Storyteller Tactics

Storyteller Tactics

Apply proven storytelling tactics to craft, recommend, and transform content.

Quick Start

1. Identify the situation — What does the user need? (sell, motivate, convince, connect, explain, lead, impress)
2. Pick a recipe — Use the Recipe Matrix below to find a combination of tactics
3. Apply tactics — Follow the tactic's key questions to shape the story
4. Structure it — Choose a story arc (Man in a Hole, Rags to Riches, No Easy Way, etc.)
5. Style it — Add hooks, vivid moments, and memorable elements

Recipe Matrix

Use these curated combinations for common goals:

Story Building System

Guide the user through these questions in order:

1. Why do you need a story? → use Concept tactics
2. Where to find your story? → use Explore tactics
3. Your role in the story? → use Character tactics
4. What your story needs to do? → use Function tactics
5. How to plan your story? → use Structure tactics
6. How to tell your story? → use Style tactics
7. How to share your story? → use Organise tactics

Concept Tactics

Dragon & the City

Get people excited. Frame your project as an epic adventure.

• City = status quo (safe but limited). What's good? What's wrong? Who's in charge?
• Dragon = threat/opportunity. Where's the threat? Is there hidden gold?
• Three options: Escape (find safer place), Defend (strengthen walls), Attack (face the dragon)

Three Great Conflicts

Raise stakes by identifying which conflict drives the story:

• Hero vs Nature — disease, weather, accidents (Jaws)
• Hero vs Society — fighting others over resources/values (Black Panther)
• Hero vs Self — struggling to do what's right (Trainspotting)
• Find your Dream vs Nightmare, locate the greatest conflict, show how it resolves

Order & Chaos

Clarify your mission: impose order on chaos, or disrupt a rigid system.

• Known world (orderly, safe, restricted) vs Unknown world (chaotic, risky, full of potential)
• How does Chaos disrupt Order? You are the Hero — how do you respond?

Secrets & Puzzles

Get attention with information gaps:

• Secrets: new info you discovered, how it was hidden, what audience gains
• Puzzles: anomalies, ironies, inconsistencies that demand explanation
• Keywords: secret, hidden, insider, mystery, paradox, bizarre, unexpected

Rules, Cheats & Rebels

Tell a rule, show someone breaking it — will they be punished or vindicated?

• Rebels act selflessly, break rules for a higher purpose, don't hide (Rosa Parks)
• Cheats act selfishly, break rules others follow, hide actions (vindication vs punishment)

Good & Evil

Tap into moral conflicts (Jonathan Haidt's six):

• Care/Harm, Fairness/Cheating, Liberty/Oppression, Authority/Subversion, Loyalty/Betrayal, Purity/Filth
• Simple: pick a side. Complex: two rights collide or lesser of two evils

Universal Stories

Build on traits everyone recognises:

• Free Will, Conflict & Cooperation, Inconsistencies, Fear & Bravery, Right & Wrong, Rites of Passage

Curious Tales

Explain what drives you through:

• Curiosity (anomaly + potential benefit), Caution (anomaly + threat)
• Flow (absorption in task), Envy (wanting what another does), Sacrifice (giving up something valuable)

Circle of Life

Relatable character archetypes at life stages:

• Child (innocent/naive), Adult (adventurous/rebellious), Parent (wise/dominant)
• Focus on: Conflict between stages, Change/rites of passage, Character fitting or fighting the cycle

Shock of the Old

Find inspiration in stories from the past. Watch how people relate to old objects:

• Obvious vs hidden purposes, ownership, feelings, symbolic power, connection to deep nature

Explore Tactics

Story Listening

Gather wisdom by listening (Gary Klein method):

1. Is this memorable? Why does it stick? What's the emotion?
2. Basic timeline: what were you trying to achieve? What happened?
3. Add key decisions: what were your options? What if you'd tried something else?
4. Identify expertise: where might a novice have failed?

Emotional Dashboard

Find strong emotions as story seeds:

• Positive: happiness, confidence, love, delight, trust, pride, excitement, joy, conviction
• Negative: sadness, fear, doubt, disgust, distrust, shame, boredom, anger, hate
• Template: "I felt [emotion] when I realised [change] because I wanted [goal] and so I [reaction]"

Data Detectives

Turn data into stories using three methods:

• Data Zoomer: zoom out (big trend) → zoom in (vivid example)
• Data Detective: body on floor → search for evidence → vital clue → identify the killer
• Data Sceptic: how might we be wrong? Alternative conclusions? What can't be measured?

Thoughtful Failures

Extract wisdom from mistakes (Google's method):

• What went wrong? (focus on decisions, not blame)
• Check: Goals, Assumptions, Insights, Skills, Communication
• "What could we do differently?" → "Who else needs to hear this?"

That's Funny

Find "that's funny..." moments:

• Funny ha-ha: what made you laugh? How did your mental model change?
• Funny peculiar: contradictions, coincidences, unexpected connections
• Acting funny: someone out of character — what does it reveal?

Abstractions

Observe users in action (don't just ask questions):

• Levels: Action → Imitation → Ritual/Play → Narrative → Rationalisation
• Look for contradictions between what people say and do

Social Proof

Establish credibility through:

• Trends: data showing many people acting a certain way
• Prototypes: tests/trials and people's reactions
• Testimonials: "What would you say to persuade a friend to work with us?"

Character Tactics

Trust Me, I'm an Expert

Win trust by showing character and values in action:

• What matters more than money? What projects would you refuse?
• When have you done the right thing at personal cost?
• What values do you share with your audience?

What's My Motivation?

Figure people out using Method Acting (Stanislavski):

• Who am I? Where am I? When is it? What do I want? Why? How? What must I overcome?
• Map cooperation and conflict between actors

Drive Stories

Explore inner motivation through:

• Autonomy: control over how you work
• Mastery: skills steadily improving
• Purpose: worthwhile work serving a greater good
• Get positive and negative examples for each

Hero & Guide

Make the user the Hero; you play the Expert Guide:

• Map the user's journey: where now? → problem → where they want to be
• Guide types: Explorer, Rebel, Sage, Defender, Muse, Warrior

What's it About?

Escape the curse of knowledge — answer "what are you working on?":

• Change: responding to threat or initiating opportunity
• New information: you realised something new or spotted something wrong
• Personal benefit: "I'm helping [X] achieve [Y]"

Cut to the Chase

Emergency escape when losing the audience:

• Cut to action: "What happened was..." / "Suddenly..."
• Cut to emotion: "I was amazed/shocked/disappointed..."
• Cut to meaning: "That's when I realised..."
• Or: stop talking, ask the audience a question

Function Tactics

Pitch Perfect

Sell your idea with structure:

• Elevator pitch: Problem → Solution → Why trust me?
• POPP arc: Problem (negative) → Opportunity (positive) → Practical Steps (negative) → Promise (positive)

Simple Sales Stories

Three approaches:

• "Someone like you buys this" — relatable customer
• "Someone you like buys this" — influential endorser
• Old, Regular, Tricky customers — loyalty and service stories

Story-ish Conversations

Make conversations more story-ish by asking:

• "What might it look like in action?" (vivid moments)
• "Where were you? Who was there?" (specifics)
• "What's the strongest feeling?" (emotion)
• "Who did you need to win over?" (conflict)
• "What forced you to change?" (change)

Innovation Curve

Adapt story to audience risk tolerance:

• Pioneers: stories about process and breakthroughs
• Early Mainstream: tested in niche, proven results
• Late Mainstream: ready for mass market
• Traditional: everyone's doing it, we made it easy

Structure Tactics (Story Arcs)

Man in a Hole

5 beats: Comfort Zone → Trigger → Crisis (find treasure in the dark) → Recovery → Better Place "Nobody ever lost money telling the story of a man in a hole." — Kurt Vonnegut

Rags to Riches

3 beats: Hidden Value (hero in bad place but has inner worth) → Trigger & Struggle (outside help, then on their own) → Deserved Recognition

No Easy Way

6 beats: Problem → Early Success → Setback → Crisis → Recovery → Better Place The ultimate rollercoaster. Use when "too good to be true" won't fly.

Pride & Fall

5 beats: Bad Place → Pride (defy limits) → Warning → Fall (ignore advice) → Worse Place Use to get ahead of scepticism and address it honestly.

Downfall

3 beats: Flawed Power (hidden selfish flaw) → Desperate Denial → Deserved Disgrace Defend against your own downfall, or exploit a rival's.

Epic Fail

6 failure narratives: Catharsis, Hubris, Betrayal, Mechanistic, Zeitgeist, Nemesis Pick the honest frame for what went wrong.

Voyage & Return

Home (safe/dull) → Voyage (strange new world, dangers, opportunities) → Return (changed, making home better)

Happy Ever Afters

Hero changes by: Growing Up, Finding Home/Love/Respect, or Doing the Right Thing

Five Ts

Quick story shaping:

• Timeline: beginning, middle, end ("At first... Then... Now...")
• Turning Points: "Everything changed when..."
• Tensions: start with maximum conflict
• Temptations: easy way out vs right thing
• Teachable Moments: "What this taught me is..."

Style Tactics

Movie Time

Make us "see" the story: Action (where, what's happening, what next?) → Emotion (who, stakes, feelings) → Meaning (what changed, why it matters) Movie-check: "What's the movie playing in their heads now?"

Story Hooks

Two types:

• Unexpected: when everyone zigs, you zag. "Why you'll fail" instead of "How to succeed"
• Knowledge: rules, explainers, listicles, life-hacks, secrets (expertise + insider status)

Three is the Magic Number

• Attention Three: repeat core message 3 times
• Reversal Three: setup, setup, reversal (Little Pigs)
• Moderate Three: extreme, extreme, just right (Goldilocks)

Rolls Royce Moment

Find one vivid, exemplary, relatable detail that tells everything: "At 60mph, the loudest noise comes from the electric clock."

Leave it Out!

Create mystery by omitting what's expected. Let audience fill gaps. Hemingway's 6-word story: "For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn."

Show & Tell

Washing line method: show image → tell what it is → tell what we can't see → new image → refer immediately

Organise Tactics

Story Bank

Track stories with: What's the story? Why tell it? Who finds it useful? Who heard it? Whose story? Still current?

Big, Small, Inside, Outside

• Small Inside: team habits, appraisals, culture
• Small Outside: blog/social, brand values
• Big Inside: induction, awards
• Big Outside: pitch, recruitment, conference

Audience Profile

Know your audience before choosing tactics:

• Basic info, problems, hopes, fears, what they already say about your idea
• Who should tell the story? (customer > you)
• Get permission to share others' stories

Application Workflow

When a user asks for storytelling help:

1. Clarify the goal: What's the situation? (sell, motivate, convince, connect, explain, lead, impress, or specific content format)
2. Identify the audience: Who will hear this? What do they care about?
3. Select tactics: Use the Recipe Matrix or Story Building System
4. Draft the story: Apply selected tactics' key questions to the user's material
5. Choose a structure: Pick a story arc that fits (Man in a Hole for lessons, No Easy Way for realism, Rags to Riches for optimism, etc.)
6. Add style: Movie Time for vivid scenes, Story Hooks for attention, Three is Magic Number for memorability
7. Review: Does it have conflict? Emotion? Change? A teachable moment?

Tactic Selection Guide

Based on Storyteller Tactics by Steve Rawling, Pip Decks (2021).