Every successful business story follows the same classic narrative structure: a hero, an obstacle, struggles to overcome the obstacle and a concluding lesson. This structure is often referred to as “the hero’s journey” and it can be used as a powerful tool for telling your own business stories.
Identify Your Hero
The first thing you need to do when crafting your business story is identify your hero. Who is the protagonist in your story? Who will be fighting against the obstacles and struggling to reach their goal? Is this character a customer, an employee, or someone else entirely? Don’t forget that your hero doesn’t have to be human! It could also be an organization or product that serves as the protagonist of your story.
Present an Obstacle
Once you’ve identified who is going on this ‘journey’, you can start thinking about what challenge or obstacle they must face in order to reach their desired outcome. This obstacle should be daunting enough to make it interesting but not so difficult as to become insurmountable. What problem does your hero need to solve in order for them succeed?
Depict Your Hero's Struggle
At this point, you get into the nitty gritty details of how your hero overcomes their obstacle. All good stories require convincing characters and believable stakes — so make sure that you set up clear motivations and ideals for those involved in the struggle by fleshing out the details of each scene with vivid descriptions and realistic dialogue. Keep track of time too; readers will appreciate being able to follow along with events in chronological order rather than hearing something akin to “and then he did this… somehow… randomly…"
Provide a Meaningful Conclusion
Finally, make sure that your conclusion is satisfying and meaningful. Nothing kills a good narrative faster than a weak ending; if we invested time into reading (or listening!) all throughout this story, we also want something worthwhile at the end! The modern consumer looks for value even beyond entertainment – make sure that comes across crystal clear from your resolution.
Although all successful stories may follow similar templates, there really isn't any one definitive formula for creating great business stories; use these elements as guides, but feel free express yourself creatively during each step too! As long as there's solid structure behind it all and readers comprehend its intended message – whatever that may be – then you're well on our way towards making impactful business stories!