The story as a strategic tool

Book summary:

Start telling - the story as a strategic tool - to advance an agenda, goals and objectives

 

By: Osnat Goaz

A fascinating and very interesting book about the world of storytelling - as a strategic tool - especially in a business and marketing perspective.

 

One of the main ideas she talks about at the beginning of the book is the idea that the story - as accurate as it is - is never reality - but only a certain point of view on reality - and in a very simple demonstration she tells her life story from 2 different angles using the same facts But by highlighting the different parts of the story, a completely different story is created - and therefore also in our lives - the things we choose to emphasize and concentrate on in the story of our life and our business - and this is the most significant thing when we come to tell a story - must understand the relevant The story…

The choices of our stories

The issue is also what stories we choose to tell - and also what exactly we choose to tell in our story - and even in what way we choose to tell each specific part - because a bit like a flashlight illuminating different parts of the landscape by our choices - we choose to illuminate different parts of reality. The story and thus create the image relevant to the agenda we want to tell.

The story narrative

Siegel gives a super interesting example of a study (Mackenzie and Nelson 2003) of 2 groups receiving half a glass of water - one group was told they received half a full glass - and the other group was said to have received half an empty glass - and most surprisingly the 2 groups treated completely differently. The origin of the glass - when those who received the empty glass claimed that the glass was full and half of it emptied and the other group thought the opposite I think it just shows how significant the narrative of the story is to how we analyze our lives - and our point of reference about this story…

"Because a story allows us to better process data and complex information"

The story is a marketing tool

In one of the experiments she talks about by Rob Walker from the New York Times he bought about 100 items on eBay on 129$ and resold them - the products just attached a special story to them - and ended up selling them more than 36001 TP2T which is more than 27901 TP1T - it's amazing And shows how simple and elementary it is at the marketing level just the idea that the story exists - even if it is for products of a few dollars.

The 8 categories of the "method"

Disorder Stories Category

• The reverberation scheme
• Schema in reverse

Hot Stories category

• The new scheme
• Context schema
• Scheme of the celebrity

The category of purpose stories

• Schema of research stories
• Scheme "From my experience"

A category against all stories

• Cinderella story schema
• The underdog scheme

Hot Stories category

• Schema I have a secret!
• The scheme of the scandals

Category We all guarantee each other

• Scheme "Friends - Your Help"
• Scheme for the benefit of all

Humor category

• This scheme is funny
• Stretch scheme

The classic story category

• The plot of the hero's journey

 

So we can not really bring the full summary and explain all the agreements - but in the book Siegel explains in depth and in detail - how she came to understand that these are the most relevant agreements to tell the story - and also to define which scheme fits each story because each scheme fits very specifically ‘Nada she wants to promote and characterize the story so it is important to use the right and most appropriate type of story for your story.

Components of the story (inspired by Lvov):

• The essence
• Orientation
• The event
• The result
• Means of evaluation
• Koda - the point

 

Siegel's model:

• The essence
• Orientation
• The complication
• Allowing the complication
• The goal
• The recipients
• Recruitment and interest
• Creating engagement
• Providing value
• Agreement
• The narrative glue
• Means of evaluation

 

The narrative spices:

• Do not invent - find!
• authenticity
• reliability
• Integrity - Integrity
• vulnerability

 

The significant tips

• Get to know the recipients
• Choose the rhetorical means that will support the agenda
• The story layer - the visible and the hidden
• The means of the story - cognitive / emotional / structure | style / illustration
• Ethos and pathos
• Haggadah
• The evidence

 

Stages of the story writing process

1. The narrative skeleton
2. The infrastructure
3. Agreement
4. The narrative glue
5. The point
6. Means of evaluation
7. Writing the story

 

 

Important links Siegel shares with readers:

https://www.poprite.co.il/book