How to tell a story
by Gordon Graham, That White Paper Guy
Every child knows what a story is.
After all, we've all been hearing stories since before we could walk.
A problem/solution white paper must tell a compelling story.
This story must engage readers, tie together the whole document and carry readers straight through to the end.
But have you ever stopped to think of what that means?
 |
What exactly is a story? Ask any fiction writer, and they will give you a standard definition.
A story is about people in a place with a problem, they might say. And we care about those people and how they deal with their problem. |
An English teacher might say a story has characters, setting and conflict. (This is just another way of saying "people in a place with the problem.")
A good story has dramatic twists and turns so that we wonder how it will turn out in the end.
Beyond that, stories come in all shapes, sizes, genres and media. A TV show, an action movie, a romance novel, even an anecdote told over lunch: These are all forms of stories.
♦ People all over the world need stories
But how well do stories travel? Won't a story that people appreciate in one country be mystifying in another market?
Not if you stick to the basics.
Robert McKee is a screenwriter who has studied, written and taught about storytelling for many years.
 |
He says the desire for stories is not culturally determined. This desire is not confined to any special time in history, or to any particular part of the earth or to any one race or people or creed. He says there seems to be something in the human mind that seeks out stories. In fact, we all need stories to help make sense of our experiences in this world. |
But how does any of this help anyone write a white paper? The rest of this article shows you how.
♦ How to use story elements in a white paper
Remember, a "modern" white paper describes a nagging problem that has never been properly solved.
People: The characters in your story are close at hand.
The problem is clearly the bad guy, the antagonist. The new recommended solution is the hero, the protagonist.
You don't need to say this explictly in your white paper. Just use this to provide a structure.
Hint: Notice that the bad guy is not the competition; bad guy is the problem you are all trying to beat.
Place: The setting is the market space for the problem you are discussing.
Setting is known to add realism and specific details that make a story come alive. Pinpointing the market space, its dynamics and challenges can make your white paper come alive as well.
Problem: The conflict arises from the industry-wide problem that everyone in a particular market space is struggling to overcome.
Many lesser heroes throw themselves at the problem using ineffective technologies, inadequate plans and limited ideas. But the problem beats them all.
The question remains: Is there anything that's never been tried, new technologies, thoughtful plans, or imaginative ideas that can truly vanquish this problem?
Drama: Use a pinch of drama to add tension and suspense to the industry-wide problem. After all, the stakes are huge. Billions of dollars and a big part of the world hang in the balance!
♦ A story is NOT a sales pitch
Thinking about story structure helps illluminate the difference between a white paper and a sales pitch.
A problem/solution white paper sketches out a big problem, the failed attempts to solve it and a new, improved solution that can outdo all the rest.
A sales pitch simply jumps ahead to the ending without any drama and shouts, "Hey, we're the hero!"
Is it any wonder that most sales pitches fall flat, since they ignore all the main tenets of story-telling?
Try using the traditional elements of a story to help structure your next white paper.... and see how it becomes much more engaging.
It may take a little practice, but story-telling is a powerful device to use in a white paper. And after all, we all know what a story is.
