How to change someone’s behaviour with stories

Once upon a time, there were no stories. All living things just went about their day, learned what’s good for them and what’s not, or died in the process. Life was brutal, but simple.

Then everything changed, because humans arrived. We also learned from experiences, but somewhere along the way we picked up a new skill. One that would set us on a path towards a level of success we could never have imagined.

We figured out how to learn from something other than experiences. How to learn from hypothetical experiences. Things we’d never done. Things nobody had ever done. 

We learnt how to tell stories.

But you can't appreciate the magic of storytelling, until you know what a story actually is.

What is a story? 

It’s simple. A story is a change. It has a before and an after. A how things were, and how things are now. 

Me sitting here changing nothing, is not a story. But me sitting here changing my life by writing this framework very well could be. So what sort of change are we talking about here? A change in position? Does moving my arm up and down count? How about changing what I’m wearing?

The difference between a terrible story and an irresistible one is the thing that’s changing. A story about me changing my hairstyle is not going to be a good story. But one about my entire life changing because a million people read this framework, could be. Why is that?  

A big change on its own doesn’t make it an interesting story. We need more. We crave more. So what sort of change do we need in order for a story to become a great one? Well, the answer is nothing short of the deepest, most meaningful things anyone can ever have.

Our beliefs. 

The goal of a story 

The whole point of a good story is to make you let go of an old belief, and give you a brand new one. Just as the main character must change, so must the reader. That is what makes a story valuable. That is what hooks us and makes it impossible to look away. Because it feels like we are learning something important, for free. That we are gaining the lessons from a new experience, without actually having to live it.

So what does this have to do with changing our behaviour? Well, where do you think our behaviour comes from in the first place? Our beliefs determine what we do. If I don’t believe it’s possible for me to quit smoking, I won’t even try. So if we want to change our behaviours, we must first change our beliefs.

Now, here's where marketing comes in. If we want to change someone else’s behaviour, we need to understand the belief that's driving it. Only then can we break that belief, and offer them a new one. One that will lead them to behave in a new way.

It looks like this:

Old Behaviour → Old Belief → Epiphany → New Belief → New Behaviour  

That is the recipe for all good storytelling. It is what needs to happen inside our audience’s minds if we want them to change their behaviour. Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it to you.

Story Examples

Stories in marketing

Let's look at Nike’s famous “Just Do It” campaign. I'll show you step by step how they broke an old belief, and changed our behaviour in the process.

• The old behaviour
  • People weren't buying Nike shoes, or trainers in general. Few people exercised.
• The old belief
  • People were full of self doubt about starting. They believed they couldn’t do it, and that exercising was too hard. It just wasn't for them.
• The epiphany
  • Nike showed an 80-year-old marathoner named Walt Stack, as he did one of his 17 mile morning runs. The message was clear. If he can do it, so can you.
• The new belief
  • If 80 year old Walt can do it, then anyone can. All it takes is to “Just Do It”. Exercising is still hard, but it's possible. It's accessible. And it's for everyone.

• The new behaviour
  • People started exercising more. They bought trainers, and Nike sales shot through the roof.

Nike understood the limiting belief that was holding their potential customers back. They didn't try to convince people to buy their shoes. They convinced them to believe in themselves. They helped people start exercising, because the obvious next step is to buy new trainers. And since people knew and respected Nike, who do you think they bought them from? That is the magic of great storytelling.

To drive this point home, let's look at another example. The De Beers’ “A Diamond is Forever” campaign has got to be one of the greatest feats in the history of marketing. Let's break it down.

• The old behaviour

• People would buy other gemstones instead of diamonds. For engagement rings, they bought rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and other precious stones.

• The old belief
  • Diamonds are not the rarest, most valuable gemstone. They are not a good gift to show someone how much you love them.
• The epiphany
  • De Beers showed romantic scenes between couples featuring a diamond ring. The role of the diamond was to show how timeless and everlasting their love was. It made it clear that no proposal was complete without a diamond engagement ring. 
• The new belief
  • Diamonds are THE symbol of love. And if you don’t get one, then you're not loved. It is the most precious of all the gemstones.

• The new behaviour
  • People started buying diamond engagement rings, and diamond jewellery in general.

De Beers' had a monopoly on a gemstone that wasn't considered very valuable. So they gave the world a new belief that still remains to this day. Diamonds are still the symbol of love. Yet they aren't actually rare! De Beers holds back supply to keep the prices high, and it's not a secret, but people don't care. That's how strong the belief is. A good story can overcome all logic and reasoning. It's a testament to its power, but also a warning. Those who tell great stories, hold the world in their hands.

This goes far beyond marketing. There are books and movies that have changed the world too.

Stories in entertainment

Harry Potter

• The old behaviour
  • Harry lets the Dursleys walk all over him. He's bullied and has no control over his life. 
• The old belief
  • Harry doesn't believe he belongs anywhere. He also believes that there's no such thing as magic.
• The epiphany
  • Harry finds out there is such a thing as magic, that he's a wizard, and a famous one at that! He goes off to Hogwarts where he makes his first real friends.
• The new belief
  • Harry does belong somewhere, and magic is real. When push comes to shove, he is capable of great deeds.

• The new behaviour
  • Harry stands up for himself, and doesn’t let Voldemort, Draco, or the Dursleys walk all over him. 

This is what made Harry Potter the best selling book of all time. Not only did it make the reader feel like they belonged somewhere too, it also made them believe in magic. That the world of Hogwarts and Diagon Alley could actually be right under our noses. Even if we only believed it for those few short hours we spent reading the books. 

The Lord of the Rings

• The old behaviour
  • Frodo dreams of adventure, but never builds up the courage to leave the safety of the shire.
• The old belief
  • He is not a brave adventurer like Bilbo, or fearsome warrior like the hero's in stories. He cannot do great things.
• The epiphany
  • Frodo learns of the danger he and the hobbits he cares about are in. He leaves the shire, and overcomes many hardships on his journey to destroy the one ring.
• The new belief
  • Though he is small, he is brave and that's all that's needed to become a hero.

• The new behaviour
  • Frodo destroys the one ring, and realises he doesn't belong in the shire anymore. He leaves for good, sailing to the undying lands. 

The Lord of the Rings is so timeless because it made us believe even the smallest and weakest among us can be heroes. All it takes is a pure heart, and the courage to do the right thing.

Enough proof for you? You can find the recipe for a good story beneath every book, movie, or tv show you've ever watched. All it needs is a changing belief that results in a change in behaviour. Now it’s time for you to learn how to create one for yourself.

The framework

The first step to telling a great story is asking yourself one simple question. What behaviour do I want to change?

The next step is to ask the obvious followup: What belief is driving that behaviour? 

Only after we know that can we break their old belief and offer them a new one that drives a new behaviour. 

We’re going to make an ad together. To keep things simple, it’s going to be an ad for this framework. I’ll walk you though, step by step, how I created the ad that may have brought you here in the first place.  

The old behaviour

It's important to remember that the behaviour can't just be surface level. You can't make someone buy your product, but you can make them want to change their life for the better. Nike didn't sell shoes, they sold fitness and health for anyone. De Beers didn't sell diamonds, they sold the promise of eternal love.

The old behaviour I'm going to change is that no one uses storytelling anymore. Nobody takes the time to learn the oldest, most valuable skill humanity has ever had. A skill that can transform a person's life, and sometimes the entire world.

The old belief

This is the most important step. If you don’t understand what your audience believes, then you can’t show that you understand them. If you can’t do that, you can’t connect with them. And if you can’t do that, they aren’t going to listen to anything you have to say.

The belief driving the behaviour is that storytelling is just for entertainment. That it's a “nice to have” in marketing, but not a “must have”. It’s hard to get right, and not worth the effort it takes to master.

The epiphany

Here’s the important part. This is often uncomfortable! People HATE admitting they’re wrong. So the absolute last thing you want to do is tell them outright. You have to prove it. Beyond any doubt. You have to make it feel like it’s something they knew all along, and you’re just reminding them of it. 

This is where the saying “show don’t tell” comes in.

To show them their belief is wrong, I'll tell them a true story. It's a man who built a company named after a popular fruit. But the company was going bankrupt and his shareholders forced him to resign. He spent many years building an animation studio instead, called Pixar. This is where he learnt how to tell stories. The time came for him to return to his original company, but this time he took the power of storytelling with him. He used it to turn the company into one of the most profitable tech giants of all time. He also became the world's most iconic entrepreneur in the process. Before he could tell a story, he was just another founder struggling to make ends meet. After it, he was able to turn Apple into one of the most beloved brands in history.

Here’s how he did it.

Apple’s “Think Different” Campaign

• The old behaviour
  • People were slow to pick up new technology. They preferred to use the devices they already had. Even more importantly, they preferred the devices everyone else already had. They didn't want to take a risk on something new.
• The old belief
  • People feared the unknown, especially when it came to technology. They believed buying from Apple, a fringe brand at the time, would make them different. They wanted the safety that comes from following the crowd.
• The epiphany
  • Apple released a video called “Here’s to the Crazy Ones”. It showed important people from the past, like Albert Einstein, Bob Dylan, and Martin Luther King. People who represented progress, innovation and most of all, rebellion. People who stood against the status quo, and changed the world.  
• The new belief
  • Apple showed us something we already knew, but had forgotten. Only those brave enough to stand out, and “think different”, are capable of changing the world. Breaking free from the crowd is a good thing.
• The new behaviour
  • People started buying from cutting edge tech companies like Apple. They took more risks to become like the trend-setting, history-making rebels they admired. 

The story of Steve Jobs, and how he transformed Apple into the juggernaut it is today is the stuff of legend. People have drawn many different lessons from it. The power of having an exceptional product is one. Anticipating your users needs before they even know it themselves is another. But for me, the most important lesson he gave us is that storytelling is not just for entertainment. That it is what shapes the way we see the world. And that is why it's the only thing that can change the world.

The new belief

If you do the epiphany step right, this next step should feel like, well - an epiphany. Something you knew all along. A belief long held, that never quite made it to the forefront of your mind before. But now, it's front and centre. A new core belief that feels unbreakable (although we know all beliefs can break).

The new belief they should have now is that storytelling is for changing the way we see the world. That it's a “must have” in any marketing, because it's the only way to make someone do something different. It’s hard, but worth every ounce of effort it takes to master.

The new behaviour

Now we want them to act on this new belief. And that’s where we (the brand) come in. We can offer them an outlet for all that newfound motivation to do something different.

The behaviour their new belief drives is to start storytelling in their marketing. So the next section will show them exactly how to make that happen. 

The final product

Remember, all our ad needs to be is the Epiphany. Everything else happens inside our audience’s mind. Because of this, it can be as short or as long as we want. It can be a single line of text, an image, or a full length video. As long as it successfully breaks their old belief, it’s a job well done.

Conclusion

Ideas don’t change the world. Stories do. Being able to tell stories that change buyer behaviour is not a skill you should take lightly. It is a responsibility, so wield it with care.

Put this framework into practice. Think about your messaging as a way to share a story. I promise you, your marketing will outshine every single competitor you have that doesn’t. Because they are trying to speak to other humans in a language they don’t fully understand. You are speaking to them in their native tongue.

To recap:

1. Know the behaviour you want to change
2. Identify the belief behind it
3. Give them an epiphany to break that belief
4. Offer them a new one
5. Make the new behaviour obvious

Use this in every piece of content you produce, every social media post, paid ad, or webinar. Break the belief that’s stopping them from buying your product. Tell them a story, and help them change for the better.

That is, and always will be, what stories are made for.