enteRETAINment

Why Stories Matter

Seth Godin recently wrote a blog entry titled Which comes first (why stories matter) in which he talks about how the work we do every day tells a story, but if we haven't taken the time to develop a good story to wrap around our work first, before the work, then the work can be random and the story confused, bland, indifferent, or doesn't spread easily. I see a great correlation there with e-learning courses. Most courses start off with objectives . . .

What you will learn

• Recording Sales Transactions
• Submitting Sales Transactions
• Sales Transactions Resources

. . . then it goes right into the meat of the course . . .

"When recording your sales transactions . . .  it is important that all sales associates record and submit sales transactions within 24 hours. This is done by clicking on the Sales Transactions icon . . ."

Try dropping the objectives and start with a powerful story that engages the audience while sharing what they will learn. The story will stick and the association between the "storified" objectives and the content will be locked in . . .

"John Smith is a new hire that wasn't sure how to correctly record his daily sales transactions. One day, John got a call from the accounting department . . ."

Storytelling at Pixar

I found an article from 2007 on the Animation World Magazine website titled The Secret of Pixar Storytelling that gives good insight into the Pixar process. Some article highlights below from Pixar Writer/director Andrew Stanton. . .

• "Be wrong as fast as you can." Get your ideas onto the page. The real gold is mined later. This advice is similar to that of Chuck Jones on drawing -- make your mistakes early and fast, so you can get them out of the way. Refine your efforts until you get to the good stuff."Genius" looks effortless only because there are 100,000 bad drawings (so-called failures) already behind you.
• Empathize with your main character, even if you don't like all of his/her motivations or qualities. (For example, Woody in Toy Story initially masked his selfish desires as being selfless.)
• Unity of opposites. Each character must have clear goals that oppose each other.
• You should have something to say. Not a message, per se, but some perspective, some experiential truth.
• Have a key image, almost like a visual logline, to encapsulate the essence of the story; that represents the emotional core on which everything hangs. (For example, Marlin in Finding Nemo, looking over the last remaining fish egg in the nest.)
• Cast actors with an appealing voice, and whom the microphone loves. Test their voice performance with animation to see if it fits.
• Know your world and the rules of it. (Such as in Monsters, Inc.)
• The crux of the story should be on inner, not outer, conflicts.
• Developing the story is like an archeological dig. Pick a site where you think the story is buried, and keep digging to find it.
• Animation should be interpretive, not realistic.
• "Just say no" to flashbacks. Only tell what's vital, and tell it linearly.
• Consider music as a character to anchor the film. Music is a keeper of the emotional truth.

The Story Process part 1

Over the past couple of years I have digested a great deal of content on the topic of storytelling and learning. Some of the authors I have mentioned in previous posts include Will Eisner, Scott McCloud, Robert McKee, Dan Pink, Seth Godin and Roger Schank to name a few (recommended storytelling books). I have taken the notes and crunched, tweaked, added to them, tested and tweaked them again to come up with a storytelling steps process they I am still refining daily.

Below are the basic elements. I'll go into more detail on each over the next few months.

• There is a need
• Define the Audience
• Define the Story Concept
• Define the Characters
• Introduction/Setting
• Inciting Incident
• Progressive Complications
• Crisis
• Climax
• Resolution
• Triggers

Recommended Storytelling Books

I'm at Learning2007 in Orlando this week, enjoying the many great learning conversations. I have already spoken to quite a few people here about storytelling & e-learning and thought I would share a link to my list of recommended storytelling books that includes:

• Lessons in Learning, e-Learning, and Training . . . by Roger C. Schank
• Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art . . . by Scott McCloud
• Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting . . . by Robert Mckee
• Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art . . . by Scott McCloud
• Graphic Storytelling . . . by Will Eisner
• A Whole New Mind . . . by Daniel H. Pink
• How to Get Your Point Across in 30 Seconds or Less . . . by Milo O. Frank
• Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable . . . by Seth Godin

The Silent Dialogue

"Never write a line of dialogue when you can create a visual expression. Ask, 'How can I write this in a purely visual way and not resort to a single line of dialogue?'"

-- Robert Mckee, author of the book Story: Substance, Structure, Style and The Principles of Screenwriting

Current TV & Storytelling by Ira Glass

Current TV is a cable network that tells informative stories from the real world with about 1/3 of their content being viewer-created content, or what they call "VC2". They break their schedule into short segments called "pods" — each just 3-7 minutes in length and generally use a character, action, or event to tell a story. Anyone who wants to contribute can upload a video on their website. Then, everyone in the Current online community helps decide what should be on TV.

On the website, They have a training section to help amateur/beginning producers better understand the craft of journalism/storytelling/production. Under the Storytelling section they have video clips from industry “experts.” I found one clip by Ira Glass, host of radio program This American Life interesting. Ira talks about there being 2 building blocks to creating a good story:

1. Anecdotes - A sequence of events that leads from one thing to the next to the next and creates suspense. Raising questions and baiting the audience.
2. Moment of Reflection - Here's the point of the story, the bigger something we are driving at.

Ira's video segment is almost 20 minutes long but worth the time.

Digital Storytelling

A good storytelling quote from Dana Atchley, the late digital storytelling pioneer:

"...digital storytelling combines the best of two worlds: the 'new world' of digitized video, photography and art, and the "old world" of telling stories. This means the "old world" of PowerPoint slides filled with bullet point statements will be replaced by a "new world" of examples via stories, accompanied by evocative images and sounds."

Telling a Great Marketing Story

Some interesting tips on telling a great marketing story on Seth Godin's blog:

• "Great stories are subtle. Surprisingly, the fewer details a marketer spells out, the more powerful the story becomes. Talented marketers understand that allowing people to draw their own conclusions is far more effective than announcing the punch line."

• "Great stories happen fast. First impressions are far more powerful than we give them credit for."

• "Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone. Average people are good at ignoring you. Average people have too many different points of view about life and average people are by and large satisfied. If you need to water down your story to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. The most effective stories match the world view of a tiny audience—and then that tiny audience spreads the story."
• "Most of all, great stories agree with our world view. The best stories don’t teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place."

Stories that Move People

In his book Never Eat Alone, author Keith Ferrazzi guides readers through his techniques on building a lifelong community  of colleagues, contacts, friends and mentors. The topic of storytelling comes up in the chapter titled "Be Interesting." Ferrazzi feels that being interesting is critical to successfully build business relationships, and that you can do that by using compelling stories to deliver powerful content that will energize your network and achieve your mission. Some key points:

• "The most gripping stories are those concerning identity - who we are, where we've come from, and where we are going. They tap into something common in all people."
• "You should figure out how to spin your yarn in a fashion that a) issimple to understand, and b) everybody can relate to."
• "Ask yourself, 'How does my content help others answer who they are, where they are from, and where they are going?'"

Disney

I just returned from a few days in Disney World with my family. Is there anyone that uses the power of storytelling any better? Disney makes a ride more than just a ride by creating a story around it. They pay particularly close attention to little story details as they set you up for the ride. The Test Track ride in EPCOT is a great example. The ride simulates the process for testing an automobile. Disney captures your attention with a themed story around the ride while you are waiting in line. They engage all of your senses, sight, sound, smell, etc., as you absorb the storyline and hardly pay attention to the wait. Even the ride itself continues with the storyline through piped in audio and a small display screen on the ride.  I realized that is was the small details of the story that made the difference and that is where Disney excels. Not only did I enjoy the ride, but I learned a little something as well.