Story or Use Case or. . .?

With the words ‘story’ and ‘storytelling’ getting thrown around willy-nilly these days, it’s not surprising that their definition has crept, amoeba like, to encompass everything from graphic design to strategic communication.

• Musicians are ‘storytellers.’
• Instructional designers tell the ‘story’ of the information.
• A use statement is called a ‘story.’

When someone asks for help with their 'story,' it could mean any of the above and more!

This all leads to a fair amount of confusion, so I thought it might be useful and interesting to share how I break down a few different types of narrative–including story–for folks I work with.

Different practitioners have different ways of defining these; this is mine. I’d love to hear how you see these distinctions playing out in your work!

A Story

.? . .centers humanity, heart, and change.?

Stories connect with us on an emotional level and almost always involve a universal human drive such as the longing for acceptance, fear of change, or resilience in the face of grave challenges. Stories feature a character, human or otherwise, at the center. All of the ideas, values, feature-sets or whatevers arrange themselves around the central journey.

When receiving a powerful story, the audience leans in and often feels a sense of expansion or shift in their bodies.

When telling a story, the storyteller opens their heart. It should be a little bit scary to share a story. The best storytellers, especially leaders who share stories, put something of themselves on the line when telling a story.

When we invite people into a story, we’re inviting them into connection and into a transformational experience.

Stories are healing and storytelling is a healing art.

Stories can be integrated into strategic narratives as in the case of Marshall Ganz’s Public Narrative structure.

A Use Case

. . .also features a character with a need. But, as opposed to a story where the need tends to be multi-dimensional and complex, the need in a use case is easily met by the product or service being described.

In a use case, all we need to know about the character are a few identifying characteristics relevant to the product. Characters in a use case are essentially interchangeable props to illustrate how the product or service can be useful. Often, the character in a use case is an avatar–a made up person composed of various demographic data points that represent the company or product’s primary target market.

An example of a use case that uses elements of storytelling:

Edna is an 78 year old grandmother living in New Jersey. She wants to see her grandchildren, but, due to health concerns, can’t travel to them. She found our proprietary Holographic Chat feature and now is able to have virtual family dinners once a week. This has not only made connection possible, but also has increased her sense of wellbeing!

The use case has all of the hallmarks of a conventional, well-structured story: a main character with a challenge who overcomes it to be reunited with her family. What distinguishes it as a use case, however, is that Edna is defined entirely by her relationship with the product. She’s an avatar to show how powerful the product is, not a multi-dimensional human being.

When listening to or reading a use case, the audience experiences a sense of cognitive understanding. A good use case will make the audience’s eyebrows shoot up with understanding as if to say ‘aha! Now I see how this widget can help me or my business!’

When sharing a use case, the speaker’s primary responsibility is to ensure that the audience understands the power of the product or service. Use cases don’t require any emotional investment from the speaker, though the best ones do tend to be personal and integrate some element of emotional connection.

Structured Information

. . .has the primary intention of helping the audience make sense of a complex set of data or information.?

It may not feature a character at all and is focused on shaping information and laying out a coherent trajectory. Because it tends to feature a narrative arc, ‘Structured Information’ sometimes gets conflated with story. Examples include:

• Change management initiatives
• Strategic plans
• Vision statements

When receiving structured information, the audience may find themselves making notes, jotting down questions, or nodding with understanding.

When sharing structured information, the speaker’s focus is on ensuring that their audience is following along each step of the way so that each data point builds on top of the next like the foundation of a house.

While structured information may have a transformational arc (that’s the key to the structure!), it doesn’t feature a character and often does not feature any dramatic tension–there’s no obstacle to overcome, we’re simply moving forward.

Why the Distinctions Matter

There are both practical and ideological reasons to pay attention to these distinctions.

Practically, it’s important to know whether we are asking our team to develop a story, use case, or to structure the information (or a combination of the three!). Having a shared understanding and vocabulary around these terms and the function of each can save a ton of time, avoid misunderstandings, and result in stronger, more consistent communication.

It’s the difference between saying ‘We need to tell the story of this product’ (which could mean just about anything!) and ‘We need to develop a heart-centered story related to this product to engage our audience emotionally, then tie it to a case study and structured information so that people really understand what we’re up to.’

On another level, I’ve noticed that there’s something interesting (and pernicious) that happens when a word comes into overuse and its meaning becomes fuzzy. This often happens when something that invites multi-dimensionality, humanity, and a heart-centered approach enters the mainstream.

We’ve seen it happen with words like ‘authenticity,’ ‘inclusion,’ and, of course, ‘story.’

When these terms get fuzzy, they get flattened from something experiential and deeply human that may challenge the status quo our brain-centric culture into another tactic that can be summed up in a few bullet points to promote growth or productivity.

Keeping ‘story’ distinct and, I'll say, sacred, is one way of saying humanity is complex and beautiful, heart matters, and connection lies at the center of all, including (and especially) the world of work.

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It brings together everything I've learned over 14 years of facilitating workshops and coaching nonprofits--strategic storytelling, ethical storytelling, storytelling to help transform your culture and foster a sense of belonging, and more--to help you develop the most powerful stories for the right audiences at the right time. You can check it out at www.storyandspirit.org/nonprofitstorytelling!