Five Cs - Storytelling as a Communications Strategy
Research by Forbes shows that delivering messages via storytelling can be up to 22 times more memorable than merely relying on just facts. And that's the reason to have this educational conversation on the Five Cs of great storytelling. To get going, let’s take a walk through each of the Cs and consider the different process steps that transform the delivery of a message through the art of great storytelling.
As obvious as it may seem, the first process step is to set the goal- what’s the objective? And, because this is really going to drive everything, it’s vital to spend as much time as needed to really think about that goal or objective, because again, that will influence the process and method, how the story is created, how it’s told, how the message is delivered, and how the desired actions will be implemented.
Right after resolving the goal and making certain that the purpose, mission, and vision are tightly aligned, the second process step is to choose the target audience. The reason it’s important to spend as much time as needed on defining the target audience is that there are different constituencies that can either help or hinder achieving the goal. People tend to create stories about what they like or experience, and what their friends and colleagues might like or have experienced- it’s making a connection through a common value or belief. Understanding and defining the target audience will help to make sure that they find that common attribute -and are invested- in a way that’s going to maximize the chances of achieving the goal and realizing the desired outcome.
Next is choosing a great name for the story. It needs to be relatable to the message and it’s recommended to make the name of the story as short, as sweet, and as memorable as possible. A short and message-related title will be easier to remember, should evoke memories of the message, and allow it to be easily recalled and made use of, when necessary, either to deliver to a new and different audience, or to reinforce the message at a later time.
The fourth process step is creating and writing the five high level content elements and text- these are the Five Cs in the title of this article. This recipe is the essence of great storytelling and those Five Cs – Character, Context, Conflict, Climax, Closure – allow the speaker to craft and deliver a message with authority and effect.
Character who and how somebody is at the beginning of a story. It can show as they evolve. And very importantly, it shows who and what they're doing at the end of the story. And the key to this is to, through the course of your story, show transformation. Whether that's positive or negative is up to the author and speaker. It really goes back to the target audience and the goal of the story, but the character and transformation of the principal is the first of Five Cs.
Context sets the scene for the story and establishes why the audience should even care about the principal- why they should become invested. It creates engagement, which is a key part of getting people bought in at an early point of the narrative.
Conflict establishes a problem. It creates and highlights tension, and it communicates urgency. Conflict can be introduced as either a negative (a problem) or positive (an opportunity), or both depending on who is the Character and the Context of their situation. Perhaps there are multiple Characters, each different or all similar. And frankly, if the story doesn't have much of a conflict, it's highly likely to fall flat because conflict is what makes most people interested in the story and want to become invested and stay engaged. Getting the conflict nailed down is very important to constructing a storyline.
Climax generates an ‘aha!’ moment. It pinpoints uniqueness, and it fuels optimism and just like the descriptor, we're at the climax, it describes the high point of the story. The Characters have journeyed through the Conflict and successfully emerged on the other side. This is the point in the story where the audience is likely to be most engaged and sets the stage for the last C.
Closure can summarize some of the lessons learned through the story. It can highlight a call to action- if that's the desired outcome from the story. Without doubt, Closure can build enlistment and commitment, often creating an opportunity where change can take root.
To review, the five Cs are: Character, Context, Conflict, Climax and Closure. The fifth process step is to determine emotion. The best stories typically have more rather than less emotion because humans are emotive beings. It's key to proactively select what emotion should be prevalent in the story: joy or excitement, anxiety, urgency could be appropriate, keeping in mind the way these might fit or align with the Five Cs above. It is important to carefully select that emotion that aligns with the goal and is of interest and relevant to the target audience. Then, weave this through the fabric of the story as much as possible and appropriate to make its impact as strong as possible.
The sixth of the process steps is to use the elements from the first take, maybe taken from the attributes of the Five Cs, to write out a story and use just enough material to make it memorable. And being memorable is obviously very important. The story may have a great breakthrough, great impact, and great engagement; but if people can't remember it, then its lasting impact is going to be significantly reduced.
Seventh of the process steps is simplifying the first take by reducing it 25 to 50% and making it as tight as possible can make the story efficient. That 25% to 50% reduction can increase the pace, reduce the risk of distraction, and significantly increase the odds of delivering as memorable a story as possible.
The eighth and last of the process steps is to maximize the emotion and give it more impact. There's a reason that the emotion is in more than one of these process steps- it has so much more importance than most people realize. Focus on putting as much emotional impact in the story as can fit without resorting to unnecessary drama.
This describes the process steps and the effective use of those Five Cs of great storytelling. Now, turning to some additional pro tips borne of experience to make the process as easy as possible for the author and speaker to create and deliver a great story and achieve the desired outcome. And also create your stories and deliver continuous improvement.
- Be authentic- it establishes credibility and promotes audience investment. Everybody is different, has a unique style and delivery method that can be leveraged and used to deliver a lasting impression. The story should be told in a manner that reflects the true persona of the author/speaker and that makes clear the desired outcome.
- Create and tell the story with the focus on the interest of the target audience- they are the customer in this process and the story must appeal to them. The story needs to engage the audience and appeal to THEIR likes and interests, not necessarily those of the author/speaker.
- Practice, practice, practice. Be in love with the story, get into character and focus on maximizing the emotional impact. With practice and over time the story will improve and become that much better. Further, the speaker’s confidence will improve, the delivery will be natural and more effective as a consequence. Practice allows the speaker to tell the story from memory rather than reading from a script. It is said that perfection is the enemy of good, so the objective of practice is not perfect delivery; rather, it is a good and effective delivery that achieves the objective.
- The next point is not always intuitive to everybody, but how something is said or delivered may be more important than what is said. While the objective might be the same in each storytelling session, the manner of delivery can certainly be flexible, based on the audience and circumstances. Words, terms, specific emphasis, examples, numbers- all can change to make the delivery more effective. The speaker’s energy, emotion, passion and their confidence are truly critical in telling a good story. They get the audience invested and engaged and allow the speaker to connect and deliver the influence and effect.
- The fifth pro tip is to look them in the eye- eye contact establishes an atmosphere of intimacy and makes the audience feel a personal connection with the storyteller. Along with the appropriate body language (posture, facial expressions, gestures) and voice intonation the story becomes personal and greatly enhances the audience’s engagement. Whether introvert or extrovert, a speaker who makes that emotional connection with the audience will deliver a more impactful story.
- And the last pro tip, which is if the situation and the venue permits, or if it makes sense, tell the story standing up- it establishes a position of command and helps keep the audience’s attention focused on the speaker. Some situations and subjects might be better served with the speaker seated, especially if the audience is small and the venue crowded- like a one-on-one across a desk. However, the environment should be used to the advantage of the storyteller and the objective.
Using storytelling as a communications strategy is well known to be effective and deliver better outcomes. Every society has storytelling as part of their cultural history and traditions, with the stories told from memory. Great importance and prestige are given to the “tribal storyteller”, and this is deserved- that position maintains the culture and often serves to describe the expectations of behavior through using the Five Cs and their elements. Almost any leader will express their views on a company’s culture and how it might need to be changed, developed, or improved. Great storytelling can be an attribute of company culture, and irrespective of specific policy and procedure as would be found in documents and manuals, certainly can be effective when introducing new ideas or even providing routine messages in town hall settings.
Acknowledgements: The Author wishes to acknowledge Professors Craig Wortmann and David Schonthal of the Kellogg School of Management, both of whom provided inspiration and insights for the concept of storytelling as a communications strategy and for the creation of this article.
ABOUT ALEX MCKINNON
Alex McKinnon is an experienced board member and innovation expert in product design, sales, and marketing. He has held senior leadership roles as Founder, CEO, CMO, and/or Business Unit Leader with innovative brands including Kinn, Braun, Gillette, Bell, and Sara Lee in Spain, Germany, Scandinavia, and the USA. Alex has led teams from start-ups to existing businesses of $500 million.
He is currently a Board Director at Kinn, Inc. and the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. Past Board roles include International Pet Boarding & Services Association, the Pacific Symphony, Mission Hospital Foundation, and the Discovery Science Center. At Kinn he has led the team to win multiple ESG awards including Top 20 Sustainable Business, Social Steward, and Business Excellence.
He graduated with a BA in History and Spanish from Duke University, and an MBA in Marketing, Finance, and International Business from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are solely those of the authors providing them and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of the Private Directors Association, its members, affiliates, or employees.