Book SummaryStories That Stick, by Kindra Hall

1-Page Summary1-Page Book Summary of Stories That Stick

Never underestimate the power of a good story. According to Kindra Hall, telling the right story is the answer to many of the challenges organizations face. Stories are the tool you need to build the connections that will enable your business to fulfill its purpose.

Hall is a professional speaker, author, and storytelling strategist. She’s delivered numerous keynotes and workshops for companies and organizations, including Coca-Cola, Hilton, and the United States Army. She's also been featured in Entrepreneur, Forbes, and SUCCESS magazine. Hall is a board member of the National...

Stories That Stick Summary The Role of Stories in Business

In the simplest terms, the purpose of any business is to provide people with something of value. But this isn’t as easy as it sounds, and businesses are always running into challenges in fulfilling that purpose. Hall argues that these challenges are actually disconnections, or gaps, where businesses fail to effectively engage their intended audience, whether that be customers, employees, or investors. For example, anytime a startup is struggling to find investors or a product isn’t selling, there's a disconnection between the company and the intended audience. Hall argues that stories are the tool you need to build the connections that enable your business to fulfill its purpose.

(Shortform note: The idea of storytelling as a marketing tool isn't new. Storytelling has been a part of marketing for centuries, but it was not until the late 20th century that it began to gain prominence as a marketing strategy. Seth Godin, author of All Marketers Are Liars, is often credited with popularizing story-based marketing. In the 2005 book, Godin argues that the most successful marketers are those who tell the...

Stories That Stick Summary How to Tell a Good Story

For a story to make an impact, it has to be a good one. Thankfully, according to Hall, there's a simple recipe for crafting a compelling story. Good stories, she explains, must include four key components and follow a logical sequence.

The Four Components of a Good Story

According to Hall, all good stories have four key components:

First, good stories have a character that you’re rooting for—someone your audience can care about. The thing you're selling, whether it’s financial consulting or the latest electric toothbrush, doesn't count as a character because people can’t relate to a toothbrush. Make sure your story centers on a character that people empathize with.

Second, good stories rely on concrete details to paint a picture for the listener. This helps transport the listener to the world of the story, especially if those details are relatable and help the listener recall moments or details from their own life. For example, if you're speaking to an audience born in the ’80s or ’90s, you might make a small reference to shared cultural experiences like Blockbuster or mix tapes.

Third, good stories are rooted in genuine emotion. While your story doesn’t...

Stories That Stick Summary The Four Core Stories

Even following Hall’s recipe for a good story, it can be intimidating to know how to choose the right story for the right occasion. Hall outlines four core stories that you can swap in depending on your audience and your intended goal: the Value Story, the Customer Story, the Founder Story, and the Purpose Story.

(Shortform note: Hall’s list of four core stories isn't exhaustive. The Leader’s Guide to Storytelling author Stephen Denning offers examples of stories that can be used to share knowledge or quell rumors, none of which fit neatly into any one of Hall’s four story models. For example, Denning outlines the framework for a story that focuses on a problem rather than a central protagonist. He also describes the power of a future-oriented story that describes what's possible rather than something that has already happened.)

The Value Story

The Value Story is a useful tool when you want to increase sales or market to a new...

Stories That Stick Summary How to Know What Story to Tell

At some point, you might need any one of the four core stories, but, according to Hall, the trick is finding the right story at the right time for the right purpose. She explains that to pick the right story, you need to be clear on the message you want to communicate and then find the story that most effectively articulates that message.

As you're deciding what story to tell, Hall recommends considering the following...

Stories That Stick Summary How to Collect Stories

Hall argues that to effectively use stories to address the challenges facing your company, you need a stockpile of stories to choose from. Telling a compelling story, she explains, relies on having a bank of stories at your disposal and then pulling out the perfect story at the perfect moment. She recommends starting to build your story bank right away.

(Shortform note: Building your story bank doesn’t have to be a solitary project. Storytelling For Good, a storytelling consulting firm, suggests that team members work together to create systems and structures to collect and organize their stories. The firm says that after identifying a way to archive your stories, you should create a shared taxonomy that will allow you to label and organize all your content and ensure that the database is open, accessible, and searchable by things like keyword, author, date, or place.)

If you think this sounds intimidating, you’re not alone. According to Hall, many people go through life believing that they don’t have any stories to tell or that their stories aren’t worth hearing. Hall adamantly disagrees and emphasizes...

Shortform Exercise: Start Building Your Story Bank

According to Hall, the first step in becoming an effective storyteller is building your story bank. She suggests your own stories as a great place to start.

Write down three nouns that have significance in your life. It may be a person, a place, or an object (for example, your first love, the lake near your house, or your childhood stuffed animal).

Shortform Exercise: Choose the Right Story

Hall explains that one of the challenges of storytelling is choosing the right story at the right time for the right purpose. As you're deciding what story to tell, consider who your story is for and how you want the story to change them.

What is a problem you're facing that you'd like to use storytelling to solve?