Narrating New Meaningful Directions

Question 1

Why do we love stories?

Answer 1

Simulate the world
-It allows us to simulate the world around us and imagine different scenarios

Transfer knowledge easily

Deals with the complex decision making, moral decisions

Hormones
-Stories stimulate the brain, making it release dopamine (focus, memory), oxytocin (empathy and trust) and endorphins (pleasure and satisfaction)

Question 2

What makes a great story?

Answer 2

Believable

• The audience needs to believe on the story
• It has to be compiling and engaging

Talk about how great the audience can be

Question 3

What are the acts of a great story?

Answer 3

Act I: Beginning

• The realistic framework
• What is at stake? What is the unbalance that triggers the hero?

Act II: Progress
-Potential vs Reality

Act III: Ending

• Solve the unbalance
• Clear reward

Question 4

What is the concept of inside-out narrative?

Answer 4

Every story is the movement of a hero (WHO) to an object of value (WHAT) because of a meaning (WHY)

Question 5

What are the steps of the Hero’s Journey?

Answer 5

The hero’s journey is circular

There are two worlds: Known and Unknown

1-Hero is in a ordinary world, with limited awareness of a problem
2-Call to adventure: increased awareness that something more is desired. The value is not anymore on the known situation, but at something new.
3-Crossing the threshold. Hero becomes aware of a new promised scenario and how to reach it
4-Hero is tested to achieve his goal
5-Hero meets allies (hopes) and enemies (challenges)
6-Hero come back to the beginning (ordinary world) with the solution/treasure, but changed

Question 6

Example of a great story

Answer 6

• Name the enemy
• Why now? What is the urgency?
• Explain the vision: promised land
• Identify obstacles and provide solutions
• Provide evidences that the future vision is attainable

Question 7

What are the six hats?

Answer 7

Tool to analyse different perspectives

White (neutrality): data, facts, numbers, case studies
Red (emotion): empathy, feelings, gut
Green (creativity): change of context
Blue (organization): balance, planning
Yellow (optimism): positive, hope
Black (caution): judgement, pessimist, careful

Question 8

What is the StoryWorld? And what happens next?

Answer 8

Before writing the story, you need to understand the context, characteristics, emotions, beliefs. There are multiple dimensions that surround a story

It is where stories come true, the macro-narrative where personal stories emerge

Next step -> populating the StoryWorld with human stories
Different storylines to:
-Humanize through diverse perspectives 
-Simplify through a sequential order
-Empathize with different users