I’ve had a lot of fun giving several recent storytelling workshops, first for the new Learners Platform for UX researchers, and next at a series of sessions still underway at the DC Center, for LGBTQ+ veterans prepping for a storytelling event at the end of the month.
I’m always impressed by the great questions that come up during these sessions. Whether it’s a storytelling session with an individual or one of these group workshops, people always ask things that make me think. During my workshop for the UX researchers, we focused on how to use storytelling to present ideas and results. And one of the attendees asked something really relevant: how do I tell the story when the information...isn’t exactly positive?
This was a great question, because I generally teach a classic Western story structure with a happy ending. This is the story structure you get when you go to an action adventure movie, or read a mystery, or watch a rom-com.
But life doesn’t usually (ever??) follow narrative structure. And things don’t always turn out exactly the way we want.
Which is why this workshop attendee wanted to know how to use the “goal → conflict → nevertheless, victory” structure…when that victory is, unfortunately, a defeat.
“To be continued” vibes
There are two approaches you can take to tackle this problem. The first is simply not finishing your story. Let’s imagine the storyteller is a head of marketing who has to give a report on a major campaign that ended with lackluster KPIs. She was all excited to weave in some storytelling and make a great impression on higher-ups. But now the results are in, and she’s not sure what to do.
The answer: tell the story! Just make it clear we’re still in Act II; that is, still mired in the conflict. Since the conflict is the most compelling part of the story, the head of marketing can tell the story up to the midpoint and still achieve her goal of capturing these leaders’ attention (in the right way). We’ve talked before about how watching characters struggle against all odds doesn’t make them look weak, but rather makes them seem stronger and more interesting. This storyteller should focus on the ways her team kept trying, and stayed active, creative, and resilient, even though things weren’t going as planned.
This will be especially effective if the head of marketing can gesture at how she’ll move toward that “nevertheless” part right away. Yes, she’s taking a hard look at what went wrong. But there’s still a clear path toward that eventual third act, and the victory that will come with it. Not despite these struggles, but because of them.
You can’t always get what you want
...but if you try sometimes, you just might find, you get what you need. Right?
Another way to tell a story where the character doesn’t get the goal is to take the “it was never really about that goal in the first place” route.
Typically, there’s the character’s external goal, and then there’s the deeper need beneath that. Batman turns himself into a superhero to destroy crime in Gotham City, but his inner goal is to feel safe after a childhood trauma that made him feel deeply unsafe. Zuko wants to capture the Avatar to restore his honor, but deep down he just wants to belong after being rejected by his father. Xiomara in The Poet X wants to perform at a poetry slam, but really she wants to be seen and heard for who she is, in a world that has forced her to stay silent.
A story where the character does not achieve their external goal can still have a happy ending if the character achieves their internal goal. Basically: sometimes characters get what they need, even if they don’t get what they want.
In this case, the head of marketing could tell a story where the campaign didn’t meet the KPIs, but they still got really useful data that will make their next campaign way stronger. Or she could tell a story where, although the campaign wasn’t successful, the team learned some key truths about their brand or their process that will make them much more effective moving forward.
Still a happy ending, even if it’s not the one you expected. Sometimes, these are the most compelling stories of all.
All mixed together
Telling these stories isn’t easy. We all want to meet our KPIs and ride off into the sunset as the screen fades to black. But real life isn’t usually like that.
I was glad the researcher asked this question because, if we’re being authentic in our storytelling, a lot of times it is going to feature this more bittersweet sort of resolution. You win some, you lose some, and a lot of times, it’s all mixed together.
This can make for really satisfying storytelling, if we’re honest and brave enough to do it right.
Happy storytelling, everyone!
–Erin
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Erin Becker (she/her)
Writer | Communications Consultant | Storytelling Expert
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