What's Your Story?

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We are
hard-wired for stories.

Our brains create a grand narrative & everything fits within it somewhere.

Meaning in life is not found in reducing things into smaller categories

Meaning is found in putting things together

Connecting dots & getting the big picture

Meaning if found in metaphors, narratives and stories

So what is your event's story?

What is the narrative arc you create with your opening and closing session?

How are creating event experiences so participants are part of a bigger story?

Your Brain On Story

100 billion neurons

100 trillion connections

Whole is greater than the parts

With so many connections being made at a rapid pace

Our brains assume a grand narrative
within everything else fits

Our human brains are hardwired for stories.

We become our stories.

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We don't crave rules, principles & props

We crave narraphors.

Narraphors

• A story made with metaphors that helps us understand our world, ourselves and our relationship to the world.

Narraphors are
table talk.

Narraphors are the feast of love we share with others through stories.

We pass narraphors on to others to share.

Everyone of your attendees is a story wrapped in a skin.

As our lives intersect, so do our stories

Everyone lives
multi-storied lives.

Share a positive experience you've had with a brand.

You just participated in story sharing.

Our events need more story-people: those that want to participate in a bigger story.

How do we create narraphors and story-people with our events and brands?

When you shared your childhood or brand story, how did you feel?

What's your event's narrative? What's is the story arc you are creating?

Story sharing & story people actually syncs our brains.

We are a story driven world and the corporation with the best events that create a story that is experienced and shared wins.

How do you feel about cliff hangers or a favorite series that is cancelled before it is resolved?

Imagine a movie without an ending.

How do you feel about stories with cliff hangers or series that are cancelled with resolving the story?

What are we trying to do with an opening or closing?

Trying to create a shared experience, context and hopefully a story.

What does a frame do?

A frame focuses

• Inside vs. Outside

A frame focuses

• Inside vs. Outside
• Foreground vs. Background

A frame focuses

• Attention & lights up peripheral vision
• Foreground vs. Background

A frame focuses

• Illumination on different aspects
• Attention to the complexity of the issue which accelerates insights & alignment

A well defined frame strikes a balance.

What should your opening event experience frame? Closing experience?

Opening creates input frames

Input Frames

• How you set up your event experience

Input Frames

• How you set up your event experience
• Framing the purpose

Input Frames Identify

• Context
• Shared Experience
• The beginning of the narraphor

Closing creates
output frames.

Output Frames

• Builds a bridge between what happened at the conference and next steps.

Translate Event Experience Into

• Narraphor & Story
• That they can share with others