Today I have a little exercise for you.
Storytelling often revolves around an opposition. The opposition between problem and solution, between before and after.
The opposition creates tension: we aren’t yet where we want to be.
Sometimes you’ve been working on a subject for so long, you forget the opposition. You’re no longer focused on the problem part. So you forget to talk about it.
In other words, you only communicate about the solution: your advice, proposal, research, policy or product.
Therefore, as an exercise: find the corresponding problem for each solution below. And take at least half a minute to describe the problem.
Here’s an example to get into it.
Is the solution ‘firemen’? Then say that annually, there are over 66,000 house fires in the Netherlands. In about 50 cases with a fatality. And with 800 people every year with very severe burns. This often leads to years of trauma. The average financial loss per fire is almost € 21,000. Etcetera.
Describe details, numbers, consequences and the associated emotions.
Ready?
Here we go:
Toothbrushing
A reversing camera for your car
A website with medical information verified by specialists
A campaign for understandable government language
A quality mark for fair fashion
Good luck!
Regards,
Arnaud