Jan 26, 2022 10:30:30 AM
To successfully get your message across, your audience needs to be at least a little bit excited about the topic, but getting other people hyped about what you do can be tricky.
The trick is to grab people’s attention, show them why what you’re doing is amazing and important, and get them on board with your cause, product, process, or idea. How? The key to compelling content is a good story.
Aristotle wanted the same thing. After noticing that some of his plays were preferred over others, he came up with a formula for telling a compelling story in three acts. He wrote, “A whole [story] is what has a beginning and middle and end.” This then became the framework for the three-act structure.
Each act contains different “beats” which, according to Aristotle, bridge the gaps between each act and send the narrative in a different direction. In Poetics, Aristotle posits that stories must be a chain of cause-and-effect beats with each scene leading into what happens next.
2,400 years later, the formula still works! Although used mostly for novels and filmmaking, the three-act structure allows anyone in need of a story the space to explore ideas in a purposeful and intentional way.
Read on to discover how you can transform any topic into super-engaging content using Aristotle’s three-act structure 👇
Act 1: The setup
Act One typically lasts for the first quarter of the story. This part introduces your world to your readers, along with everything in it.
Exposition: The setup starts with exposition - introducing your characters and giving your audience an idea of who the protagonist is, what their world is like, and a sense of the main challenges facing them.
Inciting incident: This is a crucial beat in the three-act structure - it’s the catalyst that sets the protagonist’s adventure in motion. It should be exciting and show your audience the dramatic difference between this incident and the character’s norm.
Plot point 1: The first plot point of your story is the springboard that launches your character into act 2. This is when the protagonist decides to engage with whatever action the ‘inciting incident’ has sent their way.
Act 2: The confrontation
Act 2 is the middle of your story where the plot thickens and the stakes are raised. Think of this bit as the part that hooks your audience and compels them to keep watching as you move through the storyline!
Rising action: This is the time to explore that all-important problem in even more depth. Your potential customers might not yet know that this is their problem too, so make sure to focus on their pain points to really get their attention.
Midpoint: The title of this section gives it away - this is the middle of your story! The main character reaches their lowest point at this stage, seeming farthest away from achieving their goal.
Plot point 2: The second plot point is there to push the story into the final act, act 3.
Act 3: The resolution
This is the grand finale where the ultimate solution is exposed! Here you can really dig deep into how your service, product, or idea resolves the problem. It’s also the step in which you lead your customers to the CTA (call-to-action), telling them what to do next.
Pre-climax: Tensions are rising at this point. Any events that have to take place in order for the climax to come to head happen here. This may be where we learn something new that impacts the character’s odds during the next step.
Climax: The biggest hurdle for your character! This is usually where the conflict the character has been facing gets turned on its head.
Denouement: And the dust settles… This is the time to tie up any loose ends. The major questions in the story need to be answered by this point and leave the viewer satisfied enough to act on what they’ve just seen.
Sparkol Studio used the three-act structure to tell Canary Medical’s innovative story and promote their ground-breaking work in medical devices. Can you spot the problems and pain points they aim to overcome?
Ready to get your audience hyped? Follow Aristotle’s three-act structure to storytelling and you’ll have content so compelling, the viewers will be rolling in (no matter the topic!) Try it yourself with our 7-Point Progress Whiteboard Story template:
The good news is the friendly Sparkol Team is on hand to help you tell your story in a way that's bespoke to you and your business. Drop us a message today to learn more:
