Story telling: Part two

Stories for change: Spark urgency and action with your stories

Now that you understand why story works and some of the key elements, its time to delve into how we can use story to inspire change, and with urgency.

If you’re story telling only aims to share information, like in a job interview, the situation, complication, resolution and aha is more than adequate. However, when you’re trying to evoke change and create action and urgency, you want the audience to ask themselves: how would I act in that situation? What would I do differently? Could that happen to me? Is there anything I need to do differently right now so I don’t go through that pain?

In this article we explore how to leave your audience with action. We begin by outlining the differences between internal and external conflict and why inner conflict is so powerful in driving change. We then look at how and when to use inner conflict in business, and how when interplayed with external conflict, you can create the urgency for change. Finally we wrap with some of the common mistakes in story.

If you skipped Part One of Storytelling click here to read. 

Inner conflict: what’s the difference between internal and external conflict?

The most compelling narratives often rely on a delicate interplay between inner and external conflict. The combination of these two types of conflicts deepens the complexity of characters and their relationships, making the story multi-dimensional and relatable.

When a story includes the inner conflict, the story becomes about how the character responds and changes as a result of their external challenges. The external challenges make action necessary, but the choices and action are driven by the person’s inner conflict.  For instance, a character experiencing self-doubt due to past failures might initially shy away from confronting external threats but may eventually find the courage to face them head-on after overcoming their inner struggles.

So what is inner conflict?

Inner conflict, also known as internal conflict or emotional conflict, is a psychological struggle that occurs within a character’s mind and heart. It is the turmoil that arises from opposing desires, beliefs, or emotions within the character themselves. This type of conflict is usually subtle and more complex than its external counterpart, as it delves into the depths of a character’s psyche, revealing their vulnerabilities, strengths, and growth.

In many cases, inner conflict stems from conflicting values, making decisions challenging for characters as they grapple with their ethical compass. For example, a protagonist who must decide between personal ambition and loyalty to a loved one experiences an inner conflict that shapes their choices and ultimately influences the story’s direction.

The key to effectively portraying inner conflict is introspection. Writers must provide insights into a character’s thoughts and feelings, allowing readers or viewers to empathise and connect with the internal struggles. This emotional investment strengthens the audience’s engagement with the story and its characters.

Finding inner conflict is easier than you realise. Begin by thinking about what your character really desires? What do they want now, more than anything else and why? What does achieving that mean for them? Now what thoughts, fears or misbeliefs stop them from going after that? In a work context, your character might really desire to become a leader but they fear rejection so they avoid applying for new roles. 

External conflict, revolves around the physical and tangible challenges that a character faces in the external world. It is the clash between the protagonist and external forces, which can range from antagonistic characters, societal norms, natural disasters, to even the elements of nature. 

As Lisa Bron discusses in Story Genius: How to use brain science to go beyond outlining and write a riveting novel, “we come to story to experience events unfold through the eyes of your character as they struggle with what to do next”. A compelling story is not about what happens to your character but rather why that matters to your character.

Why does inner conflict work?

Storytelling Part One covered the brain science of story telling in an overall sense. However,to really understand why inner conflict matters for creating change, let’s begin by understanding the neuroscience behind this and the mechanisms that create the potential to induce change in a person.  

Role of Mirror Neurons: Mirror neurons, which are a key component of our brain’s social cognition network, play a crucial role in the process of change through storytelling. When we see a character experiencing and overcoming inner conflict, our mirror neurons simulate that experience within us. This mirroring effect allows us to internalise the character’s journey and learn from their experiences without directly going through the same challenges.

Identifying with Characters: As we become emotionally invested in the protagonist’s inner conflict, our brains start to identify with the character’s journey. This phenomenon is known as “narrative transportation,” where the brain becomes immersed in the story, and the line between reality and fiction blurs. As a result, we see ourselves in the character’s shoes, and their transformation becomes our own aspiration.

Dopamine Release: The brain’s reward center is activated when we encounter a character overcoming inner conflict and achieving personal growth. Dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward, is released during these moments, reinforcing the brain’s positive response to the story. This reward mechanism motivates us to seek similar positive experiences in our own lives, driving us to embrace change and personal growth.

Cognitive Processing and Memory: The brain processes information more effectively when it is presented in a narrative form. When stories have inner conflicts, they often involve complex decision-making processes and moral dilemmas that require cognitive processing. The brain actively engages in trying to understand the character’s motivations and choices, which enhances memory retention. This increased cognitive involvement makes the lessons from the story more likely to be remembered and applied to real-life situations.

Neuroplasticity and Empowerment: Stories with inner conflict and personal growth can trigger neuroplasticity—the brain’s ability to reorganise and form new neural connections. When we witness a character undergo transformation through their inner conflicts, our brains recognise the potential for change and adaptation. This recognition of neuroplasticity instills a sense of empowerment, making us believe that we, too, have the capacity to change and overcome our own internal struggles.

So stories with inner conflict have the potential to induce change in individuals. By connecting with characters who undergo personal growth, we are inspired to embrace change in our own lives, recognising the capacity for transformation within ourselves. Stories with inner conflict serve as powerful tools for development, empowering us to confront our own challenges and embrace change.

But how does inner conflict fit into my very rational business change?

Social norms may have taught us business is about reason and logic, but whether we like it or not, the way our brains work doesn’t change because we’re working. As a result we often underestimate or avoid considering how business change challenges us internally. We tell our people the rational benefits of the change. We outline all the ways their work will be better or easier, and when people still don’t get onboard we then hit them with the carrot-stick approach, ‘get on board or leave.’ When we speak to only the rational external changes, we don’t connect with people in a way that allows them to see the change in action.

Let’s take the example of implementing PickleWork. Imagine your business decides to roll out PickleWork and you’re tasked with getting your business onboard as a development opportunity. You’re told PickleWork is a tool that creates diversity and inclusion in the talent pipeline, and helps teams and people be more successful. The statistics and business case all makes sense but right now, if you’re really imagining your implementing PickleWork (unless you’re already familiar and using PickleWork), the very idea of getting your business onboard is probably making you feel anxious.

For most people, whilst they really want to succeed, their minds focus on what the change might cost them.

Did your mind start with ‘what if I fail? what if I try to implement it and everyone hates it? How will my team and peers react? What will my manager think or do?’

Perhaps you’re heart began to race at the idea of taking on one more thing and maybe your thoughts went like this: ‘I’m so overloaded. Everyone is. There’s just too much going on. How and why will people take this up?’

These are examples of inner conflict at work. No matter the type of change, there’s going to be a struggle between our desires and wants like the possibility of recognition, higher pay, more status versus misbeliefs like fear of failure, humiliation, rejection, not fitting in etc.

Without sharing a story about how a character struggles with their inner conflict and ultimately triumphs, the audience is left to figure this out themselves. And this is why change, especially social change just is so hard. The status quo is more predictable. Whether we like the status quo or not, we’ve got the patterns and rules worked out and so the demands on our cognitive processing is much less. You’ll make some reasons about “this isn’t urgent enough right now”, or “if it’s such a big problem society should change first.” And so business reverts to the carrot-stick approach. Everyone must do x, y and z for a pay review or access their bonus or keep their job etc.

So how can we use the interplay between inner conflict and the external change to leave our audience with urgency and action? How can we get them to think about how they would act and right now so they don’t experience that pain?

A framework using inner conflict

This method is best illustrated with an example. So let’s use something different this time: Why change your change stories to be about inner conflict?

Step one: Be clear about your story purpose.

So the story purpose is to encourage my audience (you) to use inner conflict to tell change stories that help people want to change.

Step two: Create your character

My character: I want my character to have a lot at stake for tension. So my character will be new to leadership and new to the organisation. They’ll be a young female leading a mostly older male IT technical team. And I’ll give them a name, Rawiya. 

Step three: What does my character want and what’s their misbelief?

My character wants to make a great impression. Rawiya’s working for a highly influential IT industry expert, and this person could really help them one day become Chief Information Officer. At the very least, my character wants to do a really good job and keep progressing their career.

So what might be their potential misbeliefs that stop them from getting what they want? After a quick brainstorm, here are a few options.

• A struggle to belong. The character’s new to the organisation and they want to fit in and feel like they belong, but at the same time they also want to stand out so they can progress. At this place, everyone only discusses facts and numbers, so they’re feeling enormous pressure to stick to facts and figures, and not to tell story.
• A strong leader doesn’t show emotion. They’re objective and rational. She’s afraid that if she speaks of emotion she’ll appear weak, and if she appears weak, her team won’t follow her. And if her team won’t follow her, she’ll fail and be humiliated.
• Just not capable. She’s never done this before, and nobody else here tells stories like this.  This is all too hard and too much to ask. She can’t possibly learn and be good at this.
• Not creative enough. Only a creative person can tell stories. Story telling is for marketing and people with big impressive lives.
• Not good enough thread. Who’d want to listen to my stories? My life is too boring, dull.  What can I tell them that they’d want to hear or care about? I’m not the expert.

Whilst any of these can work, there’s one that more strongly resonates with my story purpose and using story to drive change, so Rawiya’s challenge will be to overcome their misbelief that a strong leader doesn’t show emotion and they’ll learn that emotion is a strength not a weakness.

Step four: The external catalyst

Okay so we have a great character, but nothing yet is forcing the character to take action. Their desire and misbelief can co-exist. So what external event could trigger the character to take action. 

After more brainstorming, here’s some options:

• A rival starts using stories and gets appointed to a key project ahead of them
• They’re at a leadership offsite and everyone must share a story
• CEO enters the lift and asks them to share a story about what they’re working on
• Her team’s sole project is about to be de-funded and disbanded unless the Board agrees to reprioritising it. 
• She got bumped from the agenda from a leadership meeting. Her manager said, “Your team’s numbers and facts are always the same. In the interest of time we’ll take your report as read, and move onto the next item.”

I think I can use a combination of these to really make the status quo super unbearable for Rawiya. I’m going to kick the story off with good old peer rivalry, mostly because I think that will give me a chance to sell the benefits of storytelling twice! And of course, to make things really bad for Rawiya her project or her rivals will be defunded at the next Board meeting.

Step five: False starts

So in most situations, a singular event isn’t enough to create lasting change. We usually try to find a way to make the status quo a bit more tolerable and a little less painful. And these things happen in a cause and effect chain.

So before Rawiya will change, here’s some things they might do:

• Get team to change their reporting, adding new tables and graphs   
• Practice how they deliver with confidence
• Do more research and gather more data on why their project will produce more benefits than the other projects in question 
• Join in office gossip to laugh about peer’s storytelling ‘attempts’
• Ask to be put on a more important project

It’s tempting to choose the kinder options and keep my character pristine and nice. But when I reflect on my story purpose and in keeping with Rawiya changing their idea about what makes someone a strong leader, I need Rawiya to do something I think unthinkable, they need to mock their peer’s attempts.  

Step six: Resolution and Aha moment

What moment takes them to rock bottom and forces them to change their belief?

So in my example Rawiya is presenting her facts and figures to the board. The Board follows her position but some have questions about the data and impacts. Rawiya is told to come back next month for a decision. Rawiya’s disappointed but also relieved, as she sits back down. Whilst she’d hoped for certainty today, another chance was ok. Then her rival presents. She begins with story and Rawiya thinks the Board might change their mind and fund her outright. But Rawiya sees the Board leaning in, even she is.

By the story’s end, Rawiya knew what had to change, how, why and why now. She wanted to attack the numbers. But her rival had all the data and evidence too. Rawiya’s stomach sinks. Just because her rival used a story it didn’t mean she hadn’t done her work like she’d presumed. She squirms in her seat feeling terrible about calling her rival all fluff and no substance. That couldn’t have been further from the truth. 

Rawiya knew the outcome before the Board voted. Her team would be absorbed into her rivals. Rawiya reached for her phone ready to send an angry feedback form on PickleWork to demand a new ending for her story. How could this be the way this ended after all the work she’d put in? Her presentation was truly the best she could have done and now she knows her best is not enough. Then it hit her. Her notion of a leader using numbers and facts missed the importance of connection. She watched her rival and the Board members still mingling long after the presentation. Yes, she has to learn how to tell meaningful stories like her rival, but more than that she has to change her idea of what a leader is and in that moment, Rawiya promised to become a leader that connects with people.

When you’re striving for change, you need to draw on stories that create the interplay between inner conflict and external conflict that shows how the character reacts and is changed by the event. 

Common mistakes

Using the change as the “hero”. Stories often mistake the ‘change’ eg a new system as the hero so the audience misses the inner transformation required to adopt the change. These false hero stories typically say something like “your world was terrible, slow, painful and then a new wonderful system was implemented, and everything was transformed – faster, more time with customer etc’. With this approach, you’re not addressing any of the people concerns about change and you don’t show how someone can transform. Consider the story of King Arthur. The story isn’t about how Excalibur was made and how it came to be placed in the stone. The story is all about how Arthur had to grow and face his destiny so he could finally pull Excalibur from the stone and achieve it.

If you find yourself framing your solution as the grandiose hero saving the day, go back to the character steps and reframe their desires and conflicts so your solution helps them to become the hero.

Inner conflict tells a different story. Whilst you can write a great story on any inner conflict, when you’re aiming for your audience to take particular action, your inner conflict needs to fit with your story’s purpose and resonate with your audience. A convincing story hinges on setting up the right inner conflict that as the character responds to all the events you throw at them, they begin to change and transform in a way that tells your story purpose. Here’s a really clear example of a mismatch between purpose and inner conflict. Consider a story purpose to get people to take more climate-friendly options, the story is not likely to be successful if the character’s inner conflict is driven by a lonely person wanting to make a friend but their fear of rejection makes them deeply afraid of talking to people.

Test or brainstorm your story’s inner conflict with some of your target audience. 

Set some actions

Storytelling takes practice so set some small actions you can start now and continue over the week to practice. Here’s some ideas:  

• Choose some past changes you’ve experienced or led and practice framing a story with inner conflict. How would you tell the change story? 
• What are some of your team’s greatest achievements? Try the inner conflict framework to tell your team’s journey. 
• If you’re working on a change, find some time to brainstorm inner conflicts. If you’re not involved in a change program right now, choose one of your businesses big change initiatives.

Learn more

• Learn more about the science behind story with Lisa Cron Wired for Story
• Use our Story Builder to practice writing stories 
• If you like the neuroscience behind change, learn more in our post Achieve what matters with intentions
• Read related post “Story Building: Part Three” which delves into story telling for business change and stakeholder engagement