Story Design Principles from StoryViz class taught at Stanford d.school

1. Story
The craft of stories is often hidden in the discussion
storytelling structure, but the tricks that are used to create
good stories are valuable whether or not they accompany
traditional narratives. The principles to the left can be
Design
used in any and all types of communication (from a song
lyric to a research paper).
Principles
None of this is particularly new, many of these tenets have
been taught for decades if not hundreds or thousands of
years, our goal is to break them into mini units to make
them easier to put to use. That part might be new.
StoryViz: Stanford me375a The goal of isolating these principles is to help us
communicate in ways that are at once compelling and
authentic: both are critical. Communication that is
compelling but not authentic can be called melodrama or
even propaganda. Communication that is authentic but is
not compelling is boring and borderline useless as it often
rests unengaged. Tip: Designing with an audience in mind
is a surefire way to be both compelling and authentic.
No one principle is more important than another––in fact
many work best in tandem (e.g. the combination of omit +
reveal connections can be fruitful)––nor should one
imagine that all should be used at any given moment.
Instead, just put them to use as needed.
USE DETAILS
CREATE TENSION
OMIT
BE AUTHENTIC
REVEAL CONNECTIONS
DISPLAY TRANSFORMATION
SHARE EMOTION
HIGHLIGHT HOOKS
ESTABLISH THEMES
SHOW ACTION

2. USE DETAILS
Look for opportunities to use details to paint a picture in place
of an explanation.
Why does it work?
BE AUTHENTIC
Details leave room for the imagination and force the audience to fill
in the blanks (this is called closure). If I tell you what I mean you are Don’t include anything that feels manufactured or cliché,
likely to get it and look no further. If I show you a bunch of details, anything that doesn’t feel true to yourself. Listen to your
you brain will engage to make sense of them. The latter is far more body on this, if you feel your skin crawling a bit exclude it.
enjoyable.
For more on closure, see a psychologist or check out Why does it work?
Understanding Comics, by Scott McCloud or Understanding Media
by Marshall McLuhan. People can read BS easily. Authenticity = credibility.
But, Pablo Picasso famously said, “Art is the lie that tells the
truth.” Authenticity still leaves room for fiction. Sometimes the
fictional content is more authentic as deep truths can be
disguised in many skins.
CREATE TENSION
Use the interaction between pairs of opposites and conflict to
reveal meaning (rather than describing a situation through a
single lens).
Why does it work?
REVEAL CONNECTIONS
Whether we call it tension, drama, or conflict, creating tension has
been proven effective––for literally thousands of years––in holding Show cause & effect relationships at the moment you intend to
attention of an audience. The use of opposites and the tension create meaning.
between them opens the possibility for a number of endings and
keeps audience members seeking solutions.
Why does it work?
In many ways, humans are pattern recognition machines.
Journalist Jonah Lehrer describes that we have countless neurons
in our brain that deal with new information (like a strange sound)
and try to break it apart to try to relate other information so we can
OMIT recognize its nature.
Douglas Hofstadter posits that analogies--connections between
Make sure everything you include has a place. Does a mental representations-- is at the core of cognition. The act of
detail highlight a specific point? Is it connected to the revealing connections is the act of creating meaning for an
other aspects of your content? If no, then it should go. audience.
Strive to trim down to just the bear essence.
For whatever reason, it is satisfying to uncover the relationships
between things. And so long as we care about the story initially,
Why does it work? we’ll be riveted until and while the underlying relationships are
uncovered.
Bauhaus professor and architect Mile Van der Rhoe describes
this as “Less is More”. Really, less leaves us wanting more.
Less also pushes us to make sense of what’s there ourselves.
Timing helps––leaving out details at the beginning only to
surprise the audience at the end by revealing them when the
connection matters is highly satisfying: a fine cup of coffee
accompanying a chocolate torte vs. a shot of expresso
alongside a plate of lasagna.
Omission also leaves room for questions in the audience’s
heads. We strive to answer questions––preserving lingering
questions is a great way to keep an audience intrigued.

3. DISPLAY TRANSFORMATION
Look for opportunities to incorporate transformations
(changes in aspects of the story) both to set tension in motion
and to bring tension to a meaningful close. How can the
turning points and climaxes of your story be communicated as
transformations?
Why does it work?
ESTABLISH THEMES
Transformations are the inevitable solutions to the mathematical
equation of drama. For a conflict between two opposites to be Take time to articulate your intent. Use this point of view to
resolved, at least one side must transform. guide all of the stylistic decisions that you make.
Transformations are particularly satisfying because they naturally
reincorporate previous parts of the story into a meaningful
Why does it work?
conclusion. This helps the audience tie together the disparate parts
and answer the lingering questions.
If you know what your point is, an audience is far more likely to
understand it as well. Coherent themes give an audience a
Transformations also mark turning points when things change and
framework for meaning-making and allow disparate elements to
can set a new drama in motion by breaking up the previously
hold together under the umbrella of shared purpose. Often this
established status quo. In this case, they are the surprises that set
operates on a subtle but meaningful level.
the action in motion.
SHARE EMOTION
Don’t be afraid to share honest emotion in your
communication. (Sharing emotional experience is the key to
authentic connection.)
Why does it work?
We experience life on an emotional level. Much of our internal
SHOW ACTION
experience is full of emotional content. Ask Freud. What separates
a friend from a colleague? Strong emotional bonds are at least part Whenever possible, display, describe or portray actions.
of the equation, if not the bulk of it. When we share emotion, we Actions of a character, actions of a product. Something or
open the possibility for connection. That feels good -- we literally someone doing.
get to see the human quality of people and actions.
Why does it work?
Action propels things forward. Every action has a reaction. When
we view action, we wonder what is to come.
HIGHLIGHT HOOKS
Share your passion. Find those things that are compelling to
you about your subject and make them stand out, either by
repetition or emphasis relative to other parts.
Why does it work?
If something is exciting to you, if you believe in it, if you feel
passionate about it, sharing your passion is likely to be compelling
to others. Both because it may be intrinsically interesting and
because your personal interest will shine through and pique the
interest of others.