Startup Storytelling: Part 2 - Understanding Perspective

Part 2: Perspective

When you're starting to think about your startup story and your pitch deck, it's important to think about the different ways you can use perspective to convey your points. When working with founders, I like to start with focusing on three main perspectives they will use.

I vs We vs They

I - Great for when you need to tell a personal story or move the audience through your own self-awareness. This is a great way to frame origin stories, stories of conflict and how to overcome them, and mentor stories.

We - For early stage startups, the ‘we’ usually applies to the early adopters, investors, partners and employees. Use ‘we’ when you’re talking about the journey from a group perspective. One great way to use it is by transitioning from ‘I’ during an origin story, to ‘we’ as you talk about where you’re going.

They - Great for times when you want to name the villain or point out some- thing that you and your team is not a part of. Stories many times include the struggle between good and evil, and by using ‘they,’ you can make sure your audience fully understands the context.

As someone who is dyslexic I constantly switch between perspectives without realizing it. IT works okay in conversation, but when I write, it can derail what I'm trying to say and make me look as if I don't clearly understand the subject.

If you can, when you're listening to founders speak, pay attention to the perspective they use and how it makes you feel. Specifically watch how they switch from different perspectives to highlight a point, or anchor a story.

Today's Exercise

Take a moment and think about where you are in your business lifetime and what perspective you are using the most when talking about it. Once you've identified if you're a I, We, or They, person, think about how you could integrate other perspective to help you achieve your goals. And then go out and try to see what happens when you use it in real life.

Upcoming Workshops

Want to learn more? Check out the workshop I'm doing with Pitch Lab at General Assembly on November 13. We'll be focusing on how comedy can help you be a more engaging storyteller!

* Thanks for reading. I didn't do this in the past, but it's time to just admit it-- I'm dyslexic, can hardly spell my own name at times, and miss basic grammar every once in a while. So, please forgive me if there's a typo. What I do know is how to tell a story, which luckily for me doesn't always require writing.

Startup Storytelling: How To Get Started Telling Your Story

Over the next few weeks I plan to write a series of posts that are aimed to help business leaders develop, format, and design startup story. Once I've got them all together, I'll format them into a PDF for easily consumption. Until then, just go back in the blog to start from the beginning.

Part 1: Getting Started

It is no secret that founders have too much to do and not enough time to get everything done. Spend time with just about any startup and the phrases ‘fail fast and fail often,’ ‘nothing has to be perfect, just ship it,’ and ‘I’m winging this presentation’ are likely to come up.

While there is some merit to this, don’t assume your story and pitch deck will just happen. In my opinion startups are built on three things:

1. Identifying a problem
2. Creating a solution
3. Communicating your vision to the audiences that matter

Founders spend a lot of time on the rst two but often leave the third to chance.

My goal with these posts are not to slow down the speed at which you build your business, but to make sure you build the foundation you need for a long-term narrative and consistent story arc.

The stories you tell early investors and employees will change as the business evolves, but the core of those stories should remain the same.

And these stories can do some great things for your business including:

• Finding the right investors faster

• Helping you recruit mentors

• Signing up early partners and customers

• Recruiting and hire top talent

• Galvanizing your team during times of struggle

Before we jump into starting your story, lets take a brief moment and highlight a few of the elements a great story has. If you can include as many of these in your overall business story, there's a good chance you'll be more likely to succeed.

• Something happens

• A clear point

• Relatable

• Appropriate for the audience

• Includes details

• Well paced

• Con ict

• Practiced

• Can be retold by the audience fairly easily

Which now leads us to the first exercise in this series. Figuring out from the start what you want to accomplish and why it matters.  So take a few and answer the questions below. First drafts are great, but don't overlook the power of letting it marinate a bit. 

Exercise Questions

In a perfect world, what does the story you're trying to tell do for you and the business?

Why is this the best story to tell right now?

Are you building off a currently crafted story? Or are you starting from scratch? 

Where do you feel this story needs the most help?

How will you determine when your story is ready for an audience? 

Upcoming Workshops

Want to learn more? Check out the workshop I'm doing with Pitch Lab at General Assembly on November 13. We'll be focusing on how comedy can help you be a more engaging storyteller!

* Thanks for reading. I didn't do this in the past, but it's time to just admit it-- I'm dyslexic, can hardly spell my own name at times, and miss basic grammar every once in a while. So, please forgive me if there's a typo. What I do know is how to tell a story, which luckily for me doesn't always require writing.

Ira Glass on Storytelling & Why It Matters To Business Leaders

If you haven't seen Ira Glass's phenomenal two minute talk on storytelling take a second and check it out. I'll wait while you watch it below.

I can't remember how many times I watched this video over the last several years, but it has to be at least 50. I turn to it when things feel like they just aren't quite working. Or when I need a reminder that even though the work I'm doing isn't where I want it to be, I need to trust the process and keep on going.I also have every business leader I work with watch it as well. 

For the sake of this bit of writing let's break a few key parts of his philosophy apart and apply them to the business world.

 

"Nobody tells beginners that there is a gap and the first few years when you're making stuff, the stuff you're making isn't so good."

This isn't going to be popular, but it needs to be said. Too many founders, VC's, speech coaches and accelerator networks take the approach that storytelling is something that should be natural for the founder. Who better to know and tell the story anyhow? Obviously the founder needs to be able to articulate their story, but that doesn't mean they'll know how to do a good job right off the back.

Which is where things come off the rails. Founders are just like every other storyteller, they're figuring it out as they go. A seasoned business leader who has been studying and telling stories for decades usually can shorten the gap between starting a new story and having one that is ready for primetime, but new founders need time to breathe and the understanding that it's okay if the first few hundred iterations don't work.

 

"Your Taste is Still Killer"

This is one of the hardest things for any storyteller and communicator that has good taste. It's maddening when what you're trying to say/do isn't reaching your taste and people around you are giving feedback. I remember the first time I got edited early in my career for a newspaper story and it felt like I'd never be able to write a sentence again. I knew what was good, but my work got ripped apart and I suddenly got doubtful. 

If you're a business leader don't overlook this. It's good to watch TED Talks, and product launches by Steve Jobs, but don't forget those folks had this same problem you do. Keep focus on your taste and keep going.

 

"A lot of people never get past that point. A lot of people quit."

This is hands down what separates the master storytellers from everyone else. It is also what separates CEO's that can galvanize workforces and move the business into the stratosphere. And it's easily the most hard thing to do. 

If you're a leader, give yourself the time to let this process work its way out. Know that you're most likely not going to go up on stage and knock your first pitch out of the park. Or be able to effectively communicate down the ladder in a large organization. 

This is also a great place to watch this clip a few times. In fact, bookmark it.

 

"Do A Lot of Work"

There is a lot more we could talk about but I'm going to leave this right here. It's the cornerstone of this whole post. The only way to get better as a storyteller is to tell a lot of stories. There is no way around it. 

There are some hacks including hiring professional coaches, but they aren't the full answer to the problem. In fact, if you do hire a coach, grill them. Don't assume just because they say they are a storyteller they really are. The fact is they might sound super smart at first because they know formulas to put your story together, but under the hood it falls apart quickly.

I'll be the first to admit I'm not always the right fit for people and that's okay. Don't think just because you hire someone you can skip the work. 

 

Upcoming Workshops

Want to learn more? Check out the workshop I'm doing with Pitch Lab at General Assembly on November 13. We'll be focusing on how comedy can help you be a more engaging storyteller!

* Thanks for reading. I didn't do this in the past, but it's time to just admit it-- I'm dyslexic, can hardly spell my own name at times, and miss basic grammar every once in a while. So, please forgive me if there's a typo. What I do know is how to tell a story, which luckily for me doesn't always require writing.