Seven brilliant ways to build a story

Words are not enough to make an impact. To make them matter, you need to pile them together in the right order. You need a structure. Here are seven brilliant ways to build a compelling story.

The triple. Highly efficient for short, important verbal announcements.

• Say what you are about to say
• Then say it
• Then summarise what you have said

The five Ws. Winston Churchill’s favourite, as well as most journalists. Ask rhetorical questions and then answer them. The order of the questions is not important.

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• Why?

The time course. Efficient for presentation of new ideas and for explanation of complex issues.

• Yesterday
• Today
• Tomorrow

The four Ps. Brilliant for marketing messaging.

• Position
• Problem
• Possibilities
• Proposal

The 7 steps model of classical antiquity. The ideal way to build a complex argument. A lot of great speeches uses this structure.

• Introduction
• Facts
• Counter argument
• Argument
• Solution goal
• Solution consequence, effect
• Conclusion

The golden circle. If you’ve read Simon Sinek, you’ll know this one. The order of the three elements is immensely important.

• Start with Why
• Then explain How
• End with What

And at the very end, let’s not forget the simple formula of AIDA. This is probably the best formula for 1:1 written sales pitches.

• Attention
• Interest
• Desire
• Action