Benjamin Franklin's Storytelling Framework

Hey Persuaders! In weekly edition, I'll be going over Benjamin Franklin's Pitching Framework.

Author

Liam Gill
June 07, 2023

Benjamin Franklin's Storytelling Framework

Benjamin Franklin is known for his memorable, punchy, one-liners. Unsurprisingly he had a very simple storytelling framework this is perfect for dinner parties, drinks with friends, zoom calls, water cooler chats, and anywhere else you need to tell a quick 20-second story to capture some attention or communicate an emotion.

  1. The Setup - 1 or 2 sentences
    “How could my co-founder do this to me? We were so close to raising money, we needed to close this investor.”

  2. The Struggle - 1 or 2 sentences
    “ I was fuming pacing around ready to knock someone out. Finally, I went up to him.”

  3. The Resolution - 1 or 2 sentences
    “A unicorn? Seriously. You thought it was a good idea to lecture an investor about how we were going to become a unicorn?”

Yes, this is a true story, my co-founder did do this.

This story format is amazing for telling this story in a way that gets laughs. I often used it when pitching afterwards because it subconsciously communicated how highly we thought of our company while generating laughs and setting a great social dynamic for my pitches.

Will you try implementing this framework at least once this week?

Use it with a friend or your partner. It doesn't need to be in a business context. Practice it socially so when you need it at work you are already an expert.

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