The Elusive Magic of Great Stories

Stories can conquer fear, you know. They can make the heart bigger.- Ben Okri

I do not know anyone who is not inherently drawn into stories. Do you?

From our early years, we are captivated by tales of adventure, romance, and heroism. If we think about it, stories are our very first means to learning. Maybe that is why our brains become hardwired for story forever.

Stories are not just a fundamental part of our lives—they play a significant role in shaping our worldview. Some stories captivate us, others leave us feeling miserable. But we can always derive a lesson from a good story. Which begs the question, what separates a good story from a bad one?

I know what you’re thinking: yet another list of attributes. The truth is that there is no definitive set of attributes that define a good story. I have myself read and reflected upon dozens of such lists in the business literature, and, for the larger part, they do not acknowledge that the story dictates its own attributes. Just imagine Dostoyevsky trying to make The Karamazov Brothers concise, or think about Edgar Allan Poe renouncing to his ground-breaking use of unreliable narrators in The Tale-Tell Heart or in Ligeia. Picture Coppola giving the Corleones a happy ending, and closing the narrative with a CTA.

What follows is not a list of must-have attributes. Those are dictated by your story. What follows are similarities great stories share.

Conflict

Conflict, or drama, is the key ingredient that makes a story compelling. Conflict is what drives the story forward. It is what keeps us on the edge of our seats, anticipating what will happen next. A good story comes with a good dose of conflict to keep the audience interested. Without conflict, a story stumbles and fails to hold anyone’s attention. In fact, I dare say that having too much conflict is not a bad thing. Stories with a strong inner force come packed with drama and tension.

Identification

Another crucial characteristic of a good story is identification. A story resonates with the audience because they can see themselves within the story, which endows the story with the power to evoke emotions at a deeper level. When we see ourselves in the characters, it is much easier to become emotionally invested in their journey and find ourselves rooting for them, feeling their pain, celebrating their victories no matter how miniscule. Sometimes we might not even like a character, and yet we identify with them because what we do not like about them is often a projection of what we do not like about ourselves.

Involvement

Involvement is the ability of a story to transport us to a different world, or a different set of circumstances. Involvement is what makes us want to step into someone else's shoes, forget about our surroundings, and become fully immersed in the story. A well-crafted story has the power to make us feel like we are a part of the world it creates, like the circumstances are credible no matter how distant in time and space. That is why it is not an exaggeration to say that when we are fully immersed in a story, not only do we get inside the story but we also ignore our own time and space.

Conciseness

Conciseness is the art of telling a complex story in a simple way. A good story is easy to follow, with clear and concise language. When a story is too complicated, the audience can become confused and lose interest. Simplicity is a precious currency in today's world, where people will give you 10 seconds to grab their attention. However, if your story is complex, then it is complex. There are times, and topics, when one cannot simplify too much without making the topic sound trivial. Do not underestimate your audience's intelligence.

Agency

Agency refers to the capacity of a character to make decisions and take action. Stories worth remembering will have characters who are proactive and have agency. (Business storytelling way too often fails at depicting any characters at all, but that is a topic for another time.) When characters are passive and things happen to them, the story becomes less engaging. It is perfectly admissible to create passive, indecisive characters (a topic which fascinates me beyond measure) but they must preserve their agency. If characters are to be relatable, they must face the same problems as we. And for that they need to maintain their agency.

Recognition

Recognition is the use of familiar themes and motifs in a story. A good story offers elements that the audience is able to recognise. When a story has themes that orbit around the audience’s everyday experience, it becomes easier to understand. Recognising a theme as our own can also create a sense of nostalgia—and nostalgia is a powerful emotional trigger. Recognition can be highly symbolic and achieve the status of subtext in your storytelling. The power of symbols as a means of recognition is often undervalued.

Authenticity

Authenticity is often described as an intrinsic characteristic of a good story. But it is also a crucial trait of the storyteller. The audience's belief in the authenticity of the storyteller is a make-or-break condition. In other words: the storyteller must earn the audience’s trust. When the audience trusts the teller, they are more likely to remember the story and tell it to someone else. That is why storytellers should be trained.

If you think I can help you and your team become better storytellers, contact me. I’d love to hear your story.