How to center the audience as the protagonist of your story

Once upon a time isn’t exactly the greatest way to open your next press release, annual report, or social message. This phrase is usually is saved for fictional stories with high stakes and happily ever afters.

But are those fabulous tales all that different from the narratives you create to tell your organization’s nonfiction story?

I would argue not.

We’ve been using stories to communicate since our earliest ancestors first sat around the fire and orally shared tales of the hunt. Stories were then painted on walls, carved into stone, inked into parchment, plucked into typewriters, and now dashed off on laptops or phones.

In “Wired for Story”, author Lisa Cron dives deep into how neuroscience confirms the human brain is hardwired for narratives. In that book, she says, “Story, as it turns out, was crucial to our evolution — more so than opposable thumbs. Opposable thumbs let us hang on; story told us what to hang on to.”

Whether it’s a campfire tale, novel, or corporate message, stories help us define the world around us. So, what can fictional narrative structure teach you about crafting messages that resonate with your audiences’ primal need for the story?

A novel depicts the main character’s arc of change. The protagonist starts the story one way and after enduring a series of obstacles, emerges changed at the end. They’ve grown and achieved their goal, or haven’t, and instead learned a valuable lesson. As communicators, you want your target audience to also make a change; to educate or inform, to instigate a behavior change, or to prompt a purchase.

Make your audience the protagonist in your story

Before writing, there are a few key things novelists need to know about their main characters before they set them loose in the plot:

1. Protagonists begin each story with a story want, or an external goal. This is the thing they think will bring them happiness or success.
2. Protagonists also have a need or an internal desire. They may not be aware of this need yet, but it’s this internal need that ultimately drives the arc of change. This could be the need for security, love, validation, self-acceptance, and so on.

What’s at stake if the protagonist doesn’t get what they want or need? 

The story’s stakes keep readers turning pages well past their bedtime. This is the same kind of engagement you want your target audience to have with your messaging.

Let’s look at an example from a well-known series of stories with the Harry Potter novels.

If Harry Potter doesn’t defeat Voldemort (his external want), the fate of the magical world is at stake.  But what happens to Harry’s needs if he doesn’t defeat Voldemort?

While defeating Voldemort is his external want, his need is about family. Orphaned and abandoned, he spends most of his time at Hogwarts creating a family; Ron, Hermoine, Dumbledore, Hagrid, the Weasleys, his professors, and his housemates. The list goes on and on.

There are six books in the series before Harry finally ends the reign of Voldemort in the seventh book. In each of the first six novels, Harry gets closer to what he wants, but never quite succeeds in eliminating Voldemort’s threat. He does, however, get what he needs in each edition of the series–a continually stronger relationship with his found family, which ups the emotional stakes as he fights to protect them.

So what’s the real magic in Harry Potter?

Without this family,  which represents his internal need, he would be unable to defeat Voldemort (his external want) in book seven. Just as in this fantasy series, our wants and needs are also tied together, ratcheting up the stakes of our lives.

From a comms perspective, that means that teasing out your audience’s wants and needs will help you craft a more resonant message.

Asking the right questions

Just as when we break down stories as readers, as communicators, there are a few questions you need to face before diving in.

1. What does your target audience want? Think about that avatar of your ideal audience–do they want more time, money, a vacation, to lose weight, to be successful? Identify their external desire.
2. What does your target audience need? What’s beneath the want? Freedom, security, self-determination, better health for an active life, self-worth. Understanding the underlying need will allow you to drive the narrative forward with purpose.
3. What is at stake if they don’t change their behavior or make the purchase or trust your organization’s reputation? Articulate the consequence in your messaging for ultimate engagement.

Once you understand your audience from a protagonist’s perspective, you can hone your messaging across platforms to tell their story. Put them in the plot and show them the benefits of your proposed arc of change.  Using a narrative story structure will help you create stronger, more resonant messaging for your target audiences.

After all, everyone wants a happily ever after.

Monica Cox is a former PR pro who currently works as a writer and book coach.