The midpoint of a story occurs exactly when you think it does, at about halfway through a story. In many successful stories, the midpoint marks the story's climax:
- Halfway through Titanic, the Titanic hits the iceberg.
- Halfway through The Matrix, Neo enters the Matrix for the first time - after becoming aware of it.
- Halfway through Fire Festival, the guests arrive at the island.
- Halfway through ‘Raiders of the lost ark', the ark is excavated.
It seems counterintuitive to think of these scenes as the story’s climax - most of us would reserve the term for the final big explosion shortly before the end, yet (re)watch movies more closely and you will see that the midpoint is not only a spectacular scene, but also often turns the story in a new direction.
- Referencing last week's Hunger Games, the first half is spent preparing for the Hunger Games and the second half takes place within the actual Hunger Games.
- In the first half of ‘Crazy, Stupid, Love’, Steve Carell and Rian Gosling aim to be womanizers. In the second half, they fight for true love.
- In the first half of ‘Alien’, the Nostromo’s crew is investigating an alien ship.
- In the second half, the crew is fighting the alien creature they brought onto their own ship.
Notice how these turns don’t send the stories into unexpected territory, but rather how they finally place all chess pieces in place to let the story play out like we have been waiting for, may it be dinosaurs on the loose in Jurassic Park or a slowly sinking Titanic. If the inciting incident marks the beginning of a story, the midpoint marks the point of no return to how life was at the movie’s start.
- It is a fun exercise in the times of streaming: Take a movie you have already seen, and start it exactly at its middle. Chances are, you will discover a midpoint scene.
- Now do the same with your latest presentation: Scroll to the slide exactly in its middle, review its content and the parts before and after. This is probably my most common litmus test to check if the presentation follows a cohesive narrative.
- If the middle slide seems like a random point in your presentation (which is usually the case), start thinking about beginning and end, and how you get from the first to the latter.
- When you start restructuring your presentation, keep in mind that whatever information you reserve for the midpoint should not come as a surprise but should be revealed as early as possible, if not even in its title (Alien, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s stone, Joker). Place the ‘what’ at the beginning, reserve the ‘how’ for the midpoint.
- However, keep in mind that all central information should be laid out until the midpoint. The second half should only deal with its consequences. If you place crucial information at the end of a presentation, you create a?deus ex machina
