How do you choose your storytelling models and theories?

The Hero's Journey (monomyth), was developed by Joseph Campbell in his book "The Hero With a Thousand Faces". This technique tells of a protagonist who is called to adventure, then he sets out on a challenging journey, faces demons, conquers, and comes back victorious. You can use the Hero's journey in your brand's origin story to show how you went from adversity to triumph. The Coca-Cola brand used this storytelling technique in its famous ad campaign called "Masterpiece".

I choose storytelling models and theories based on what connects with me personally and what I've learned works well. I look at stories that have touched me and see how they're put together. There are also popular storytelling methods like the Hero's Journey or the three-act structure. I keep up with new trends and ideas in storytelling from books, movies, and online content.

A Jornada do Herói ganhou ainda mais visibilidade após ser identificada e adaptada para as produções Hollywoodianas. Um exemplo bastante famoso está na saga Star Wars, mas esse está longe de ser o único caso. Christopher Vogler fez uma adaptação na forma de memorando, que correu entre os estúdios e passou a ser adotado com frequência. Posteriormente, Vogler publicou um livro chamado "A Jornada do Escritor", que segue sendo uma fonte de conhecimento primordial para quem deseja aprender mais sobre storytelling. Dentro desse livro, Vogler nos mostra uma adaptação em 12 passos da Jornada do Herói. Mas é importante ressaltar que Vogler diz estar recontando o mito do herói à sua maneira e que cada criador deve fazer suas próprias adaptações.

Popularized by Joseph Campbell in "The Hero with a Thousand Faces," this model is based on a universal motif of adventure and transformation that runs through virtually all of the world's mythic traditions. It involves a hero who goes on an adventure, faces and overcomes trials, and then returns home transformed. Choose this model if your story involves a journey (literal or metaphorical) and focuses on personal growth and transformation.

The heroes journey, by Joseph Camp, is indeed a powerful storytelling model, capturing universal experiences and emotions. Its stages – departure – initiation, and written – resident deeply with audiences, reflecting personal growth and transformation. For compelling stories, aligning the stages with your audience's value and aspirations can create an emotional, engaging and relatable narrative.

The Three-Act Structure divides a story into 3 parts (the setup, confrontation, and resolution). Apple's "Get a Mac" Ad series is structured around the Three-Act structure. In the setup, we see the characters (the PC and the Mac). We also know that the setting is the computing world. The conflict shows the differences between the Mac and PC. It highlights issues like viruses, system crashes, and user-friendliness. In the Confrontation phase, each ad campaign escalates the conflict, and Mac's benefits become more defined. The resolution happens when the benefits of the Mac are highlighted, and the PC's flaws are emphasized. It's a no-brainer that choosing a Mac is a smarter decision. Each story ends with the tagline: "Choose a Mac".

A Estrutura em 3 Atos é, na minha opinião, uma das melhores e mais adaptáveis formas de se pensar em uma narrativa. Isso porque ela deriva da própria percepção humana de realidade. A nossa mente funciona com base em 3 Atos: tese, antítese, síntese. Temos uma situação e suposições iniciais, aí somos confrontados com discordância até que chegamos em uma nova situação e forma de ver a vida. Em uma história é a mesma coisa: o personagem vive em um status quo, então seu mundo é virado de cabeça pra baixo e ele passa a buscar uma nova ordem. No caminho, se depara com obstáculos. Ao final, ele consegue (ou não) o que quer, mas é transformado pelos próprios obstáculos que superou, resultando em uma nova versão de si mesmo.

La structure en trois actes est un modèle narratif courant qui divise une histoire en trois parties : la configuration, la confrontation et la résolution. La configuration présente les personnages, le cadre et le conflit initial. La confrontation intensifie le conflit et crée de la tension. La résolution apporte une conclusion au conflit et montre les conséquences. Ce modèle offre une progression narrative claire et engageante, captivant le public tout au long de l'histoire.

This model divides the story into three parts: Setup, Confrontation, and Resolution. It's a widely used structure in screenwriting and novel writing because it provides a clear framework for building tension and pacing your story. If your story fits into a classic narrative arc with a clear beginning, middle, and end, this model might be suitable.

The 3 act structure is a fundamental story telling model that ensures clarity and engagement. The sector establishes characteristic and conflict, the confrontation builds tension, and the resolution provides closure. This structure creates a logical flow, keeping audience is invested and lead to satisfing climax. It's first time and effective for organising narrative that resonate and captivate.

In his book "The Seven Basic Plots", Christopher Booker says all stories ever told throughout history boil down to seven storytelling archetypes. While some have said storytelling is not as simplistic and that plots can be subdivided into other structures, the thing to note is that much of today's marketing or storytelling follows one of these plots. For example, Nike uses the Rags to Riches plot in a number of its "Just Do It" campaigns. The brand often highlights stories of athletes who started from humble beginnings and achieved greatness through hard work, dedication, and perseverance. The important thing is to identify your objective and choose the plot that best serves you.

As 7 Tramas Básicas são uma ferramenta de grande ajuda, pois podem servir de template para o storyteller. Nesse sentido, considero o livro de Booker excelente e bastante instrutivo. Vale mencionar, porém, que essas tramas básicas podem se desenvolver e se subdividir em outras tramas, mais "personalizadas" por assim dizer. Sendo assim, não estranhe caso de depare com outras obras que trazem 15, 21, ou até mais templates de trama. Para quem se interessa pelo assunto, deixo uma outra recomendação de livro: 20 Master Plots, de Ronald B. Tobias.

📚 Booker’s seven plots: a storytelling toolkit for business. 👊🏻 Well, four of them. The others don't apply. 👹 Overcoming the Monster: Showcase how your business tackled a major challenge or competitor, like a David vs. Goliath story. 🌟 Rags to Riches: Illustrate your company's growth journey, from humble beginnings to success, like a startup's rise. 🗺️ The Quest: Depict a mission to achieve a significant goal, such as launching a new product or entering a new market. 🔄 Rebirth: Tell stories of rebranding or major transformations within the company. These plots provide a powerful framework for engaging and impactful business narratives.

Most important: know your archetype inside out. Once you've identified your core plot, study the key stages and turning points for that archetype, then use that structure as a guide for shaping your narrative. Subvert expectations. Leverage the familiarity of these classic plots by putting your own spin on them. How can you take the Quest structure in a new direction or give the Rebirth story a unique twist? Mix and match. You don't have to stick rigidly to just one of the Seven Basic Plots. Compelling stories blend elements from multiple archetypes. Focus on emotion. No matter which plot you choose, use it to create an emotional journey. Use the story beats of your chosen archetype to build empathy, tension, anticipation, and payoff.

Christopher Booker's seven basic plots offer timeless archetypes for crafting engaging stories. Whether it's overcoming the monster, Rag –to– riches journey, a quest, voyage and return, comedy, tragedy, or rebirth, these plots tap into universal human experiences. They help identified core themes, ensuring your story is both relatable and memorable, appealing across cultures and genres. Keep Telling stories!!!

A Coluna Vertebral da História é um ótimo exercício para sair da inércia e começar a estruturar sua narrativa. Muito embora eu a considere rasa no que diz respeito à produção de uma história mais profunda, ela é ótima quando usada em conjunto com outras técnicas de storytelling, como a Estrutura em 3 Atos, por exemplo.

Kenn Adams' story spine is a versatile and straightforward model for any story type. With its sequel prompts.-once upon a time, every day, and because of that, until finally, and ever since then-it provides a clear frame to spark ideas and structure narratives. This model encourages creativity, ensuring a cohesive and engaging story flow, perfect for generating and refinance story ideas.

Story Circle, aka “The Embryo,” is an accessible path to storytelling with unique benefits:  ① OPERATIVE: Demystifies storytelling.  ② EASY: Guides writers without strict rules, allowing them to explore & innovate. In Pirate’s Code terminology, it’s “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”  ③ CHARACTER-FOCUSED: Emphasizes character growth, helping writers create considered character arcs.  ④ ADAPTABLE: Intuitively scales for writing film scripts/novels; perfect for shorter stories/scripts (Harmon is a TV writer).  ⑤ ITERATIVE: Writers loop the circle several times, refining & leading to polished, trailblazing narratives. Perpetual motion reflects the cycles of biology, psychology, & culture. Explore & have fun! 🖤

Dan harmon's story circle is an advanced model that maps protagonist's story in eight steps. It emphasises character growth through a cycle of comfort, desire, unfamiliarity,, adoption, attainment, scarifice , return, and transformation. This model adds depth and balance to narratives, ensuring dynamic, harmonious stories. It's ideal for crafting complex, engaging tales that resonate on a profound level.

In my opinion, the storytelling circle is a refined alternative to the monolith or hero's journey. It seems to offer a more streamlined approach, especially suited for quicker results and less intricate narratives. It's like the sprinter of storytelling models, efficient and effective in crafting concise tales.

Identify your character's desire. What does your protagonist want at the start of the story? This desire should be the engine that drives the narrative forward. Raise the stakes in the unfamiliar situation. When your character ventures into new territory, make sure they face significant challenges and obstacles. Show the cost of success. Getting what you want should come at a price. This could be the sacrifices made, lessons painfully learned, or new challenges ushered in by success. Emphasize the transformation, showing how the character has changed by the end. For your protagonist, this could be how they've grown as a leader, how their perspective has shifted, or how they're now ready to take on even bigger challenges.

In my professional journey, tackling user challenges led me to embrace the storytelling pyramid. Transforming problems, queries, and resolutions into video narratives injects life into our content. With this pyramid as our architect, we construct compelling stories that not only entertain but also resonate with our audience. It's the secret sauce in turning complexities into captivating tales.

I've always considered the storytelling pyramid to be the classic structure; it's the first one you learn in school and so many stories follow this format. The breakdown is very logical, ensuring you don't miss anything important to the storyline and allowing for a smooth flow.

Vale ressaltar que o storytelling pode ser usado de forma muito mais profunda do que apenas a criação tradicional de histórias. Suas técnicas podem ajudar imensamente na criação de marcas, posicionamento, criação de produtos, jornada do cliente, marca pessoal e muito mais. Minha recomendação é que se busque compreender a jornada narrativa de uma marca ou profissional e então, por meio de um espelhamento, se analise a história do público-alvo dessa marca/cliente. Dessa forma, você conseguirá enxergar os espaços onde essas duas narrativas distintas podem se conectar, gerando pontos extremamente eficazes de complementação. Quando isso ocorre, uma venda passa a ser consequência natural e nem precisa ser "forçada".

One thing I've found helpful is to stand on the shoulders of giants who have used storytelling to achieve their desired impact. There's no need to try to reinvent the wheel. I try to study "successful" brands' storytelling styles and see what works for them. Then depending on what my objectives are, I learn from them and get creative in my storytelling (using the same structure that has worked for the particular brand I'm understudying). This, in my opinion, is the best way to choose your storytelling model.

I propose my unique storytelling model.... THE SPROUT MODEL, which you can find in my bestselling book, 28 Bags of Sprouts - Storytelling With Impact. Made up of 6 layers (and 28 ingredients) .. follow them and your impact will improve significantly. In summary the 6 Layers are: 1. Impact - Define the impact that you wish your storytelling to make. 2. People - Know who you are storytelling to. 3. Start Point - Set the scene, introduce the context. 4. Main Event - showcase the event and the action. 5. End Point - Bring clarity and closure. 6. Nurture - Bring creativity and energy throughout your storytelling Give it a go ... and remember .... Stories. Change. Lives.

Choosing the right storytelling models begins with understanding the message and audience. If you're aiming to inspire change, the hero's journey model can be effective, guiding the audience through challenges to triumph. For data-driven stories, the data storytelling framework ensures clarity and relevance. By selecting models that resonate with both the content and audience, you can create compelling narratives that captivate and inform effectively. Finally, adapting and refining these models based on feedback and real-world application ensures that the storytelling remains dynamic and effective over time.

As you craft your story, it's important to remember that all the stories have been told - and they work. You don't need to feel as though you need to make a new story structure. However, to bring an interesting perspective, or to create an unusual hero, or to have the 'monster' be the lover, etc - these are creative riffs on the archetypes, and they can lead to very deep, engaging stories. Follow the script, then change it.