Seven Big Questions About Story
Here’s a playful Q&A guide to the biggest question you probably have about storytelling
with Dr. Troy Hiduke Campbell
An extended video answer to question #6
“So what is this Q&A guide and why should I read it, and who wrote it?”
Thanks for asking! In this Q&A guide, you’ll get concise answers to many of your biggest questions about storytelling plus links to deeper dives into the story science, theories, and templates.
You should read it because storytelling is powerful but also kind of mysterious, and this will help you better understand its power and demystify its many forms.
And you are in luck, because this Q&A is done with Dr. Troy Hiduke Campbell, a behavioral science PhD, former Disney Imagineer, marketing professor, founder of Hiduke House, and our chief scientist here at On Your Feet.
If you’re ready, read on.
1. “Okay, first why should I use storytelling?”
Story is the way the brain most easily processes and remembers information.
Some scholars have gone as far as to say that humans’ ability to think in cause-and-effect logic and process events narratively is the most distinct component of human cognition.
2. “So I get it, story is powerful, but what does story do?”
Story creates meaning.
Words and ideas alone do not have much meaning. The stories behind them create the meaning.
The reason something happens (“the backstory”) imbues the event, idea, person, product, or character with meaning.
Learn more in this article on giving meaning to ideas with story
3. “Story seems mysterious. Can it be defined?”
Story is best defined as “cause and character.”
At it’s most fundamental, story is a series of moments that “cause” characters to change.
Great storytellers and story teachers, from Pixar, to the author of Narrative, Dr. Porter Abbott, to the world’s leading comics professor, Dr. Katherine Kelp-Stebbins, to the creators of “South Park,” all roughly define story as events causing characters to change. “Cause and character” turns information to into narrative.
Learn more with this famous video with the South Park creators
4. “Storytelling can be hard. What is the easiest way to tell a good story?”
Use the Story Spine.
Formalized by the improviser Ken Adams and later popularized by the studio Pixar, this story form presents a fill-in-the blank “cause and character” structure that is widely useful for most stories.
“Once upon a time there was a __________. Every day, they __________. One day things change when, __________. Because of that, __________. And because of that, __________. Until finally __________. And since that day, everything has been __________.”
5. “How I do explain a big thing — like a big brand, a big idea, or even my own personal brand — with story?“
Use Multi-Narrative Storytelling.
Do not try to tell one single narrative about a big thing. Instead have a core story and tell it through multiple narratives. Be Nike or Apple who use the form “Multi-Narrative Storytelling” in their advertisements. In their ads the brand’s core story (“Just Do It” or “Think Different”) is stated and then expressed through multiple narratives such as in montages of different types of people (all “just doing it” or “thinking different.”).
Great teachers do the same thing when they give multiple anecdotes to explain a single theory. And great personal brands are created like this, by having a core personal statement (e.g., what at your core you do and offer) and then making it clear with multi narratives of work experience you consistently deliver on that core. Remember, don’t try to find one perfect long epic story, instead have a core story and tell many narratives that give more meaning to the core story than any one single narrative ever could.
Learn more about Multi-Narrative Storytelling in this podcast.
6. “Alright, I want to tell a really, really powerful story! How do I do that?”
Give it a sense of destiny.
We love Destiny Narratives, those were characters change into who were “always meant to be.” These stories dominate movies and books, but they also are the fundamental structure behind that stories most powerfully persuade us to change — those that tell use to change to become more of our “true selves.”
Psychologically, the Destiny Narrative resolves the major conflict between people's desire for themselves (and others) to positively change but also to authentically stay the same (“true self”). This is what makes the Destiny Narrative so immensely popular among fiction writers (“the hero who was destined to let out their inner magic”), business change leaders (“this company was meant to return to its roots”), activists (“this country was always meant to move forward”), teachers (“all students all have a critical thinker inside of them”), and marketers (“release your inner goddess with our products” or “discover your Disney side at the Disney Parks”). It’s palpable psychological mix.
7. “One last thing. Sometimes I need tell a story about data, strategy, or business solutions. How do I turn this ‘boring stuff’ into a good story?”
Use Goal -> Insight -> Action.
This three part structure really is perfect for data, sales, strategy, design, and most everything in business.
In this form, the goals are the calls to action, motivations, and reasons for being; the goals establish what needs to be done. The insights are ideas and discoveries (and often data) that guide and enable the action; the insights serve as the authority and the clarity. And, finally, the action is how one should or could use the insight to accomplish the goal; the actions make the insights real and useful in a goal-directed way. Use these three steps to pitch ideas, sell products, explain data, propose plans, and recount case studies.
Learn more about with guides applied to data storytelling
And here’s are two different videos on Goal -> Insight -> Action:
Goal -> Insight -> Action for Data
Goal -> Insight -> Action for Sales
Dr. Troy Hiduke Campbell is the chief scientist at On Your Feet, an influential behavioral science researcher, former Walt Disney Imagineer, and Oregon business professor.
At Hiduke House, he writes about many different ideas in science, business, and art.
