Note: This is the second in a series of three blogs exploring the essential ingredients of compelling leadership storytelling.
In the previous blog, we explored how content serves as the heartbeat of your storytelling. But, that's just the starting point.
Even if you have powerful content, your story can fall apart if you fail to organize it in a way that makes sense. Your audience would struggle to follow along, and your message would get lost in translation.
This happens to me often during the early years of my marketing career. I have interesting stories and insights to share but am unable to organize them clearly. My audience spends more time trying to connect the dots than absorb my message.
I'm up at 5am, eager and anxious about the big executive meeting in a few hours. 30 minutes into the drive...thud...thud...thud
Can you guess what’s wrong with this story? It's incomplete. The audience is left wondering what happened. Do I get a flat tire? Do I make it to the meeting? What is the outcome?
Unless your goal is to confuse the audience, don’t leave them with any cliffhangers.
Your Story Needs a Complete Journey
Every time you tell a story, make sure it is complete. Think of your story structure as an airplane journey. In the image above you see a runway. The runway symbolizes the takeoff 🛫 and landing 🛬.
Storytelling is about taking your audience on a journey. You are the pilot of the aircraft. The audience are your passengers. And just like a real flight, your story needs three essential phases to be complete.
The Three Phases of Storytelling Structure
The Beginning: Your Takeoff
The takeoff is your first test. Your airplane must accelerate fast enough to lift off the runway. If not, you will crash because of gravity.
This is the beginning of your story. It's where you grab attention, establish the setting, and create enough momentum to get your audience invested. Without a strong beginning, your story never gets off the ground.
Think about the stories that captivate you from the first sentence. They create curiosity, introduce tension, or present a situation that makes you lean in and wonder, "What happens next?"
I call this the 8-second fast start.
The Middle: The Journey Through the Sky
The most interesting part of the storytelling journey happens once you soar higher into the sky. Your audience has no idea what's up there until you take them through it.
This is the middle of your story. It’s where you build suspense, introduce the main conflict, and take the audience through the ups and downs of your experience. It's where you reveal relevant details and form an emotional connection with the audience.
The middle is where many storytellers lose their way. Without a clear direction to your story, your audience feels uncertain about the direction they’re heading.
The End: The Landing
The last phase of your journey happens as you approach the destination. The suspense level declines, and you finally touch down safely on the runway.
This is the end of your story. It’s where you resolve the conflict and share a key lesson. A good landing leaves your audience feeling fulfilled and clear about the purpose of the journey you've taken them on.
Be sure to keep your lesson clear and concise so your audience can remember it.
Putting It All Together
When you master storytelling structure, you create an experience that feels complete and intentional:
The Beginning pulls in your audience.
The Middle dials up the suspense.
The End provides resolution and learning.
The story structure is a logical aid, appealing to the left-side of the audience’s brain. It helps both the speaker and audience follow along in the story.
Without structure, we would have no way to get from point A to point B, from origin to destination.
The Dangers of Incomplete Stories
Remember the story I started with? The one that ended abruptly with "thud...thud...thud..."? It leaves the audience hanging on the side of a cliff, creating confusion rather than clarity.
An incomplete structure can:
Confuse the audience enough that they tune you out.
Waste a valuable opportunity to influence.
Make your message forgettable.
Undermine your credibility as a communicator.
As the pilot, it's your job to get all passengers to the destination. Complete your story every time. From liftoff 🛫 to landing 🛬.
I'm up at 5am, eager and anxious about the big executive meeting in a few hours. 30 minutes into the drive...thud...thud...thud. I have a flat tire. I'm stuck on the side of a windy freeway. 60 minutes go by. I take a ride on a tow truck to the nearest car shop. 30 more minutes goes by. The meeting is starting. I walk outside the shop to take the video meeting on my laptop. The outside noise is distracting and the WiFi signal is terrible, but I push through with my presentation. Even in the most bizarre circumstances, don't call it quits and learn to adapt.
How to Craft Your Story Flight Plan
Follow these tips to guarantee your story uses a complete and effective structure:
1️⃣ Plan your destination first: Know where you want your story to land before you take off. What's the main point or lesson you want to convey?
👉 Example: “Always be prepared to face the unexpected.”
2️⃣ Create a compelling takeoff: Start with an attention-grabbing opening that pulls your audience into the story.
👉 Example: “I finish eating my sandwich by the campfire. I turn around and see a giant black bear running in my direction. My legs are shaking.”
3️⃣ Navigate the middle with purpose: Keep building tension to keep the audience engaged, adding relevant details and emotions.
👉 Example: “My heart is racing. Part of me is thinking to run away as fast as I can. Where do I go? I can’t outrun a bear!”
4️⃣ Land with impact: Bring your story to a close with a clear and relevant message.
👉 Example: “I start shouting as loud as I can while banging on a pot. The bear, now 30 feet away, immediately stops and sits down. Minutes later it runs away in a different direction. I let out a big sigh.”
5️⃣ Test your flight path: Practice telling your story out loud to test whether it flows smoothly from beginning to middle and end.
Structure Your Stories The Right Way
Reflect on your defining life stories. Do they always have a clear beginning, middle, and end? Or are you sometimes leaving your audience lost mid-flight? If you need help, try mapping one of these stories using the airplane journey model. Do you need to strengthen your takeoff or have a smoother landing?
In the next and final blog of this series, we'll explore the third essential ingredient of compelling leadership storytelling: delivery. Even with perfect content and structure, your storytelling delivery will determine whether your message moves the audience.
David Ghodsizadeh is the founder of Storytelling 4 Success, a business that teaches professionals how to connect, lead, and inspire in the workplace through leadership storytelling. Everyone has a story to tell. Do you know how to tell yours?
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