Narrative is leadership that will move nations.

Regardless if you’re a leader in business, sales, marketing or human resources, you know how stories excite people to action.

But storytelling isn’t some magical gift bestowed on a few lucky people. We all have it within us.

You just need to be intentional about telling the right story in the right way at the right time.

You can ignite your inner storyteller by simply examining the storytelling techniques on display in amazing speeches.

For instance, take a look at the job John F. Kennedy did in selling America on the Apollo space program. 

While his ambitious mission had many, JFK used the ABT (And, But, Therefore) narrative framework to organize his call-to-action with a singular narrative that would captivate America. 

“We choose to go to the Moon in this decade AND do the other things, not because they are easy, BUT because they are hard; (THEREFORE) because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win, and the others, too.”

I added the THEREFORE which you can see slots right in.  The BUT and AND were his.         

That pitch led to $24 billion in funding that eventually produced one small step for man and one giant leap for technology and industries that were launched because of Apollo.     

Did he and his speech writers know about the ABT back in the day? Of course not. They were simply solid, intuitive storytellers using a problem/solution dynamic in all of their writing and speeches to arouse curiosity and fulfill the expectations of their audiences.

You can have the same impact with your presentations. But only with the singular narrative a powerful ABT provides.

TRY THIS SIMPLE EXERCISE: 

Revisit one of your sales presentations and re-write the opening as an ABT to identify your singular narrative: the one problem you are solving for your customer. 

Then, every time you introduce a major support point, craft an ABT for the point that supports your overarching ABT.

The more you use the ABT the faster you’ll grow as a confident and compelling communicator. But only if you practice.

Therefore, grab your copy of The Narrative Gym for Business, a short 75-guide that’ll have you crafting ABTs like a boss. 

Plus, take its companion quick online course The ABT’s of Selling™.  In under 18 minutes through three short videos, I will walk you through the AND, BUT, THEREFORE structure to build your narrative intuition.

You’ll grow as a confident and compelling communicator. But only if you practice the ABT.

Story on, my friend!