How to Catapult Your Story into Your Audience’s Heart

𝐴 𝑑𝑜𝑐𝑡𝑜𝑟 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑟 ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘, 𝑑𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑔𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑝 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑒𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑠, 𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑎𝑙 𝑓𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑡, 𝑘𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 three 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑖𝑛𝑗𝑢𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 fivve…. This is the heart-stopping beginning of Expats*, a new six-part mini-series on Amazon Prime.

In a masterstroke, the series begins with a powerful storytelling technique.

Instead of setting the scene with context, the story kicks off with an inciting incident – the turning point, the event that sets everything else in motion. For fans of The Hobbit, the inciting incident is when Gandalf arrives in the shire and etches a mark on Bilbo Baggins’ door, changing Bilbo’s world forever.

In traditional storytelling structure, you have a beginning, followed by a middle which usually has the inciting incident and then an end that ties everything up in a neat bow.

However, a beginning that starts with the inciting incident, blows up conventional structure.

OK, starting with the inciting incident might work in Hollywood. For business storytelling why would you start there?

Picture this: your audience scrolling through a sea of content, and suddenly, there it is – the inciting incident. It’s a narrative shockwave that demands attention. By diving straight into the heart of the story, you’re giving your audience a reason to lean in.

This approach taps into the psychology of curiosity and anticipation. Humans are wired to seek resolution. When you present the inciting incident upfront, you’re throwing down a narrative gauntlet. The audience is mustard keen to know what happens next.

Opening your story this way sets the tone for a dynamic, fast-paced journey. Starting with the inciting incident is not just storytelling; it’s storytelling on steroids. Give it a go and experience the magic with your next story.

PS: Sadly, I didn’t love the rest of the series – only 2 episodes have dropped so far, so making an early call!