Introduction to Storytelling

Welcome to our session on creating the structure to your story—one of the most critical aspects of storytelling. Having a solid story structure is like having a road map for your narrative journey. It ensures your story has clarity, purpose, and, most importantly, impact. As award-winning writers for TV and film, we've observed key structural elements in every successful Hollywood script. To help you craft compelling stories, we've distilled these elements into four essential pillars.

The Value of Structure

Before we delve into the pillars themselves, let's understand why structure is so crucial.

Imagine going into a presentation without bullet points or a plan. You'd likely find yourself rambling, circling back, or missing key points. That's the same issue you'd encounter in storytelling without a clear structure. Without it, your story might come across as disconnected or aimless, failing to captivate or engage your audience.

The good news is that organizing your stories isn't as daunting as it may seem. By understanding the four pillars, you'll have a template to which you can ‘plug and play' your stories, ensuring they resonate with and leave a lasting impression on your audience.

Pillar 1: The Setup

What It Is

The ‘Setup' is your starting point. It's your opportunity to introduce your audience to the world as it was before the events of the story take place—the status quo. Here, you set the tone, establish the baseline, and make your audience invest in you as the protagonist of your own journey.

How to Do It

To craft your setup:
1. Describe where you were at the beginning of your story. What was your regular, perhaps mundane, life like?
2. Define what you wanted or desired. This yearning is what propels the narrative forward and captivates your audience's interest.

Pillar 2: Conflict

What It Is

Conflict is the heartbeat of drama, the element that compels and intrigues your audience. It's the series of challenges and obstacles that stand in the way of what you desire.

How to Do It

Identify the conflicts by asking:
1. What external circumstances impeded your progress?
2. What internal struggles did you face?
3. How did these challenges escalate?

Understanding the interplay between internal and external conflicts is essential. While internal conflicts relate to personal doubts and struggles, external conflicts are situational or societal obstacles.

Pillar 3: Climax

What It Is

The ‘Climax' is the peak of your story's conflict—the moment where the stakes are at their highest, and the tension is nearly unbearable.

How to Do It

Recount the moment when everything seemed lost but then a pivotal change occurred that spurred a decisive action. This turning point is crucial as it marks the transition from rising tension to the journey toward resolution.

Pillar 4: The Resolution and Transformation

What It Is

The ‘Resolution' sees the story's conclusion—whether the desires set out in the Setup were achieved. ‘Transformation,' on the other hand, is about the internal change that occurs as a result of the journey.

How to Do It

Reflect on:
1. How your story concluded or what you attained.
2. The ways in which you changed, grew, or shifted your perspective.

The Takeaway

Equally important is how you relay the significance of this transformation to your audience. What lessons can be gleaned from your experience? As a storyteller, your purpose extends beyond merely sharing your story—you aim to enlighten and inspire.

Applying the Four Pillars in Practice

These pillars are not just a framework for prepared storytelling; they're tools for spontaneous narrative creation as well. Whether during a live broadcast, a casual conversation, or an impromptu sales pitch, you can apply this structure on the fly by quickly recalling the four pillars and adapting your story accordingly.

Russell Brunson's Epiphany Bridge Questions

By Russell Brunson in “Expert Secrets”

• The Backstory: What is your backstory that gives us a vested interest in your journey?
• Your Desires: What is it that you want to accomplish?
• External: What is the external struggle you are dealing with?
• Internal: What is the internal struggle you are dealing with?
• The Wall: What was the wall/problem that you hit within your current opportunity that started you on this new journey?
• The Epiphany: What was the epiphany you experienced and new opportunity that you discovered?
• The Plan: What was the plan you created to achieve your desire?
• The Conflict: What conflict did you experience along the way?
• The Achievement: What was the end result that you achieved?
• The Transformation: What was the transformation that you experienced?

Conclusion and Practice

Mastering the four pillars of story structure is a process that requires practice and patience. The more you use them to shape your stories, the more intuitive and effective your storytelling will become. Remember to be gentle with yourself as you learn and grow in your storytelling abilities.

Let these pillars be your guide, and you'll not only captivate your audience but also offer them valuable insights and lessons. Keep at it, and before long, you'll have the kind of storytelling prowess that truly resonates and influences.