On a warm, drizzly evening the other day, I took my dog, Coco, round the block for a quick pre-bedtime stroll.
It would not turn out to be quick.
Storyteller Tactics
The secret to storytelling without being condescending
I had a choice: stay in my comfort zone and talk at people about prototyping. Or try something I've never done before: tell an engaging story that has the chance to stick in people's minds.
Episode 17: Once Upon a Time in Manchester (Part 3)
A storyteller, struggling to teach innovation. And an innovator, struggling to find his story ...
Then, one day, a message: “Hey Steve. I’ve got a proposition for you. Free to chat?”
Tactics: TRUE Stories, Pitch Perfect.
Episode 16: Niamh’s Pride and Fall
The penny finally dropped in Nan’s back garden. Niamh and her Dad stood there, watching Tony the estate agent hacking brambles and weeds with a spade. Slowly he reveals a low concrete slab, covered in moss and cracked with age.
Tactics: Pride and Fall, Movie Time.
Episode 15: It's a Kind of Magic
Niamh has been with MiCasa for three months now. A dream job for any developer, starting with an almost blank page and focussing on what the customer really needs.
Tactics: It's a Kind of Magic, How to Why.
Episode 14: Time to jump ship?
Niamh is in charge of the development team at UpYourStreet, a long-established property sales platform. Except she’s not - not in charge, that is. She’s waiting for Derek.
Tactics: Story Hooks, The Dragon and the City
Episode 13: The Sudden Death of Zanussi Cumberbatch
Zanussi died unexpectedly, unloved and un-mourned by the millions of people who’d never read his work.
Overnight, Google had changed its search algorithms. They’d seen through the likes of Zanussi Cumberbatch, with his pathetic attempts to game the system. With a few lines of code, they gave Zanussi a death sentence.
Tactics: Tragedy and Redemption, Save your Reader
Episode 12: The Secret Life of Zanussi Cumberbatch
Orson always wanted to be a writer. He had a photo of Hemingway on the desk in his student bedroom.
Two years out of uni, Orson got a job that paid him to write: as a content writer for a web agency. OK, he thought, it’s not coffee and cigarettes outside a cafe in Paris, but I am writing for a living!
Tactics: Secrets and Puzzles, Voyage and Return.
Episode 11: Cut to the Chase
“Let me ask you this,” she says, pausing the presentation. “How many of us in this room right now know what we’re having for dinner tonight?”
Tactics: Data Detectives, Cut to the Chase.
Tactics: Data Detectives, Cut to the Chase.
Episode 10: “What’s wrong with a bit of Trolley Judging?”
Rachel is in the zone.
Deep in databases and reports, click through rates and eyeball tracking, consumer trends and competitor analysis. She looks up from her laptop, it’s 3.40pm. Where has Sunday gone?
Tactics: Shock of the Old, Universal Stories.
Episode 9: "Do we know that?..."
If Rachel had a catchphrase, it would be “Do we know that?” Followed by a pause, into which she mentally inserts “Or are you just making a massive assumption?” Colleagues joke it’ll be carved on her tombstone: “Here lies Rachel Downes… Do we know that?”
Tactics: Curiosity Killed the Cat, What's My Motivation?
Episode 8: Once upon a time in Manchester (Part 2)
He's checking his phone. He’s actually checking his phone! While I’m presenting. Shit, shit, shit.
Tactics: Rolls Royce Moment, That's Funny.
Episode 7: The Sage
This has all worked out well, very well. Ravi didn’t actually tell Emma she’s acting like his rebellious little sister, within the “family” of the company. But that was the story in his head. Rebellion is inevitable, he told her.
Tactics: Drive Stories, Hero and Guide.
Episode 6: There's Treasure in The Dark
The row with Finance has escalated. More people CC’d in, more chaotic cat-herding for Ravi to manage.
Tactics: Man in a Hole, Circle of Life.
Episode 5: Herding cats, in the fog, on a deadline.
“What did you CC them into that for?” Emma’s voice is rising. Ravi has messed up. “I thought they all knew,” Ravi says.
Tactics: Three Whos, Three Great Conflicts.
Episode 4: Landscape Gardener vs Cowboy Builder
Design is like gardening. There aren’t any quick fixes. You can’t just throw seeds on the soil, walk away and expect a beautiful garden to emerge overnight.
Tactics: Metaphor Engine, Thoughtful Mistakes.
