Much has been written about the power of stories, and their universal appeal in making ideas sticky in the minds of others.

Stories can fulfil lots of different purposes — relating facts in a memorable way, distilling the complex, upping emotional engagement and helping create clarity for decision making.

So how can we structure the ideas and information that what we want to get across, using storytelling — so it becomes memorable, and shareable too?

One answer is to defer to proven principles — like 'And-But-Therefore' which we'll unpack here, so you can give it a try.

And-But-Therefore — A storytelling framework

There are countless books on storytelling, and the guidance given can sometimes be overwhelming. But at its core the structure of narrative is simple.

And broken down to its simplest form, classic stories follow three sequential parts, or acts — shown in visual below. And effective, memorable stories balance tension over time across these acts.

As we see, tension is shown on the Y axis, and time is graphed on the X axis. Tension is introduced at the end of the first act or the beginning of second, it rises and rises throughout the second act, and then it is released in a climactic moment. The third act addresses the aftermath and the results that spring from this release of tension.

Marine-biologist-turned-Hollywood-screenwriter Randy Olson outlines in his book, Houston, We Have A Narrative, one word to epitomise each of these three parts/acts and so creating a story template:

AND-BUT-THEREFORE

As a scientist, his goal was to simplify. Each of the three words can be used repeatedly, but always sequentially so that the steps of AND, BUT and THEREFORE are plain and clear.

Whether in the Bible, or the story of the Titanic, the framework is the present in all sorts of effective narrative. The word “And” helps set the scene; “But” creates some tension and a bridge into “therefore” — a resolution or conclusion.

Here are some examples...

God created Adam and Eve AND placed them in the Garden of Eden to live peacefully, AND God told them they could eat from every tree except one. BUT one day a snake tempted them to eat from the forbidden tree. THEREFORE, God punished and exiled them from the Garden.

A struggling artist and a socialite meet on a passenger liner AND fall in love. BUT the ship hits a giant iceberg and sinks. THEREFORE, the two lovers have to try to escape and survive.

Below is an an example of AND-BUT-THEREFORE from the world of business by David Chapin at Forma Science Marketing. He shared it to demonstrate the framework's practicality in helping us shape the structure of a story before we then polish its words and presentation.

Many patients are suffering AND

You’ve developed a promising new molecule AND

You want to get your drug to market

BUT clinical trials are complicated AND

FDA regulations are complex AND

Recruiting the right kinds of patients is really difficult AND

Without these patients, your trial will fail

THEREFORE, work with the team that has unparalleled patient recruitment experience AND

Is therapeutically specialised AND

Can help you through the regulatory challenges you face.

The And-But-Therefore template is especially helpful precisely because it temporarily puts aside the need to craft public-facing language, and focuses instead on the key structure of the narrative you need to communicate to your audiences.

Have a play with the framework it in relation to something you want to get across, perhaps a presentation or other communication where taking people with you will be key. As in the example above, don't worry first about poetic language — keep it simple, get the structure down and then polish for impact.

Join a live Storytelling in the Digital Age workshop to try out a range of practical narrative tools among a supportive group of peers.

Sources: Houston, We Have a Narrative: Why Science Needs Story, by Randy Olson. Strategy & Storytelling. Forma Science Marketing.