Every prompt from the builder, on paper. Print it for a team meeting or a
class, and give people five minutes per story. Shapes come from
the Story Structure Cheat Sheet and
the Story Vault.
The 30-second pitch
Pitch an idea
Use it for: An internal proposal, an investor intro, a sales call, the elevator.
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Who
One real person who has the problem. Give them a name or a job.
Example: Meet Sara, she runs a bakery with six staff.
Is there a person in it?
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Pain
What the problem costs them today, in time, money or nerves.
Example: Every Sunday night she spends two hours on the rota, and someone always ends up double booked.
Is there a number or a date?
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Change
What is different with your idea.
Example: Our app builds the rota from everyone's availability in two minutes.
One breath, one sentence? Is it about Sara, not your features?
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Ask
One clear next step. Just one.
Example: Can I show you a demo next week?
Is there one clear ask?
Tip: Start with the person, not the product. People lean in for a person. They lean back for a feature list.
Build this one in the builder The update people remember
Announce a change to your team
Use it for: A new process, a new tool, a reorg, a decision not everyone will love.
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Before
Where we were. One sentence, no jargon.
Example: In March, onboarding took us three weeks.
One breath, one sentence?
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Turn
The moment something changed. A decision, a surprise, a phone call.
Example: Then a new hire told us she spent her first week waiting for a laptop.
Is there a moment of change? Is there a person in it?
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After
Where we are now, and what changes for the people listening.
Example: So from now on we order the laptop the day the contract is signed, and new people start working on day two.
Would they know what to do on Monday?
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Proof
One number, date or real example that backs it up.
Example: Last month every new hire shipped something in their first week.
Is there a number or a date?
Tip: If there is no turn, it is a status report. Find the moment something changed and start the story there.
Build this one in the builder "Tell me about yourself"
Introduce yourself at a kickoff
Use it for: A new team, a project kickoff, the round of names at a conference, an interview.
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Moment
One specific moment that shaped your path. Not your CV.
Example: When I was sixteen I worked in my uncle's bike shop, and I noticed people bought from the mechanic who explained the repair, not the cheapest one.
Is there a moment of change? Is there a person in it?
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Lesson
What it taught you, in one line.
Example: That stuck: people trust what they understand.
One breath, one sentence?
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Now
What you do today because of it.
Example: So now I am the one in every project who explains the model to the rest.
Is it something you do, not a job title?
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Next
Why you are in this room: this team, this project, this event.
Example: That is why I am on this team. You need someone who can talk to both sides.
Is it about them, not you?
Tip: Practise it out loud, not in your head. It always sounds different out loud.
Build this one in the builder The pitch, plus The Proof Line
Tell a customer story
Use it for: A sales call, a demo, a proposal, a case study on your website.
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Who
One real customer. A name or a job, so we can picture them.
Example: Ahmed runs IT for a school with 400 laptops.
Is there a person in it?
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Pain
What the problem cost them before, in time, money or nerves.
Example: Every September he lost two weeks setting them up by hand, with a queue of teachers outside his door.
Is there a number or a date?
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Change
What changed for them. Use their words if you have them.
Example: This year he set them all up from one screen, over one weekend.
Is it about them, not your features?
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Proof
One number, date or real example that backs it up.
Example: Two weeks became two days, and on Monday morning the queue was gone.
Is there a number or a date?
Tip: Use this formula: what happened, why it matters, what proves it.
Build this one in the builder Story Spine
Give a farewell or birthday toast
Use it for: Leaving drinks, a birthday, a work anniversary, a wedding if you are brave.
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Once upon a time
Set the scene. Who, where, when. One sentence.
Example: Seven years ago, Mila joined us as our only designer, with a laptop that sounded like a hair dryer.
Is there a person in it? Is there a moment of change?
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Every day
What was normal. The habit everyone knows them for.
Example: Every day she asked the same question in every meeting: who is this for?
Would everyone in the room nod?
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Until one day
The moment something changed.
Example: Until one day a client asked it before she could, and we realised the whole team had caught it.
Is there a moment of change?
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Because of that
What is different now, because of them.
Example: Because of that, her question is now on the wall of every meeting room.
One breath, one sentence?
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Until finally
Bring it to today and raise the glass.
Example: Until finally, today, she takes the question with her. So, to Mila. And to who is this for.
Is there a person in it?
Tip: One concrete, slightly silly detail beats ten compliments. That is the line people repeat.
Build this one in the builder "Tell me about yourself", turned around
Say why you work here
Use it for: A job post, a careers page, an interview, a recruiting event, LinkedIn.
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Moment
The moment you knew this was a good place to work. One scene, not the perks.
Example: In my second week I broke the build on a Friday afternoon. Three people stayed late to help me fix it, and nobody asked whose fault it was.
Is there a moment of change? Is there a person in it?
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Lesson
What it told you about this place, in one line.
Example: Here you can make mistakes out loud.
One breath, one sentence?
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Now
What you do here today because of it.
Example: So now I am the one who stays. I run the Friday fix-it hour for new joiners.
Is it something you do, not a value on a poster?
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Next
Why the person listening should want in.
Example: If you want a team where you can ask the stupid question, come and ask it here.
Is it about them, not you?
Tip: Skip the free lunch and the ping-pong table. One true scene says more than a list of perks.
Build this one in the builder