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Analysis Strategy and Action comprise the first dimension of storytelling and offer us a tool to reflect on the dynamics of a story.  What is happening at any given point?  It is possible to tell stories missing one or 2 of these three dynamics but absent them all and you don’t have a story.  It's always worth checking which are present and whether a story might be enhanced by addition of a missing element.

For each element, I’ll explain what it covers and suggest a few ways it might feature in a story.

Analysis

The hero of almost any story worth telling starts out not understanding their situation.  Everything depends upon them achieving this understanding by the end of the story.  Some heroes are perceptive, knowing they lack certain information but able to frame a strategy based upon what they know.  Others are more circumspect and spend a lot of time studying their situation maybe at the expense of taking action.  Others barge into a situation without any understanding and usually suffer a major setback as a result.

The main thing to remember is the audience need not know what is happening until the protagonist finds out.  Even then the protagonist might, Sherlock Holmes-like, deliberately hold back information not letting on that they know until the end of the story.

At the start, the audience needs sufficient information to pique their interest.  Holding back key facts builds tension, raises stakes and introduces a surprising plot twist. 

The storyteller understands what’s going on.  That much should be obvious.  But the storyteller has no obligation to share everything at the beginning.  The actors in the story may also lack important information or must share what they know to get to the right conclusion. 

Strategy

An obvious example is the quest.  There is a problem.  It may not be clear what it is but we know where it is.  Travelling is a great way to gather more information.  Upon arrival, the hero needs a plan. 

We may know there’s a dragon at the end of the journey.  Once we know more about the dragon, it may be possible to develop a more detailed plan. 

Without a plan, there is no movement in the story.  The simplest approach is to set the hero off on their journey at the start and worry about details later.  Sometimes the hero needs to fail, perhaps several times before they find a plan that works.

In other stories, the plan can come later in the story.  There’s no journey, the hero may be unaware of a problem that creeps up on them. 

In other stories, the villain has a plan and the hero may be manipulated.  Later the hero might realise what’s happening and develop their plan.  Then we see a clash between two plans.  Fathoming the villain’s plan is of course another example of analysis.

Action

There’s usually some action in a story but action happens when the hero departs from their plan.  Action is interruption.  The hero’s journey will include encounters that distract the hero from their plan. 

Through action we get to know the hero and build an emotional response to them.  Does the hero stop and help or walk on by?

This allows us to set up situations where the hero must choose between strategy and action.  The dragon is attacking a village while a friend depends on the hero for their survival.  Many stories resolve to this type of dilemma.  Sometimes it’s possible to do both, sometimes one takes precedence.  Some stories are about the consequences of a choice.  The friend dies while the hero fights the dragon.  The dragon destroys the village while the hero helps their friend. 

In resolving this type of dilemma, perhaps the hero learns something they didn’t understand and so all three elements are resolved in a final realisation.  If you can bring your story to such a conclusion, perhaps you are a master storyteller!

This is the eighteenth in a sequence of posts about business storytelling.  The first post was Marketing: Art or Science?  The last post was Dimensions of Telling and the nineteenth post will be Context.

To try out one of your business-related stories and receive feedback from me with a few other business owners, please comment below to arrange an informal conversation.  I run these sessions free of charge on the second and fourth Thursdays.  Visit my website to find out about the Telling Stories Autumn meetings.

It seems Minerva has become a detective, although her choice of hat lacks the Holmes vibe.  It seems she has solved "The Case of the Suspicious Owl" although which owl is the suspicious one is unclear.