# Communication Storytelling Template

## Workflow

Copy this checklist and track your progress:

```
Communication Template Progress:
- [ ] Step 1: Gather audience intelligence
- [ ] Step 2: Choose story structure
- [ ] Step 3: Draft narrative elements
- [ ] Step 4: Refine and polish
- [ ] Step 5: Self-assess quality
```

**Step 1:** Ask input questions below. Deep understanding of audience is critical. See [Input Questions](#input-questions).
**Step 2:** Match structure to situation. See [Story Structures](#story-structures).
**Step 3:** Fill quick template. Write headline first. See [Quick Template](#quick-template) and [Field Guidance](#field-guidance).
**Step 4:** Apply storytelling techniques. See [Storytelling Techniques](#storytelling-techniques).
**Step 5:** Check against quality criteria. See [Quality Checklist](#quality-checklist).

---

## Input Questions

**Required inputs:**

1. **Message** - What information/analysis/data needs to be communicated? What's the core insight, supporting evidence, backstory?
2. **Audience** - Who specifically (name/role)? Expertise level? What do they care about? Decision authority? Time available?
3. **Purpose** - What should audience do: inform, persuade, inspire, build trust?
4. **Context** - Stakes (low/medium/high)? Urgency? Sentiment (good/bad/neutral)? What do they already know?
5. **Tone** - Formal vs casual? Optimistic vs realistic? Urgent vs measured? Celebratory vs sobering?

**Audience intelligence:**
- What keeps them up at night?
- What jargon do they use vs not understand?
- What data/stories resonate with them?
- What's their default response (skeptical, supportive, risk-averse)?

---

## Quick Template

```markdown
# [Headline: One-sentence essence of your message]

## Key Points

### 1. [First key point - most important or foundational]
**Proof:** [Concrete evidence: data, example, quote, story]

### 2. [Second key point - builds on first]
**Proof:** [Concrete evidence with comparison or context]

### 3. [Third key point - completes the arc]
**Proof:** [Concrete evidence tied to audience's priorities]

## Call to Action
[One clear statement of what audience should do next]

---
## Context (optional)
- **Audience:** [Who this is for]
- **Background:** [What they need to know]
- **Stakes:** [Why this matters]
```

---

## Story Structures

### 1. Problem-Solution-Benefit (PSB)
**Best for:** Recommendations, proposals, project updates

**Structure:** (1) Problem - clearly defined issue with quantified stakes, (2) Solution - your recommendation with rationale, (3) Benefit - tangible outcomes with numbers, (4) Next Steps - concrete ask with timeline

**Example:** "We should switch to monthly subscription pricing because it solves our unpredictable revenue problem. Current annual contracts create feast-or-famine cashflow (Q1 $800K, Q2 $200K). Monthly subscriptions smooth revenue, reduce sales cycle from 6 weeks to 1 week, and give us faster product feedback. Expected impact: +40% revenue predictability, -50% sales cycle time. Next step: 90-day pilot with new customers."

### 2. Hero's Journey (Transformation)
**Best for:** Major changes, pivots, overcoming challenges

**Structure:** (1) Where We Were - comfortable but problem lurking, (2) Why We Had to Change - problem emerges, (3) What We Tried - struggles that build credibility, (4) What Worked - the breakthrough with evidence, (5) What We Do Now - new normal with lessons, (6) Call to Action

**Example:** "We've transformed from product-first to customer-first. For 3 years, we built features our engineers loved but churned 15% monthly. Data showed customers didn't understand our value. We tested: (1) Better onboarding—5% improvement, (2) Simpler pricing—no change, (3) Talking to 100 churned customers—breakthrough. They needed workflow automation, not platform flexibility. We rebuilt around workflows, churn dropped to 3%, NPS jumped from 32 to 61. Now every feature starts with customer interviews. Recommendation: Every team should talk to 5 customers this quarter."

### 3. Before-After-Bridge (BAB)
**Best for:** Product launches, feature announcements, process improvements

**Structure:** (1) Before - painful current state (audience's lived experience), (2) After - improved future state (what becomes possible), (3) Bridge - your solution (the path forward), (4) Call to Action

**Example:** "Before: Customer success team spends 15 hours/week manually pulling data, creating charts, personalizing emails—error-prone and soul-crushing. After: One-click automated reports with live data, personalized insights, beautiful visuals—freeing 15 hours for high-value retention work. Bridge: We built CS Analytics Suite, launching March 1st with training and support. Sign up by Feb 15 for early access."

### 4. Situation-Complication-Resolution (SCR)
**Best for:** Executive communications, board updates, investor relations

**Structure:** (1) Situation - neutral baseline with context, (2) Complication - what changed or what's at stake, (3) Resolution - your strategy to address it, (4) Implications - impact on goals/priorities, (5) Call to Action

**Example:** "Situation: We planned $10M ARR by Q4 with 70% from enterprise. Complication: Top 3 enterprise deals ($2M ARR) pushed to 2025 due to budget freezes—we'll miss target by 20%. Resolution: Pivoting resources to mid-market (faster sales cycles). Reallocating 2 AEs from enterprise to mid-market, launching self-serve tier for sub-$50K deals, extending runway by cutting non-essential hiring. Revised target: $8.5M ARR, 50% enterprise/50% mid-market. Risk: mid-market has higher churn, but faster iteration. Ask: Approve budget reallocation and delay 3 engineering hires to Q1 2025."

---

## Field Guidance

### Crafting Headlines
**Purpose:** Capture essence in one sentence. Reader understands your core message in 10 seconds.

**Formula options:**
- Recommendation: "We should [do X] because [key reason]"
- Insight: "[Counter-intuitive finding] means [implication]"
- Achievement: "We've [accomplished X], proven by [key metric]"
- Problem: "[Problem] is costing us [quantified impact]"

**Good:** ✅ "We've reached product-market fit (proven by 28% growth with flat sales capacity)"
**Bad:** ❌ "Q3 Business Review" (too vague, no insight)

### Structuring Key Points
**Purpose:** 3-5 supporting ideas with logical flow. Each point must be distinct, well-supported, and advance the narrative.

**Flow options:** Chronological (past→present→future) | Problem→Solution (pain→fix→benefit) | Importance-ranked (critical→supporting→implications)

**Each key point needs:**
- Clear claim (one sentence)
- Concrete proof (data, examples, quotes)
- Connection to headline

**Testing:** Can you defend this with evidence? Is it distinct from other points? Does it pass "so what?" test? Would removing it weaken your case?

### Adding Proof
**Purpose:** Evidence that substantiates claims. Without proof, you're asking blind trust.

**Types:**
1. **Quantitative:** "Churn dropped from 8% to 3% monthly" | "2x faster than industry benchmark"
2. **Qualitative:** Customer quotes | User stories | Expert opinions
3. **Examples:** Case studies | Analogies | Scenarios
4. **Logic:** First principles | Causal chains | Elimination ("tested 5, 4 failed")

**Best practices:** One key piece per point | Cite sources | Use comparisons for context | Humanize data with stories

### Writing Call-to-Action
**Purpose:** Clear statement of what audience should do next.

**Strong CTAs:** ✅ Specific ("Approve $500K budget"), Achievable ("Attend 30-min demo"), Time-bound ("Respond by Friday"), Clear owner
**Weak CTAs:** ❌ Vague ("Think about this"), Passive ("It would be great if..."), No timeline, Too many asks

**By purpose:**
- Inform: "No action needed, will update next week"
- Persuade: "Approve [decision] by [date]"
- Inspire: "Each team should [action] this quarter"
- Build trust: "Here's our plan, open to feedback by [date]"

---

## Storytelling Techniques

### Specificity Over Generality
❌ Vague: "We have many happy customers"
✅ Specific: "47 customers gave 5-star reviews in past month, 32 mentioning faster load times"

❌ Vague: "This will improve efficiency"
✅ Specific: "This reduces manual work from 15 hours/week to 2 hours, freeing 520 hours annually per team member"

### Show, Don't Tell
❌ Tell: "Our customers love the new feature"
✅ Show: "Within 2 weeks, 83% of active users tried the new feature, 67% use it daily. Acme Corp said it 'eliminated 3 hours of manual work each day.'"

❌ Tell: "The problem is urgent"
✅ Show: "We lose $50K in potential revenue every week this persists. Three major prospects ($1.5M ARR combined) cited this as their reason for choosing competitors."

### Humanize Data
❌ Raw: "Customer acquisition cost increased 23% in Q3"
✅ Humanized: "We're now spending $1,150 to acquire each customer, up from $935—that's the cost of hiring an intern for a month, per customer"

❌ Raw: "System latency is 450ms at p95"
✅ Humanized: "When customers click 'Submit Order,' they wait almost half a second—long enough to wonder if it worked and click again, creating duplicate orders"

### Build Tension and Resolution
❌ No tension: "We launched a new feature and it's doing well. Adoption is 75%."

✅ With tension: "After 6 months building feature X, we launched to crickets—only 12% adoption in week 1. We interviewed non-adopters and discovered they didn't understand it solved their problem. We rewrote in-app messaging to show use cases, and adoption jumped to 75% in 2 weeks."

**Pattern:** Set up expectation → Introduce complication → Show struggle → Reveal resolution → Extract lesson

### Use Analogies from Audience's Domain
- Technical→Executive: "Microservices are like specialized teams instead of generalists—faster iteration, but requires coordination overhead"
- Data→Business: "This metric is a leading indicator, like smoke before fire—by the time revenue drops, we've already lost the battle"

### Lead with Insight, Not Data
❌ Data-first: "Here are our Q3 numbers: $2.3M revenue, 520 customers, 3.2% churn, 58 NPS, 28% QoQ growth."

✅ Insight-first: "We've hit product-market fit. The proof: Revenue grew 28% while sales capacity stayed flat—customers are pulling product from us. Churn dropped 36% as we focused on power users. NPS jumped 16 points to 58, driven by the exact 3 features we bet on."

**Pattern:** Lead with conclusion → Support with 2-3 key data points → Explain what data means → State implications

---

## Quality Checklist

Before delivering, verify:

**Structure:**
- [ ] Headline captures essence in one sentence
- [ ] 3-5 key points (distinct, not overlapping)
- [ ] Logical flow (points build on each other)
- [ ] Clear call-to-action

**Proof:**
- [ ] Every claim has concrete evidence
- [ ] Data is specific (numbers, names, dates)
- [ ] Sources cited for major claims
- [ ] Comparisons provide context

**Audience Fit:**
- [ ] Jargon appropriate for expertise level
- [ ] Tone matches situation
- [ ] Length matches time constraints
- [ ] Addresses audience's key concerns
- [ ] Front-loads conclusions

**Storytelling:**
- [ ] Uses specifics over generalities
- [ ] Shows rather than tells
- [ ] Humanizes data with context/stories
- [ ] Builds tension and resolution where appropriate
- [ ] Uses analogies from audience's domain

**Clarity:**
- [ ] Can summarize in one sentence
- [ ] Each point passes "so what?" test
- [ ] No passive voice hiding accountability
- [ ] No walls of text (uses white space, bullets, headers)
- [ ] Reads aloud smoothly

**Integrity:**
- [ ] Acknowledges limitations and risks
- [ ] No misleading by omission
- [ ] States assumptions explicitly
- [ ] Distinguishes facts from speculation
- [ ] Takes accountability

**Impact:**
- [ ] Creates urgency if action needed
- [ ] Builds confidence if trust needed
- [ ] Provides clear next steps
- [ ] Memorable (one key takeaway sticks)

---

## Common Pitfalls

**Burying the lede:** ❌ "Let me give background... [500 words later] ...so here's what we should do" | ✅ "We should do X. Here's why: [background as support]"

**Death by bullets:** ❌ Slide deck with 50 bullets, no narrative thread | ✅ Narrative with bullets supporting each point

**Jargon mismatch:** ❌ Using terms executives don't know (or dumbing down for experts) | ✅ Matching sophistication to audience, defining terms when needed

**Data without interpretation:** ❌ "Churn is 3.2%, NPS is 58, CAC is $1,150" | ✅ "We're retaining customers well (3.2% churn is top quartile), but they're expensive to acquire ($1,150 CAC means 18-month payback)"

**Vague CTA:** ❌ "Let's be more customer-focused" | ✅ "Each team should interview 5 customers this quarter using the research guide [link]"

**No stakes:** ❌ "We should consider improving page load time" | ✅ "Page load time is 2.5 seconds, costing us 30% of potential conversions ($800K annually). Optimizing to 1 second recovers $240K in year 1."
