Last month, I watched two business owners give two presentations on the exact same topic to similar audiences.
The first presentation got some polite applause. A few obligatory questions. People checking their phones.
The second presentation received a lot more attention. There was a line of people waiting to talk to her afterward. She had three new leads before she even left the building.
They had the same expertise, same slides, and same audience. They were both talented speakers with charisma and energy.
The only difference between their presentations was something she’d learned that changed everything about how she communicated—not just on stage, but in client meetings, sales conversations, even casual networking chats.
What she discovered wasn’t some advanced speaking technique or charisma hack. It was story structure.
Not stories themselves; everyone knows stories matter. But what I was surprised to learn many years ago is that there is an actual framework beyond the usual “every story needs a protagonist and antagonist” advice you hear everywhere. Once you understand it, it impacts everything you do, from how you process your own experiences to how you connect with clients.
The Accidental Discovery That Changed Everything
The first course I took for my Master’s degree (still in progress many years later!) was all about creative storytelling. I was excited about the course, but I also went in thinking I already understood stories—doesn’t everyone? You have characters, they want things, obstacles appear, resolution happens. Basic stuff.
But the professor started breaking down actual story mechanics in ways I’d never considered. Not just character development or plot points, but the psychological architecture of how stories create connection and meaning. How the sequence of information affects emotional impact. How the same events can be arranged to inspire, teach, or persuade, depending on how you structure them.
By the end of the course, I was rethinking everything—how I’d set up my business, how I gave presentations and talks, and even how I communicated with friends and family.
That insight might have stayed buried in my academic notes if it weren’t for my business buddy, Shelby Eloria from All Set Style & Image Consulting. She was working on launching her speaking career, knowing she had valuable insights but feeling like there was some missing ingredient in her talks.
I told her about what I’d learned about story structure, and being the go-getter she is, she decided she was going to work it into her morning journaling routine. Personal stuff, business situations, client wins, all of it. She started practicing organizing her thoughts this way.
The Habit That Changes How You See Everything
Here’s what Shelby started doing: every morning, she’d spend five minutes journaling using the story structure principles I’d learned, not just writing about what happened, but consciously organizing her experiences using the framework.
A referral that turned into her dream client – a casual coffee chat with a colleague, and the moment they mentioned someone who sounded perfect, and how that introduction transformed her business focus.
A family situation that affected her boundaries, trying to be present for everyone while managing her own emotional needs, the moment she realized she was burning out from saying yes to everything, and the difficult conversations that led to healthier relationships with the people she loved most.
But here’s what neither of us expected: this practice started changing how she experienced things in real-time. She’d walk into situations noticing the “setup.” She’d recognize conflict moments as they were happening instead of just feeling overwhelmed. She started seeing potential resolutions instead of just problems.
The Results That Made Everyone Take Notice
Fast-forward a year. I’m sitting in an audience in Mexico, watching Shelby deliver a presentation that had people hanging on every word. Most people were there to see the other speaker (they knew her personally), but the audience response to Shelby’s emotional story was incredible.
People weren’t just listening—they were leaning forward, nodding along like she was speaking directly to their deepest challenges.
After her talk, attendee after attendee approached her with some version of: “That story made me feel…”
She’d learned to see the narrative structure in her own experiences—and that changed everything about how she communicated, not just on stage but in client meetings, sales conversations, even casual networking chats. Her incredible speaking coach, Karen McGregor, also understood the power of stories, and Shelby had just gone through her storytelling program. That was what made the difference for her.
Before Story Structure vs. After Story Structure
Before: Shelby would share advice and insights, but they felt scattered. She knew her stuff, but audiences couldn’t quite follow her thinking or see how her expertise applied to their situations.
After: Every conversation became more intentional. She’d naturally set context before diving into advice. She’d identify the real tension in a client’s situation before offering solutions. Her marketing content took people on a journey from problem to possibility.
The Simple Framework Anyone Can Use
You don’t need a Master’s degree in storytelling to make this work. Here’s the basic structure Shelby used (and that I now teach to business owners everywhere):
Setup: What was the situation? Who was involved? What was their external need? (i.e., the thing they can describe) What was their internal need? (i.e., the emotion or belief that’s harder to explain).
Conflict: What was at stake? What went wrong? What obstacle appeared?
Resolution: What was the transformation? What was learned? What changed?
Try this tomorrow morning: spend five minutes writing about yesterday using this framework. Journal about:
- A difficult client conversation.
- A moment of self-doubt.
- A small win that felt bigger than it should have.
Don’t worry about crafting the perfect story—just practice organizing your experiences this way. Over time, you’ll start noticing stories everywhere, and more importantly, you’ll understand why they matter to your audience and how to make them more powerful.
Why Most People Miss This (And Why That’s Costing Them)
Story structure feels too academic to be practical. We assume that good storytelling is either a natural gift or something that only matters for writers and speakers.
But here’s what I’ve discovered after years of helping entrepreneurs find their voice: structure is what turns a random anecdote into a compelling message. It’s what makes the difference between someone saying “that’s interesting” and “that’s exactly what I needed to hear.”
When you understand story structure, you start recognizing it everywhere. You see it in the most engaging presentations, the marketing content that actually converts, the conversations that lead to new business. You realize it’s not magic or luck. It’s a learnable system.
At Lean Marketing Lab, every piece of marketing content we create is built on emotional storytelling for exactly this reason. We don’t just teach people what to say; we teach them how to structure it so people actually listen.
Your Next Step: From Theory to Practice
Ready to see what story structure can do for your business? Start with that five-minute morning journaling habit. Write about your experiences using setup, conflict, and resolution.
After a week, you’ll have seven stories. After a month, you’ll have a library of content that actually connects with people.
And if you want to skip the trial-and-error phase entirely, our Foundational Messaging Workshop includes story prompts and frameworks that make finding your most compelling stories as simple as filling in the blanks.
Because the most underrated habit for success isn’t the one that requires the most effort—it’s the one that makes everything else you’re already doing more powerful.
What story will you tell tomorrow?
