Tamsen Webster breaks down Randy Olson's ABT framework (And, But, Therefore) for storytelling, then proposes strengthening it by adding Yet (ABYT). She explains how the three-act structure works and where the moment of truth lands in act two.
There are lots of ways to make storytelling even simpler, and one of the simplest is a storytelling structure called ABT, which stands for "and, but, therefore." But by adding one letter and one word to that structure, you can make your stories even more powerful as well. That's what we're talking about this week on Find the Red Thread. I'm Tamsen Webster of TamsenWebster.com. If you're a fan, please do me a favor. Like and subscribe. Stories are an incredibly powerful way for us to get our messages across, and there's a lot of information out there about how to do it, but we don't always have a lot of time. Therefore, we need to find simpler ways to apply story structure to our messages. And that's exactly what I just did using Randy Olson's ABT method of story structure. The ABT stands for And, But, Therefore, and each of those words matches one of the acts of a story. So the first act is setup. So you present with the and two pieces of information that describe the situation. We all know that stories are powerful and there's a lot of information out there. The second word, "but," is for the conflict act of a story. But there's a problem. But we don't always have a lot of time to apply that information to our messages. The third act of a story is the resolution, and that's the "therefore" that Randy introduces. Therefore, we need to find simpler ways of introducing structure to our stories, of applying story structure to our messages. Now, that's an effective way, it absolutely works, and there's one other thing we can do to make them even more powerful, because a story doesn't just have 3 acts, it has an important thing that happens within the second act, and that is a moment of truth. It's the thing that causes the third act to happen. It's the introduction of one more piece of information that really helps the character, and in this case your audience, decide whether or not they agree with the resolution that you're going to present, whether or not they agree with the thing that comes after the therefore. Now, if you're familiar with the Red Thread, then you'll see how all of this matches up because the goal is what we're talking about with the and. We want this and we know that there's things standing in the way, but there's a problem, a deeper problem, the real problem, the problem of perspective. So we've got the and and the but taken care of, but how do we cover that moment of truth? How do we make sure that piece happens? I suggest we add one more letter and one more word, and that's Y for yet. Yet we know that it's true, in this case, that the easier something is, the more likely it is we are to apply it. Therefore, now we're back into Randy's structure. Therefore, the change, we need to find the easiest way to apply story structure, true story structure, to our messages. So when you're putting your messages together, when you're trying to figure out on the fly, when you don't have a lot of time, how can I structure this simply? Think and, but, yet, therefore. What's the situation? What's the problem? What's the additional piece that makes the case for the, the change that you're about to introduce? Therefore, the change needs to happen. So from ABT to ABYT, it's a simple change but a powerful one. I'm Tamsen Webster of TamsenWebster.com. If you're interested in learning more about applying story structure to your messages or having me come in to train your team on how to do it for themselves, find out more at TamsenWebster.com/consulting.
