John LeCarre famously said, “‘The cat sat on the mat’ is not the beginning of a story; ‘the cat sat on the dog’s mat’ is.” We need very little introduction to the art of storytelling, but the craft of story is more nuanced and is a skill we can hone. Unless you’re already fully-engaged in storytelling in one form or another, it’s rare that we get to explore these nuances in practice. Come and have some fun with Steph in this interactive session as she demonstrates little ways we can get better at the craft of story—a universal skill that you can use in everything you do. This talk covers some of the material from her forthcoming book: UX Storytelling Handbook.

1. Stephanie Troeth
@sniffles
Code & Creativity
Chattanooga, Tennessee
February 2014
Everyday
Storytelling

2. OMG Storytelling FTW!

3. Such story.
Very telling.
Wow.

4. Born here
Lived here
Living here
Grew up here
So, about this accent…

5. Last spring, I was in
Avignon for a conference.

6. http://www.flickr.com/photos/alendri/4484158092/s

14. “Stories are like flight
simulators for the brain.”
!
— “Made to Stick”, Chip & Dan Heath.

15. Anecdotal version:
!
“The airbnb apartment I am
staying in had a leak in the
kitchen sink.”
Boring!
Fact!

16. I wasn’t always a good
storyteller.
!
I had to learn it.

17. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oP3c1h8v2ZQ
The shape of stories

18. http://www.musik-therapie.at/PederHill/Structure&Plot.htm
Classic three-act structure

19. Act 1:
Setting it up.
What is the context?
Who is the main protagonist?
What does he or she desire?
!
(Who, what, why, how, where)

20. Don’t bury the lead.

21. Act 2:
Conflict & Obstacles
Crisis and escalating tension.
Things get worse!

22. “Drama comes from human decision.”
!
— M.R. Hall

23. Act 3:
Finale
Things get as bad as it can go.
!
When the story finally resolves,
tension dissipates.
!
Leave your audience in a safe place.

24. Design for clarity
through storytelling

30. Three working examples so far:
✤ storytelling in UX design
✤ storytelling to get a practical
method across
✤ storytelling in a presentation

31. Possibility ∞

32. Let’s try it.

33. Three acts:
Beginning, middle and end.
Setting it up finale
obstacles

34. What’s driving the story?
Plot, character, or question?
circumstance issue
person

35. Exercise #1:
Tell your favourite
fairy tale or fable.
Thinking time: 1 min
Story time: 3 mins (each)
Review time: 1 min (each)

36. Make your character(s) real.
What do they want?
How do they react to something?
What to do they see, smell, feel, hear,
touch and think?

37. Exercise #2:
Tell your favourite joke.
Thinking time: 2 min
Story time: 2 mins (each)
Review time: 1 min (each)

38. Each sentence needs to either move
story forward and show more of
your character.
Pay attention to rhythm
and pace.

39. Exercise #3:
Tell a story about something
that happened to you.
Thinking time: 1 min
Story time: 5 mins (each)
Review time: 1 min (each)

40. Pay attention to
describing feelings, and
reactions.

41. Thank you!

42. !
http://bit.ly/storytechniquesforux
Stephanie Troeth
@sniffles
A book on how you can use
story techniques creatively in
UX research & design
Coming Soon!