The power of the story - with good storytelling and the hero's journey to success
Communication belongs above all to those who have mastered storytelling. They do this according to dramaturgical principles, using the same method over and over again: they tell a story using a specific structure. George Lucas was one of the first to use the calculated modular story for his success. Such modular sets play a decisive role in shaping consumer opinion and digital politics.
What is storytelling?
Storytelling is the art of telling stories. This technique is used to convey information, values or specific messages in an appealing, emotional and memorable way. Storytelling can be used in various media such as literature, film, theater, journalism and advertising. It is not just about describing a sequence of events, but about engaging the audience or reader emotionally, creating characters with depth and building a world that the audience can empathize with.
Storytelling is first and foremost entertainment
Even if the principle of a news article, a LinkedIn post or a good speech is first and foremost to convey information, the art lies in the fact that we do not recognize it as such, but as entertainment. A logical and clear structure ensures this. As soon as we no longer see a press release, image brochure or company presentation as a rattling off of information, but instead classify it as entertainment in the planning stage, we distance ourselves and create a new stage in which storytelling plays a decisive role. A stage on which companies can definitely score points.
The basic technique of a good story
When it comes to storytelling, it is helpful to master certain basic structuring techniques that have proven effective for authors. Many stories follow the standardized structure of a story in 3 acts.
Each act has specific tasks
The first act introduces the story and presents the protagonist with a serious problem.
In the following act, the plot builds up to the turning point in the middle of the story.
The third act leads to the resolving finale.
The company story in three acts
Act: What was the world like before you founded the company?
Act: Why did you start the company? What motivated you, what problem did you want to solve? What obstacles did you face? How did you overcome crises?
Act: You have overcome the problems and return from your “journey” with the company. What have you learned? How can this help your client?
The hero's journey
A basic concept that has proven to be a useful and widely used tool in modern storytelling is the hero's journey according to Joseph Campbell. Campbell compared the myths of different cultures and discovered an underlying structure - the monomyth.
This hero's journey is intended to make it easier to write, analyze and understand stories. When applied to companies, the hero - the brand or product - is first shown in its ordinary world and then confronted with a problem. This is how we open the story: “Dear employees, dear colleagues. We're doing well, the figures look great, BUT ...”
Here too, the story adventure consists of three parts: Status quo, confrontation, solution. Within these three parts, the hero passes through further intermediate stages.
Examples of how the hero's journey can be used in companies:
The hero's journey can be used to tell your own company story, to promote a product or to make the need for change clear to employees.
The basic motif of the hero's journey works out: The audience is addressed via emotions and can more easily absorb and retain information packaged as an exciting story. The main characters of a story are based on so-called archetypes (the explorer, the rebel, the wise woman, the lover ...), which are familiar to us in their basic motifs. These archetypes make it easy to tell stories successfully. The audience (employees or customers) can immediately recognize themselves in these basic types.
The archetypes of big brands:
The “explorer” type is often used by outdoor brands such as The North Face or Jack Wolfskin. We know the “Creator” archetype from brands that stand for creativity, such as Farber Castel or Hornbach.
More customer loyalty with emotional storytelling
If you want to tell a story, start by finding and anchoring archetypes in your own company. You can do this by looking for human, emotional or even weak sides within the company. It is precisely these “heroes” that the audience can identify and sympathize with when conflicts arise.
What companies can learn from Star Wars
With Star Wars, George Lucas was the first to consciously apply Campbell's Hero's Journey to film. One of his biggest fans, Christopher Vogler, adapted the hero's journey to modern film in his 1997 work “The Screenwriter's Odyssey” based on Campbell's work. The scheme was particularly well received in Hollywood. He writes: “All stories basically consist of a handful of recurring elements that we encounter again and again in myths, fairy tales, dreams and films. The generic term for all these elements is: the hero's journey.”
The hero's journey in three phases or acts
In the first part (up to the first turning point) of the film, the characters and their background story are introduced. In the second and longest part, which makes up a good half of the story (up to the 2nd turning point), the hero is confronted with a problem. This gives him a goal, which he tries to achieve as the story progresses. In doing so, he has to change. In the third and final part, the final showdown takes place. Even today, this so-called “Hollywood standard” is still one of the most frequently used plot structures in conventional storytelling.
Constant repetition ruins good storytelling
Whether improvised, clearly structured or lovingly crafted, the success of a good story often lies in a well-told story. Campbell's model helps to anchor complex content quickly and comprehensibly in the listener's mind. Through the emotional connection to the story and the speaker, the listener can immerse themselves deeply in the subject matter. This is achieved above all by the well-organized and recurring narrative structure. So always the same? Yes, always the same - in different forms.