Sometimes the lessons we know are so deep in our bones we think everyone knows them. 

With that in mind, I’m sharing 25 lessons I’ve learned from 25 years as a storyteller across documentaries, copywriting and branding. 

These are lessons I’ve learned from my own experiences, not ones I’ve read in books.

1/25 

Framing matters

Every story needs a frame. A TV show has opening titles. A brochure needs an introduction. A website needs a homepage with a headline and menu. A frame sets the tone. Without one, the reader or watcher will be playing catch up.

2/25 

Boil it down

Can you tell your story in one line? 

If you can’t tell your story in one sentence, it may not be a great story. 

A sweeping history can engage an audience – so can an observational “day in the life” – but nothing matches the power of a singular story. 

Over the years I noticed that the documentary premise was closely related to the power of the end product. 

A great story remains a great story. A weak one can only go so far. 

The same is true of a brand story. 

If you can distil your story into one engaging line, you’re on the right track. 

If you can’t remember yours, you have work to do.

3/25 

A story is a collision

Between an old world and a new world. 

The story follows the disruption that takes you before to after. 

If the story is personal, it’s about how you navigate change internally and externally. 

You can craft a narrative out of a range of voices – different perspectives on the same event (think ABC’s Nemesis as a recent example). 

The story happens where the voices collide. 

In a brand story too, we craft a singular narrative out of the space where several perspectives collide: 

🗝 what the business wants 

🗝 how it compares to the competition 

🗝 what the customer is looking for 

The story is the customer’s experience of the business. Their transformation, told in a way that engages them on an emotional level.

4/25 

People will open up when you’re ready to listen 

I hate it when it’s obvious people are only half-listening. 

But I’m guilty at times too.

The truth is, listening is an art. 

Most people don’t really listen. 

But when you turn up ready to listen with your whole self, people open up and tell you their stories. 

To be a great storyteller, you have to be a great listener. 

You have to tune in to where others light up or where they tune out. 

Do you agree?

 

5/25

Notice where the story is leading you

The world is increasingly fractured. We hear stories through social media and information is not mediated or fact-checked in the ways it used to be.

Polarisation sells and nuance gets lost.

It’s easy to get pushed into an over-simplified debate.

Ask who’s telling the story.

Ask what kind of world they seek to build.

Check that you agree with the bigger narrative before you buy into it.

Does the story promote freedom or conformity?

Does it promote connection or hate?

Notice where the story is leading you.

6/25

Don’t blindly follow fashions 

Most of us are not very good at telling our own stories. We miss what’s most interesting to others. We skip over the uncomfortable parts.

This takes on a new light in documentaries where celebrities get to tell their own stories in their own words. Think David Beckham, Robbie Williams, Harry & Meaghan, Taylor Swift.

When celebrities get their own series they often dodge the tough questions.

Without a narrator or strong off camera interviewer the story can feel a bit flabby and watching it you can feel a bit lost, or even bored.

Some of the old techniques – a narrator, an interviewer – are out of fashion but can provide clear signposting that drives a story forward.

Fashionable isn’t always better.

Am I off the mark here?

7/25

Know what’s at stake

What would you do if your life changed in an instant?

In the documentary, David Holmes: The Boy Who Lived, we learn the story of the young stuntman who doubled for Harry Potter. He was paralysed on set of the last film.

What’s at stake in this story is his decision to find meaning in the hardest of circumstances. David and his friends, including Daniel Radcliffe, struggle to make sense of fate.

Any story needs a character with a choice to make.

There’s got to be something at stake.

When they make their choice, the character reveals their values. They face the consequences.

As viewers, we watch, we mirror their emotional journey, and consider how we would respond.

In a brand narrative something must also be at stake for the customer.

It could be something big like the future of a sustainable planet or it could be something small like taking a moment to enjoy a meal with their family.

What’s at stake in your story? Do you know?

8/25

If in doubt, leave it out

Personal asides, backstory, context… all slow your story down.

If you want people to feel involved in your story, make each word or image earn its keep.

Invite the reader to jump in the river and follow the stream of the water, don’t distract them or pull them out of it.

If in doubt, cut it out.

If in doubt, leave it out is also what I say to myself when I’m considering an over-sharing moment (I do tend to share).

9/25

Test and Iterate

How can you know whether your story will resonate?

You have to test and iterate the storyline.

A story becomes real when you share it, when the audience is invested and involved in the journey.

So you need to find ways to test your story. Share your work with others and get their feedback. Often they’ll have a way to make it better.

If your story confuses one person, it’ll probably confuse others. Notice where their eyes light up or where they tune out, and adapt according to what you see.

Creative work is best once it’s workshopped with others.

10/25

Detail makes it real

When telling a story, don’t get caught up in the beauty of your carefully crafted words.

A story needs specifics.

Like the fact the conversation happened in an elevator.

He pulled out his iPad and showed you the screen.

Not too many details, just enough for the listener to place themselves in the scene and wonder where it’s headed next.

11/25

The truth is palpable

The most powerful stories come from truth.

Even in fiction, the stories that make the biggest impact are based in truth.

12/25

Learn the conventions

Want your message to cut through?

Storytelling alone isn’t enough.

It has to work for the format.

Each medium has its own storytelling conventions.

Learn what they are before you break them.

They’re usually conventions for a reason.

13/25

Walk away then return

One simple yet overlooked tip for writing well.

Take a break before editing your work.

Come back the next day or a few days later.

You’ll spot things you hadn’t seen before and be able to edit your own work.

If you’re on a tight deadline, even a quick walk around the block or trip to the toilet will give you fresh eyes.

14/25

Speak to one person

Dear Chris,

When you’re telling a story, write as though you’re speaking to one person.

You’re not broadcasting to the masses.

It might help to start with “Dear Chris”, then delete it at the end.

Try explaining your story to a teenager, or someone you just met at a BBQ.

This will help you to loosen up, cut the jargon or acronyms.

When you say it with simple words, you’ll make a bigger impact.

15/25

Your story doesn’t need to be epic. Just true.

Start close to home with your stories. The real details of your life will resonate more than any action movie.

16/25

Zoom in

Can you make your story smaller?

Instead of spanning a sprawling timeline, take your story deep into the heart of the moment of change. 

Can you encapsulate it in a moment?

Can you trim the backstory?

In the words of @Wes Kao: start right before you get eaten by the bear.

Ask what’s happening in the outside world?

What’s happening in your internal world of emotions?

There’s a story in there.

17/25

Story is a transformation

What defines a story?

Can an exhibit tell a story?

Does brand design tell a story?

The protagonist – or main character – has to feel something.

The acid test is whether the experience changes you or them from one state to another. A story is an emotional transformation.

18/25

Go back to the start

If you want to articulate your connection to your work or offering, ask yourself the following:

When did you first become interested in solving the problem you solve today?

The answer is illuminating… It helps you uncover your origin story

And builds your personal authority in your domain.

19/25

What’s the story you tell yourself?

Start to notice the narratives that play on loop in your mind.

Are you always the victim?

Are you waiting for validation?

Are you not good enough?

Or too good for this?

The first step is to notice these trip hazards.

Next you can start to offer yourself wise advice about what else might be true. With effort you can change the stories you tell yourself.

20/25

Stories are empathy machines

When you hear someone’s story, you feel connected. And once you feel connected, they can’t be “other”.

Stories are empathy machines. If you want to break down barriers, listen to one another’s stories.

21/25

Mining your stories is empowering

Take some time out to explore your stories and how they support the broader narrative or change you aim to make.

These can include:

  • Your origin story (when you first became interested in what you do today)
  • Your business story (how your business evolved to meet the needs of a particular group of people)
  • Customer stories or case studies (the transformation you create for others)
  • A challenge story (which reveals your values) Mining your stories is empowering. When you have a collection of stories you start to spot recurring themes. Tailor the themes and stories to the audience you want to reach.

22/25

Reuse your stories

Revisit and recycle your stories – they look different with the passage of time.

Here’s a simple but powerful exercise you can follow:

Plot memorable moments on a timeline.

For particularly memorable highs or lows take these steps, which I call the SCARR method:

  • S: Evaluate the situation
  • C: The challenge laid out for you
  • A: The action you took
  • R: The results
  • R: Reflect on the lessons learned 

Once you’ve gathered a cluster of these stories, you can assess recurring themes – your purpose, your values, situations that light you up… 

Then look at your current goals and who you most want to reach.

Which story do they most need to hear? The answer will change depending on the project or goal. 

Let me know if you have any questions when you’re putting this into action.

 

23/25

Stories are everywhere

“My story isn’t interesting…”

“I don’t have a rags to riches story…”

Too often we talk ourselves out of sharing stories, because we think our story isn’t impressive enough.

The truth is we bump into stories every day, but we fail to notice them.

The storyteller Matthew Dicks recommends you take a moment at the end of each day to mark down a few words, a scene, a comment. These become the building blocks for new stories. He calls this ‘Homework for Life’.

And once you start looking, you see and hear stories everywhere – at the cash register, outside the school gates, in the stairwell – snippets of conversations overheard. In each small moment there’s a bigger learning waiting to be explored.

The more you write, the more stories you’ll find.

h/t Bernadette Jiwa who first introduced me to Matthew’s work in the Story Skills course.

 

24/25

Make your reality remarkable

Stories aren’t ‘real’ – they’re a distillation of what is real.

What’s important is that they represent an emotional truth.

The power of a story arc is that it forces us into a discipline… the discipline of refining.

Telling us a story requires us to set aside some complexity.

To apply craft rather than being bogged down in our own knowledge.

And the value of a story is that once we have refined the message we can create a new shared reality or make our current reality remarkable.

 

25/25

The end

Start with the end in mind.

The last few words of your story – or speech – will make an imprint on your audience.

When you know where the narrative arc ends, then you can decide where your story should start.

The end is your opportunity to offer a lesson or a moral.

You can paint a picture of the world you want to see, or invite your listener to write the next chapter.

Which story will you tell in 2025?

Let’s make it a story of hope.