Storytelling Masterclass - How to Tell Powerful Stories

One of my favorite things to do is to sit down and enjoy a great story. Whether it’s on TV, a film, or a video on Youtube, stories give me a chance to experience a journey alongside the character. We all know a great story worth telling, but how do we come up with a structure for the final video? Read on, because I’m going to share my process for how I come up with the right flow for my stories!

All the best stories take the viewer on a journey. Facts are important, but if you’re trying to tell a story by just sharing facts, then you’re going to lose your viewer. The best stories involve the viewer in the tale, emotionally involving them and sharing the stakes. The hero’s success is the success of the audience. Typically, stories are told in three acts. Screen writer Syd Field formalized the structure in his book “Screenplay” back in 1978. The three acts he talks about are:

• Act 1: Setup

• Act 2: Confrontation

• Act 3: Resolution

Let’s dive into each of these acts, and then let’s talk about an actual application for your stories.

Act 1: Setup

The setup is the start of the story. A story doesn’t happen unless there’s a reason to start. It’s the setup where you introduce the conflict, the protagonist, and the world they live in. Here you establish the stakes, the reason for why your story even exists. If you’re following along with the rules of journalism, this is the act where you’re going to answer the first of the “5 Ws” - or Who, what, where, when, and why. Here you should address who’s the story about, where and when it’s taking place, and why did it happen.

This is where we meet Frodo in the shire, Neo in his office, or Kathleen Kelly and Joe Fox at their computers. What, don’t knock You’ve Got Mail, it’s a great movie. We learn details about each of these characters that reveal their motivations and personal details.

We also meet their main opposition. This doesn’t mean that the villain is revealed, but it does mean that we are introduced to whatever is motivating the story. The ring that needs to be destroyed, the fake world run by machines, or the megastore bookstore threatening to put the local bookstore out of business, BUT those two bookstores happened to each be owned by Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, our blooming lovebirds who anonymously met in an AOL chatroom. We understand the motivations that are driving our main characters as they face the issues in their story. Once they’ve accepted the challenge, we move into Act 2 - Confrontation.

Act 2: Confrontation

Confrontation is the bulk of your story. It’s where the hard work happens. Now that your main character has taken that step, they actually encounter the obstacles and do the work to overcome the opposition. Following the idea of the journalism 5-W’s, here you want to answer what happened as well as the silent “h” of the group - how did it happen.

In this act, we follow our character as they gather the resources they need to succeed. This can be anything from knowledge to skills to the support of others. As with any journey we go on, there are going to be obstacles along the way. Sometimes those are logistical issues, sometimes it’s another person directly working to thwart our efforts. Regardless where that opposition comes from, Act 2 documents those struggles. It’s all building towards that final confrontation.

In Lord of the Rings, it’s Frodo and the fellowship’s journey across Middle Earth as they move closer to Mordor. It’s their encounters with Sauron’s armies, death of friends, and the temptation of the ring that all push to bring Frodo to failure in his quest to destroy the ring.

In the Matrix, it’s Neo training to understand how he can harness the power of the world of The Matrix in order to rescue humanity. It’s the setbacks he faces as the machines throw every obstacle in the way of his quest, both striving to believe for himself that he can overcome as well as his journey to prove to the others that he is in fact “the one.”

And in everyone’s favorite romantic comedy, it’s Kathleen’s efforts to save her bookstore while Joe tries to figure out how to reveal to her that he’s AOL user “NJ152” and not in fact the villain that she believes Joe Fox is.

All of Act 2 is leading up to the pinnacle of the story and the final confrontation in Act 3 - Resolution.

Act 3: Resolution

This is it - this is everything your character has been working towards. All of their hard work has led to this moment. Will they overcome and have a happy ending? Or are you sharing a tragedy, where they fail in the grand confrontation? Act 3 tells the story of how it all ends. This is where you want your audience to be cheering for your hero while understanding the motivations that brought them to this point. They understand why the hero needs to overcome the villain and the stakes at hand if the quest is met with failure.

This is when Frodo finally makes it to Mount Doom in Mordor and struggles to finally throw the ring in, all while the armies of Middle Earth battle with Sauron’s armies. Or when Neo finally confronts Mr. Smith in order to save his friends. And it’s the moment when Joe finally tells Kathleen how he feels, hoping she will overlook the fact that his bookstore unfortunately led to the closure of hers.

The viewer then gets to see if the hero overcomes the obstacles and how it all ends, but I won’t completely spoil these films. In the end, the hero walks away changed from the person they were at the start of their story. They’ve gained new skills, hopefully overcome a struggle, and are equipped for possible future struggles. The three act structure helps to give us a tool to communicate our stories and help the viewer to learn the lessons that our hero discovered.

All of that is great, but the real question is, how do you apply this in the stories you’re telling? Let’s look at a practical example of how I use this story flow to tell stories.

Practical Application

The stories I frequently tell aren’t narrative like the examples we discussed earlier. I tell more documentary-esque stories, sharing how people’s real lives were impacted and changed. So when looking at how to apply the three act structure, I’m going to be showing how that translates to more of a “testimony” style of video. There are countless ways to adapt this storytelling method, though, so this is only going to be one of many options.

When I evaluate someone’s story, I like to frame it in three questions:

• Where were you?

• Where are you now?

• Where are you going?

These are simple questions, but they help to frame up the journey. As we explore these questions, we’re going to relate them to a possible real world story. In our story, we’re going to use the example of an organization that provides services helping people who are unemployed find a new job. This organization has been able to help hundreds of people connect with meaningful employment over the past five years, and as a result they’ve been able to turn around their financial situations. This organization is creating a video to highlight a past success, but also to build financial support to expand the program to help more individuals.

Here’s how these stories relate to the three act structure we discussed before.

Where were you?

This is Act I. We meet our character and get an understanding of who they are. Obviously at the start of their journey, they have something that they’re trying to overcome. Some sort of struggle. In the case of our fictional organization, this is where they discuss why there’s even a need for a job connection service. The individuals who are searching for employment may have incredibly tight finances because of their unemployment. They’re facing the stresses of trying to pay bills when funds just are not coming in, and they’re having trouble finding a job, let alone one that is fulfilling. These people are discouraged and could use a community that can come alongside and encourage them. In this act, we get to know the person who this organization serves, making the story about that person. We then introduce the organization and the program it provides, giving us a clear segue into the next question, where are you now?

Where are you now?

This question covers Act II and III. We provided the call to adventure for our main character in Act I when we introduced the organization, now we show their journey. This section shows the ways the program impacted the individual. By answering the question “Where are you now,” you’re showing how they got from the point of their struggle to their point of hope. The bulk of the answer to this question should consist of Act II content, similar to a narrative film, but you want to make sure that if their story has a happy ending that you bring it to some sort of conclusion by pulling in the ideas that come in your traditional Act III.

This is the section where it can be easy to just list facts, but you want to make sure you frame those facts within the story. In our example organization, this is where you’d show the specific ways the program brought hope to the person looking for a job. You could discuss their time in the program, or a more broad overview of the specifics of the program. You ideally want to continue to tell the story established at the start of the video, following along with the character we’ve met and understanding how the program brought them to their meaningful job and financial freedom. Their story doesn’t necessarily need to be over, but you want it to be heading towards a successful conclusion so people can clearly see the benefits of the program.

This question naturally brings your video to a conclusion, unless…

Where are you going?

This section is somewhat of a bonus section. This is the spot where you can vision cast and dream for the future. You can almost think of this as the “Marvel post credits” scene, teasing what’s to come. I most often use this section if I’m hoping to use my video to build support for a program or organization. This allows you to show people that the story isn’t over, and share a bit of your organization’s hopes and dreams for the future. Maybe it’s an expansion of the program to help more people, or maybe it’s an adjacent program that would compliment your existing programs. Regardless of what your future holds, you can use this question to help people understand that the work isn’t done, in spite of the success you’ve had. You don’t need this in every project, but it can be a powerful way to end your videos when it fits. For our example organization, this is the spot where we’d talk about how an expansion of the program could lead to many more stories like the one we just heard. We could talk about specific details, or it could be as simple as an ask for people to partner financially so we can impact even more people. You need to make sure whatever way you present the ask, that it fits within your overall piece as to not water down your story, and that you ease into it and not just abruptly ask for the support. The whole piece should flow together naturally.

Conclusion

Not every video is going to perfectly tie to the three act structure or the “Where were you, where are you now, where are you going” questions, but they provide a great start to exploring how you may want to script your video. Every story is different, so you ultimately need to make the storytelling calls that are best going to serve the story you are telling. You don’t want your stories to come across as selfless promotion or an advertisement, you want them to best serve the main character of the story. If you tell a solid story that involves your organization, the benefits will come through naturally. Trust the power of your story to move people’s hearts!

Remember - it’s not all about the gear, it’s the story that matters!