You’ve got 30 seconds to get your audience involved in your story. Blow it, and you lose the room.
Sounds impossible, right? But here’s the thing, every audience you talk to is silently asking you to do exactly that.
Boil it down. Make it stick. Give me a story I can repeat with confidence.
And yet… that’s where most messaging collapses.
- You start explaining and suddenly you’re knee-deep in details nobody asked for. (Been there.)
- You flip through slides and realize your story has no real arc, just scattered facts.
- You lean on features and data, hoping the numbers will speak for themselves. (Spoiler: they don’t.)
Numbers don’t spread. Bullet points don’t spread. Stories spread. Narrative spreads.
When people use story structure to convey information—recall doesn’t just improve, it skyrockets. Stories engage multiple regions of the brain and release oxytocin, the hormone linked to empathy and trust. That combination makes information more meaningful and memorable than raw facts.
If you’ve ever dropped a stat into a story you were retelling without being sure the number was right, it’s probably because the story stuck, not the data.
I made this mistake just last week after watching Vikings on Netflix. "Did you know," I told a friend, "that Leif Erikson discovered America about 1000 years before Columbus?" I was off by quite a bit - it was closer to 500 years. But the story stuck with me, even if my numbers were wrong. The story was that Erikson got there first.
A great story—even when it’s rooted in data—can travel down the hallway, into the next meeting, and all the way up to the decision-maker. Just make sure you get your numbers right, because if your story is good enough, it will get repeated.
This is Why Messaging Falls Apart
Being good at what you do doesn’t make you good at explaining it. In fact, the more expertise you have, the harder it gets.
Most leaders fall into three predictable traps:
- The Curse of Knowledge → You know so much that you over-explain, drowning your audience in details.
- No clear narrative structure → Your message jumps around, leaving people with fragments instead of a full picture.
- Over-reliance on data and features → You explain what something does, but not why it matters.
Our brains aren’t wired to hold onto lists of specs or jargon. They’re wired for narrative…cause and effect, characters and stakes, beginnings and endings.
If you need a great tool to plan your next pitch, try out my Presentation Brief. It’ll force you to wrangle the mess.
Narrative as Strategy
Think of your narrative as the operating system of your business communication. It runs underneath everything: the pitch deck, the all-hands meeting, the investor update, the customer call.
Your story isn’t what you say once. It’s what gets retold when you’re not in the room. If people can’t pass it on, it doesn’t spread, and if it doesn’t spread, it doesn’t shape decisions.
The strongest narratives always do three things:
- Clarify your value → No confusion, no jargon, just sharp clarity.
- Build credibility → Proof, stories, and consistency that position you as the authority.
- Move people to act → Messaging that sparks urgency and drives decisions.
Putting Story to Work
So how do you actually use story in your communication?
Simple: borrow the same arc that’s been driving novels, movies, and speeches forever. It works because it mirrors how people naturally process change.
1.Introduction
Set the stage. Show the problem or opportunity on the table. Make it clear why this story matters right now.
2. Rising Action
Build the tension. Describe the challenges, the stakes, and the alternatives you’ve considered. This is where people lean in, they need to see what’s at risk if nothing changes.
3. Climax
Deliver the turning point. Present your recommendation, your “big move,” the clear solution that resolves the conflict. Make the case with clarity and confidence, backed by proof.
4. Falling Action
Show the path forward. Outline how you’ll implement your idea, what resources it takes, and how the plan will actually unfold.
5. Resolution
Close the loop. Paint a picture of success, how progress will be measured, and how risks will be managed. Leave people with confidence that the story ends well if they act.
Let’s see it in practice:
Introduction
Our employee engagement scores dropped 12% last quarter. If we don’t address it, we risk losing top talent and slowing growth.
Rising Action
Teams are stretched thin, managers are struggling to balance priorities, and employees feel disconnected. We’ve tried surveys and small perks, but the root issues remain.
Climax
My recommendation: launch a leadership development program focused on coaching and communication.
Falling Action
We’ll start with a 3-month pilot for mid-level managers, track engagement and retention metrics, and expand if the results hold. HR has budget set aside, and training partners are ready.
Resolution
Within six months, we’ll see higher engagement scores, lower turnover, and managers who are better equipped to support their teams. That’s the story we want to tell, and it starts with this program.
One last step before you're done.
Take the big story you need people to believe right now…maybe it’s about growth, a product launch, or a change you’re driving.
☞ Run it through the 5-part arc: Introduction → Rising Action → Climax → Falling Action → Resolution.
☞ Try to keep it in the 100 to 150 word range. (Yes, it’s painful. That’s the point.)
☞ Then read it out loud (bonus points if you record yourself). If it drags, cut again.
When your audience understands your message in the form of a story, it stops being your story and becomes theirs. And when it becomes their story, they will re-tell it.
