My Favourite Storytelling Formula

I have written extensively about storytelling formulas, but there is one formula that is among the simplest, most memorable and most powerful. I will explain how it works in three steps.

AND: Your goal should be to get your audience to agree with you by saying what they want and why they want it.

BUT: Describe, in detail, one of the obstacles that stand in the way of fulfilling that desire.

THEREFORE: Use your product or service as a way to handle the contradiction by explaining to people how they can achieve their goals in the end.

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Did you see just how simple and logical that pitch is? There is something particularly appealing about the way it starts with establishing rapport rather than hyping up a problem or invoking fear.