Storytelling’s Special Sauce: Stirring Characters Over Plot

As a professional researcher and writer, I signed up for a two-week sprint on storytelling to use the science behind its resonance. We are wired for story, I know. Now I’m taking away some salient nuggets from bestselling author-instructor Will Storr to better captivate an audience, sell ideas, and even realize my true role.

One point really stands out: Always think and communicate in terms of characters, not exciting plot lines, whenever you are putting forward an idea, product, or service. In this model, your audience is the hero while you, the communicator, are the light figure, that is the character leading the hero past their shadow, or obstacle, and into a better world.

This starts by knowing as much about your audience (hero) as you can and what you uniquely bring as a helping force for your hero’s positive transformation. Your qualities, your lived experience, your connections, your skills all count. Then promote your character simply. Here the class highlights political strategist James Carville’s wisdom: “If you say three things, you don’t say anything.”

An iconic movie, “The Wizard of Oz,” uses these ideas on character to great effect. In fact, one character can be said to be both hero and light figure. That’s teen Dorothy Gale, who’s lost after a devastating tornado and trying to find her way home to Kansas. The Wizard of Oz is supposed to be the light figure guiding Dorothy home. Along her journey to Oz, she draws on her kindness and resourcefulness to defeat her shadow, the Wicked Witch of the West, then discovers the Wizard is no light figure but a poor imitation. Near the story’s end, the Good Witch underscores the significance of this role, telling Dorothy, “You’ve always had the power to go back to Kansas.” After sharing the wisdom that she gained on her journey and following the Good Witch’s instructions, Dorothy wakes up in her bed, surrounded by family and repeating the words, “There’s no place like home.” Her better world.