Book Notes: “Stories That Stick” by Kindra Hall

Stories That Stick: How Storytelling Can Captivate Customers, Influence Audiences, and Transform Your Business, by Kindra Hall — available here

📗 Single sentence summary

A clear framework of ideals and a concise set of actions for you to take complete control of your own story, utilising the principles behind the world’s most effective business storytelling strategies.

💬 The killer quote

“The moment you take control of your stories, you take control of your business and your life.”

🙋 Recommended for

Anyone looking to better utilise stories, either as part of their marketing efforts or more generally.

Notes

Caveat: These are my own notes and may exclude information that is either less relevant or already known to me.

The four components of a great story

An engaging story incorporates the following four components:

1. Identifiable characters: A single or several single separate characters we can identify with and connect to.
2. Authentic emotion: This doesn’t have to be overdramatic; it can be as simple or common as frustration or wonder or curiosity.
3. A significant moment: In time or physical space.
4. Specific details: The finer the detail, the better.

The Stellar storytelling framework

A well told story should be crafted using the following three phases:

1. Normal: The contextual establishment of normal — things as they are. Creating a sense of familiarity for your audience.
2. Explosion: A moment that changes everything. Something happens that disrupts the pre-defined normality.
3. New normal: A telling of what life is now like after the explosion. This could be materially or psychologically.

The four essential stories

The author asserts that there are four types of story than can be effectively leveraged for marketing purposes (see below).

1. The value story

“The most important gap any business needs to bridge is the gap between what they offer and…