Pixar’s Plotting Techniques For Structure And Purpose
The Story Spine structure:Once upon a time there was [blank]. Every day, [blank]. One day [blank]. Because of that, [blank]. Until finally [bank].
A story’s purpose: find why you want to tell this story, what belief of yours fueled that story, what does it teach and its purpose. Stories with a purpose that you are passionate about have a bigger impact.
Emma Coats tweeted a series of basic storytelling tips while she was at Pixar. They became known as "Pixar's 22 Rules of Storytelling." She shared the valuable lessons from arguably the greatest storytellers of our generation, Pixar. Emma's learnings from her days at Pixar inspired me to reflect on mine as a product person, and a storyteller.
Whether it's telling inspiring stories to customers or delivering a presentation to executives and the board of directors, being a good storyteller helps us make the leap from Good to Great.
Product managers and designers can benefit tremendously by great storytelling, and so can anyone who is working with product design.
Instead of selling products, we need to focus on their purpose and what good it does for the end-user. Focus on the need of the customer and design the product around it.
Legendary marketer, Seth Godin, describes marketing as "the art of telling a story that resonates with your audience and then spreads." If you look at some of the biggest brands around, you might notice that they are often amazing storytellers.
After: Imagine what it’d be like having Problem A solved.
Bridge: Here’s how to get there.
Set the stage of a problem that your target audience is likely to experience ( a problem that your company solves). Describe a world where that problem didn’t exist. Explain how to get there or present the solution (i.e. your product or service).
On Twitter, Pixar storyboard artist Emma Coats has compiled nuggets of narrative wisdom she's received working for the animation studio over the years. It's some sage stuff, although there's nothing here about defending yourself from your childhood toys when they inevitably come to life with murder in their hearts.