Unlock Business Storytelling magic: How to tantalise audiences

My entire masterclass is an uproar. What have I done?

I said, ‘𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒅𝒓𝒚.’ Famous last words?

 What did I mean?

A twist in your story powers your story. It engages your audience, keeps them on the edge of their seat, wanting to know what happens next. Twist, a turning point, conflict in storytelling, is when something unexpected happens or when the sh%# hits the fan.

For example: You are driving along one bright summer’s day. Suddenly you hear a siren, and the police pull you over. That’s the twist! Otherwise, this will be a string of boring events. A snooze fest.

‘𝐈𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲. 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐭𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐮𝐦.

I then drew the illustration below on the whiteboard. This shows both (modestly saying) story structure and the impact a twist has on your audience.

Business storytelling is not Hollywood – you don’t need several twists, but you need at least one twist. The twist tantalises your audience making them invest in your story wanting to know how it all ends.

My masterclass participants then explored adding a twist to their stories. They proved for themselves that a well-placed twist in business storytelling can turn the mundane into magic.

🤔What’s a recent twist in your personal or professional life that caught you by surprise?