to come on stage and tell people why your program is doing what it is doing, for example.
Meituan: Order food through the Internet with cash and have it delivered to your home at a low cost and eat whatever you want.
Tesla: defines a car as a computer with four wheels, using machine learning and multi-camera recognition. Takes away the engine-transmission-clutch paradigm and uses purely electric solutions. Redefines the automobile.
**4.Because of that=Why is your program advantageous? **
Because of that=Why is this a better solution? Inform potential investors what your advantages are, e.g.
Meituan: Internet+ Concept. Algorithms were used to match customers, Meituan guys, and restaurants perfectly. Created a new market from scratch.
Tesla: The definer of the electric car, completely redefining a new category: the electric smart car. No reference point, market capitalization is free to the imagination.
5. Because of that=evidence of program strengths;
This time need a lot of data and support . To prove that your program is really better. For example
Meituan: Survived the Hundred Tours War, and has proved to be good enough.
Tesla: the new standard-bearer, the market response has been overwhelming. The only problem is that production can’t keep up. Since building a factory in China, this problem doesn’t exist.
6.Until finally=how big a market will you conquer.
Meituan: National + Southeast Asian markets are all imaginable.
Tesla: naturally the global automobile market.
This is the Pixar Story Model, a clear. It’s a narrative that moves people. And if every part of it is perfect. It’s a great story.
Second template
Template logic
**This storytelling template differs from the emotional approach described above in that it favors a rigorous logic that can be argued. ** This is a different approach to storytelling than the emotional approach described above.
This approach comes from Andy Raskin, a business consultant, and is often used by companies to sell their products to customers. Here’s the core of his logic.
- **Start by talking about the trends that are happening in the world today. **This is a trend that’s happening in the world today.
- Argues that this trend will create winners and losers.
- **Describes the glorious future of the winners.
- **Describes a specific program on how to enjoy this glorious future. **
- **Provide examples of how your product can help your customers make this program a reality. **
This five-step narrative is very logical and persuasive.
Application
Here’s a concrete example of the power of this logic.
In China, which industry requires the most convincing?
The answer is insurance, because it’s simply about selling trust. Clients spend real money, and all they get back is a piece of paper.
I happened to have a cursory understanding of the insurance industry when they had a meeting to promote pension and annuity insurance. I realized that they had perfectly applied the five-step model.
- **Open with a statement of what’s happening in the world today. **This is the first step. **
The insurance consultant began by describing an important trend, namely the undisputed fact that China is moving towards an aging society. To add credibility, he cites a large amount of data to argue this trend in terms of changes in the age structure of the population, trends in fertility and mortality rates, etc. He also cites Mr. Leung’s relevant demographic doctrines, which are extremely persuasive. - Argues that this trend will produce both winners and losing players*
After describing the general trend of aging in China, the insurance consultant went on to describe the phenomenon that relying on our existing pension system alone, most people’s retirement life is likely to be unprotected, the quality of life will be greatly reduced, and “delayed retirement” will become the norm.
To illustrate this point, he used a classic photo of a square dancing lady next to a sanitation lady to further depict the situation of different groups in the aging wave.
The insurance consultant said that this could be the difference between not having a retirement plan and having one in the future, a very shocking result.
Next, the insurance consultant went on to argue that if a person does not have any retirement planning and protection, the quality of life in old age is very likely to be significantly reduced. Without a stable source of income, not only will one’s standard of living decline, but one is also likely to have to return to the workforce, as evidenced by the photo of an elderly Japanese man working as a cashier in a convenience store.
Finally, he emphasized the importance of planning by quoting Warren Buffett’s famous saying that the greatest risk is not realizing that you are at risk. - Describing the glorious future of the victors*
After depicting a miserable old age without retirement planning, the insurance consultant first explained the concept of passive income, then quoted the data to show that about half of our generation can live to be over 90 years old, and then pointed out that as long as we do a good job of planning for our retirement in advance and ensure that we have enough passive income, our old age can be very wonderful.
He analyzed that one of the major reasons for the current poor quality of life for the elderly is their over-reliance on their children, which deprives them of the ability to choose their lifestyle. He emphasized the importance of having a high degree of autonomy in old age. - **Tells about specific programs on how to enjoy this bright future. **
After laying the groundwork, the insurance consultant did not sell the product immediately, but continued to systematically analyze the limitations of other retirement options such as cash retirement and housing retirement. He predicted the future trend of the real estate market and interest rate market, explaining that real estate and bank savings have a certain degree of risk, and then asked the question: Is there a low-risk and can ensure a stable income in old age retirement? Finally, he proposes his own solution - pension annuity insurance - and introduces the company’s strengths and history and other information in passing. - **Cite examples to prove that this product of yours can help the client to turn this program into reality. **
**At the same time, begin to give a table that lists the results of various benefits at different ages and different purchase amounts in the future. **
Next, the insurance consultant gave two examples.
The first is an entrepreneur XX, his family is rich, but because of the epidemic business problems, realize that the risk is omnipresent, so a large amount of savings to buy annuity insurance.
The second case is XX, an office worker. Although his income is not high, he started to buy annuity insurance X years ago due to early planning, and now he only needs to pay premiums for a few more years before he can get his pension. These two cases further illustrate the importance of annuity insurance in old age planning.
The most impressive case is: Ms. XX graduated from a prestigious university.
Ms. XX graduated from a prestigious university and had a smooth career, but at her husband’s insistence, she became a housewife, and after giving birth to two children, she lost her body shape and face value, and was unable to return to the workplace. Until one day, her husband handed her a heavy annuity policy ……
Finally, the insurance consultant quoted Taleb’s famous saying in Antifragile: “The wind blows out the candle, but makes the fire brighter.”
Through this case, it shows that even if the conditions seem to be very favorable people, but also need to plan ahead for retirement, because life is inevitable accidents, only good risk planning, in order to make themselves more resilient.
**Choose annuity insurance to make yourself a fire, not a candle, in times of uncertainty. **
Perfect end!
It should be emphasized that I do not mean to belittle this insurance consultant. In fact, apart from some slight exaggeration of individual details, his overall narrative is very rigorous and well-organized.
**At least for me, the sales pitch was a success, and he convinced me to endorse the product. **
After consulting my leaders and comparing similar products, I chose to buy an annuity product from another company with a good reputation. The consultant’s recommendation made me realize the importance of retirement planning, but the final purchase decision was made after careful consideration of my own situation.
Summary
Yes, stories are powerful, and so is clear logic**.
None of us can write a movie or a novel like a professional screenwriter, but it’s still important to follow clear logic in any expression in everyday life.
For example, there is a difference in meaning between “Our income has dropped by 20% because of the epidemic” and “Even with the epidemic, we have retained 80% of our income.
I’m not trying to teach you to go into wordsmithing, whether it’s a business or a job, strength is fundamental.
But in the strength of the premise, thinking about the logic of the narrative, ** reasonable use of the power of storytelling, can let us do twice as much with half the effort **.
clear expression and narrative can better convey our thoughts and ideas, which is very worthy of our attention and mastery.
