matteotitta Storytelling
Architect narrative-driven B2B campaigns that create emotional resonance, sustained engagement, and pipeline through systematic story development across anchor, derivative, and distribution layers.
Doctrine inherited (Step 7 — 0626 rollout)
Output complies with:
output-tenets.md— the seven tenets (Storytelling/SQCA is Tenet 7)output-simplicity.md— length caps, three-layer source placement, robot-tells banmarketing-psychology.md— JTBD framing- Step 6 calibration: see [[feedback_execution_doctrine_refinements_step6]]
Refinements applied to this skill:
| Code | Refinement | How it lands in storytelling |
|---|---|---|
| R1 | Source placement (three layers) | Narrative frameworks ship as client-team review surfaces. Cleaned [VERIFIED:...] tags in a collapsed appendix. No tags in the narrative body. Source dataset (ICP research, win-loss themes, customer quotes that anchor the metaphor) lives in working doc only. |
| R3 | Product-update tone | Anchor narratives frame as "[Customer] ships X" not "we are thrilled to launch the [grand metaphor]." Even keynote-level brand campaigns stay even-keeled. The story carries the weight, not the adjectives. |
| R5 | Blog as voice anchor | When the storytelling campaign has an anchor blog or whitepaper, the blog's opening line becomes the canonical voice anchor across every derivative asset. Cross-channel voice consistency is what makes the campaign read as one story. |
| R9 | Action-oriented section names | "Set the situation / Name the tension / Land the resolution / Stage the next chapter" — verb-led narrative beats, not status-led ("Background / Problem / Solution / Conclusion"). |
When to run
Invoke when the user asks for: storytelling/narrative/brand campaign, story arc for [product/launch], hero's journey campaign, brand narrative, campaign metaphor, content campaign, thought leadership campaign, anchor content campaign, multi-week campaign, keynote/executive narrative, customer transformation story.
Do NOT invoke for: single blog post (use aeo-content), landing page copy (use landing-page-copy), email sequences without narrative arc (use email-nurture), social posts without campaign strategy (use linkedin-content).
Inputs
Required:
| Input | Description | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Product/messaging context | 3+ capabilities, 3+ differentiators | messaging skill output |
| ICP research | Champion persona with pain points | icp-behavioural output |
| TOV guidelines | Voice attributes defined | tov-guidelines or client docs |
Optional (improves quality): competitor research (narrative gap), campaign objectives (focus arc), timeline constraints (calendar calibration), budget context (asset scope).
Validation gate: if any required input missing, ask user to provide or offer to run upstream skill first.
Client context: if working on a client project, the client CLAUDE.md is auto-loaded — apply Voice & Messaging rules automatically; don't re-ask.
Steps
Phase 1 — Insight mining
- Extract narrative tension. Use the four-question framework in the premium reference (status quo, urgency, why current fails, transformation promise) → Output: narrative tension framework.
- Map emotional payload. Pain point → underlying emotion → story beat (table in the premium reference) → Output: emotional journey map.
- Identify competitive narrative gaps. Competitor / their story / what they miss / your angle → Output: competitive narrative positioning.
- Compile narrative foundation brief. Use template in the premium reference → Output: brief covering core tension, emotional journey, transformation promise, competitive angle, voice alignment.
Checkpoint: narrative tension identified, emotional journey mapped, competitive angle defined, foundation brief complete.
Phase 2 — Narrative development
- Select story arc. Match campaign goal → arc → duration using table in the premium reference (6 primary literary arcs + 4 B2B-specific). Document rationale.
- Map arc stages to content beats. For Hero's Journey use the 12-stage table in the premium reference. For other arcs, build equivalent stage→beat→focus mapping.
- Create before/after archetypes. Use template in the premium reference (visual metaphor, behaviors, tools, frustrations/feelings, beliefs, outcome). Names must be evocative nouns.
- Build metaphor system. Select pop culture references for target demographic, map to story beats. Validate per the premium reference selection rule (age/role/geography fit).
- Define narrative altitude (executive audiences only). Use 4-altitude table in the premium reference (30k/15k/5k/ground). Produce altitude-specific narrative versions for multi-stakeholder buying committees.
Checkpoint: arc selected and mapped, archetypes documented, metaphors validated, altitude defined if applicable.
Phase 3 — Content orchestration
- Build campaign timeline. Use the premium reference 6-week Hero's Journey template (or proportional version for other arcs). Map weekly anchor + support assets.
- Generate anchor content briefs. Use brief template in the premium reference (title, thesis, story beat, key messages, proof points, CTA) — one per anchor.
- Generate derivative content briefs. Social posts, email sequences, memes — formats per the premium reference.
- Define distribution plan. Channel × content type × frequency × goal matrix per the premium reference.
- Define pipeline metrics. Awareness → engagement → conversion → pipeline. Targets from client inputs only or marked "Suggested: X" — never invent.
Checkpoint: timeline complete, all briefs generated, distribution and metrics defined.
Self-evaluation + review gate
- Run self-evaluation and quality checks per the premium reference (anti-hallucination guardrails, narrative/content/completeness checklists). Mark unconfirmed details with
[PLACEHOLDER: description]. Present full campaign at Gate 2 (standard review) — actions: approve, adjust arc, expand scope.
What good looks like
Examples:
examples/octave-prompt-swamp-campaign.md— Hero's Journey full campaign for Octave (prompt swamp narrative)
Evaluations (golden output traits):
- Transformation stated as archetype shift (not generic outcome)
- Emotional journey specific, not generic
- Competitive angle positions against category or status quo, not against named competitor
- Tension is quantified (e.g., "60% of time")
- Archetype names are evocative nouns; visual metaphors are concrete and visible
- Behaviors observable, beliefs in first-person quotes, outcome concrete
- Metaphors verified against demographic
- All metrics either client-sourced or marked "Suggested:"
Final ship gate
Run /premortem --output before ship. See /premortem skill for the 5 execution domains (will-it-resonate / will-it-convert / will-it-stay-on-brand / will-stakeholder-push-back / will-it-degrade-over-time) and output template.
Trivial-case escape: ## Premortem\nNo failure modes — trivial change satisfies the contract for genuinely trivial outputs.
Persuasion & stickiness pass
Output complies with persuasion-and-stickiness.md — Cialdini's 7 persuasion levers + Heath's SUCCESs. Deploy the 1-2 Cialdini levers that fit the reader's barrier (never all seven; every lever must be TRUE), run the SUCCESs diagnostic (Simple / Unexpected / Concrete / Credible / Emotional / Stories) over the near-final draft, then the rule's pre-ship gate.