Let me tell you a story.
A big consulting firm. A new hire. Me.
First day, first training.
What do you sell when you step on a client’s site?
Easy, right?
“Our services.”
“Our expertise.”
“Our solutions.”
Wrong.
They told us:
First, you sell you.
Then, you sell your company.
Finally, you sell your product.
That’s the order.
Why? Because that’s how stories are told.
Because that’s the script.
And that’s when I learned that storytelling is not some “creative” skill for Hollywood scriptwriters.
It’s a process. It’s a technique.
It can—and should—be taught.
Storytelling Is NOT About You.
The rookie mistake?
Starting with your story.
“Hi, I’m Theo. I’m an engineer. I have 10 years of experience. Three MBAs. I once climbed Mount Olympus backwards.”
Well… good for you.
But here’s the thing: it’s not about you.
It’s about them. Your audience
Their story. Their transformation. Their problem. Their success.
Storytelling isn’t biography. It’s empathy in motion.
Storytelling has a structure. Indeed.
Storytelling isn’t magic.
Let’s kill that myth once and for all.
It’s not something you’re born with.
It’s not a gift.
It’s not reserved for creatives, authors, or that one charismatic speaker who seems to “just have it.”
No.
Storytelling is engineering.
It’s the difference between throwing paint on a canvas and following the blueprint of a masterpiece.
It’s the process of design, not the illusion of talent.
And like any craft that can be mastered—it starts with frameworks.
Storytelling Frameworks
Think of them as architectural plans for emotion.
Proven sequences that have moved minds, shifted cultures, and sold everything—from ideas and products to entire belief systems.
Because here’s the truth:
All the great stories you’ve ever heard?
They followed a structure.
Not by accident.
By design.
And no matter what you’re writing—
- A sales pitch
- A product launch email
- A LinkedIn post
- A TEDx talk
You don’t have to start from zero.
You just have to choose your framework.
Here’s Your Blueprint
We’ve put together a cheat sheet of the most recognized storytelling frameworks you can use to structure any message, in any medium.
(See the image below for the full list.)
These are the frameworks behind everything from Shakespeare’s greatest plays, to Pixar’s billion-dollar films, to the viral tweets and marketing campaigns you can’t stop thinking about.
Want to write a good story? Start here
Let’s name a few:
- The Hero’s Journey: Every great adventure, from Lord of the Rings to Star Wars, follows this arc of departure, transformation, and return.
- Three-Act Structure: The timeless model—beginning, middle, end. Simple? Yes. Effective? Always.
- Freytag’s Pyramid: A deep dive into rising action, climax, and resolution. Perfect for high-stakes or dramatic narratives.
- Story Circle: Dan Harmon’s genius. Eight simple steps that map any character transformation.
- Pixar’s Storytelling Formula: The blueprint for every animated film that made you laugh, cry, and watch again.
- Shakespeare’s Five-Act Structure: Complexity. Subplots. Catastrophes. Perfect for layered storytelling.
- Monomyth: Another name for the Hero’s Journey. But more epic.
- Fichtean Curve: A fast-paced, crisis-driven model. Think thrillers or detective stories.
- In Medias Res: You drop the audience right in the action, and make them catch up. Ideal for grabbing attention fast.
- Ki-shō-ten-ketsu: A Japanese model built on contrast, twists, and resolution without conflict. A masterclass in subtle tension.
You Don’t Have to Invent the Wheel
Don’t waste hours wondering,
“Where do I start?”
“What’s the right way to tell this?”
“Should I make it personal? Dramatic? Conversational?”
The wheel has already been invented.
It’s been used for centuries.
And it still works.
Pick your framework.
Learn the mechanics.
Work the script.
Because when you do, you’ll realize…
Storytelling isn’t luck. It’s leverage.
Copywriting vs Storytelling
Know the Difference. Master Both.
Let’s make one thing clear:
Copywriting and Storytelling are NOT the same thing.
They serve different purposes,
They follow different rules,
And most importantly,
They fail for different reasons.
Yet people confuse them all the time.
Let’s fix that.
Copywriting: The Art of Getting People to Act
Copywriting is direct.
It’s sharp.
It’s commercial.
It exists for one reason:
To get the reader to take action.
Buy now.
Sign up.
Click here.
Book a call.
It’s transactional by design.
No fluff. No poetry.
No long-winded setups.
Every word works like a salesperson in print—
Pushing you closer to the next step.
Copywriting lives in:
- Headlines
- Call-to-actions
- Product descriptions
- Email subject lines
- Landing pages
- Ad copy
If storytelling is a movie,
copywriting is the movie trailer
with a Buy Tickets Now button right underneath.
Storytelling: The Art of Making People Care
Storytelling isn’t about selling first.
It’s about making people feel something first.
It’s how you build trust,
create emotional connection,
and leave a lasting memory.
It doesn’t necessarily ask for action right away.
It builds the foundation
so when you finally ask…
the answer feels natural,
earned,
welcomed.
Storytelling lives in:
- Brand narratives
- Founders’ journeys
- Customer success stories
- Keynotes
- Documentaries
- Long-form content
If copywriting is the hook,
storytelling is the glue that makes people stick around.
They write copy that tries to sound like a story
—so it feels bloated, slow, and salesy.
Here’s Where Most Go Wrong
Or they tell stories that forget to sell altogether
—so they feel nice, but lead nowhere.
You need both.
But you need to know when to use which.
- Use storytelling to build the relationship.
- Use copywriting to make the ask.
And when you combine them properly?
That’s when your message stops sounding like marketing,
and starts sounding like something worth paying attention to.
Myth-busting about storytelling
Let’s set the record straight.
Everyone thinks they know what storytelling is.
But most get it completely wrong.
In fact, there are three common misconceptions that derail professionals, marketers, founders, and communicators of all kinds—before they even get started.
If you’ve ever told yourself one of these, it’s time for a reality check.
Myth 1: “Stories Should Be Personal”
We hear this one all the time.
“Tell your story.”
“Make it personal.”
“Share something vulnerable.”
Sounds great in theory.
But here’s the truth: not all great stories are personal stories.
You don’t have to be the hero of the story to tell a powerful one.
You can tell the story of your customer.
Your team.
Your industry.
Or even a story that doesn’t involve you at all—but moves your audience closer to their own transformation.
That’s what matters.
And let’s clarify one more thing:
Using someone else’s story responsibly is fair game.
But using someone’s personal story without their permission?
Not only unethical—but risky for your credibility.
Storytelling isn’t a courtroom.
Nobody’s going to shout, “Objection! Hearsay!” if you share a story you didn’t live first-hand.
But they will call you out if you’re exploiting someone else’s experience to make yourself look good.
Bottom line:
It doesn’t have to be personal.
But it does have to be relevant, truthful, and respectful.
Myth 2: “Stories Should Be Long”
Longer isn’t better.
Longer is just… longer.
Some of the most powerful stories in human history have been just a handful of words.
Take this one, for example—falsely attributed to Hemingway, but legendary nonetheless:
Six words.
One story.
A thousand interpretations.
A gut-punch of emotion.
That’s the magic of brevity.
You don’t need 500 words to tell a great story.
You don’t even need 50.
You just need the right words.
Words that carry meaning.
Words that spark imagination.
Words that make people feel something.
So forget about word count.
Start thinking about impact.
Myth 3: “Stories Should Feel Intuitive or Natural”
Spoiler alert:
The best stories you’ve ever heard didn’t just happen.
They were scripted.
Structured.
Engineered.
Every scene.
Every character.
Every twist and turn—deliberately designed to create an emotional journey.
Storytelling isn’t about “sounding natural.”
It’s about knowing your framework and working the beats like a pro.
Sure, when you tell it well, it might feel natural to your audience.
But behind every “natural” story is a carefully crafted script—whether it’s a brand campaign, a Netflix series, or a keynote that keeps you on the edge of your seat.
If you want to win hearts, sell ideas, and move people to action—
You can’t afford to wing it.
You need to know your script.
You need to work the structure.
You need to build the story with intention.
Because storytelling isn’t about being spontaneous.
It’s about being strategic.
Different Styles of Storytelling (and Word Count Is One of Them)
Not all stories need to be novels or keynote speeches.
Welcome to the world of Flash Fiction and Microstorytelling:
- Six-word stories
- 280-character “Twitterature”
- 50-word “Dribbles”
- 100-word “Drabbles”
- 750-word “Sudden Fiction”
- 1,000-word “Flash Fiction”
Some stories sell products.
Some stories sell ideas.
Some stories sell movements.
And some stories are just six words that never leave your head.
Good Stories vs. Bad Stories
Here’s the uncomfortable truth no one tells you:
There’s no such thing as a bad story.
Let me explain.
It’s just like jokes.
Yes—there are a few bad ones.
The cringey, the offensive, the flat-out pointless.
But in reality, the biggest problem with jokes isn’t the joke itself.
It’s the delivery.
The wrong audience.
The wrong timing.
The wrong context.
And the same goes for your storytelling.
You might have a brilliant story—
… but you tell it to the wrong people? It flops.
… you tell it at the wrong time? It misses.
… you tell it in the wrong context? It feels out of place, forced, or disconnected.
Good stories die in bad moments.
And that’s on you, not the story.
So next time you’re tempted to pull out your best customer win, your founder’s journey, or that killer data-backed insight—
pause.
Ask yourself:
- Is this the right moment?
- Is this the right room?
- Is this the right way?
Because when you get the timing wrong,
even the best story in the world will land like…
well,
a bad joke.
Storytelling Needs Inspiration, Too
Let’s not pretend this is all mechanics.
Storytelling, like any form of creation, needs something deeper.
It needs inspiration.
And funny enough, I found mine in the most unexpected place:
MidJourney.
Yes, the AI image generator.
I remember the first time I fired it up, staring at the empty prompt box.
The system suggested I start with one word:
“Imagine.”
Not “Describe.”
Not “Write.”
Not “Type.”
Imagine.
That hit differently.
It pulled me out of writing and pushed me into seeing.
It wasn’t just about crafting sentences anymore.
It was about creating worlds.
And for a brief moment, those simple eight letters felt… magical.
But a few months later?
That spark? Gone.
Now it’s all about “prompting.”
Filling in boxes. Optimizing keywords.
Chasing outputs.
The creative magic replaced by mechanical hustle.
And that’s the danger, isn’t it?
We start with imagination,
but somewhere along the way,
we get stuck in the script.
Let this be your reminder:
Storytelling isn’t just technique.
It’s art.
It’s emotion.
It’s imagination.
So before you hit publish, before you send that email, before you pitch that deck—
Pause.
Imagine.
Because if you don’t see the story first,
no one else will feel it.
Your Move
Whether you’re pitching to clients, crafting your brand narrative, or writing your next headline—
Storytelling is your most powerful tool.
But only if you treat it like a craft, not a coincidence.
Pick your structure.
Master the script.
Make it about them, not you.
So…
What story are you telling next?
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Theodore has 20 years of experience running successful and profitable software products. In his free time, he coaches and consults startups. His career includes managerial posts for companies in the UK and abroad, and he has significant skills in intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship.
