What does it mean to tell a story that is “rational?”
By Associate Professor of Communication, Rebecca Gill, Ph.D
In a previous blog post, I discussed the confusing, sometimes conflicting, advice given to entrepreneurs when it comes to telling their story. Part of the problem with this advice is that it forgets to take into account that, as humans, we are always telling our story. In the case of entrepreneurs, they may be telling their story in any number of formats, including in a 3-minute pitch competition, in an invited talk, or even in the daily collaborative decisions made with investors, co-founders, employees, or users. So, how can we tell our story in a way that also takes into account these different formats and venues? First, we need to consider what makes a “good story” and what doesn’t. For this, I draw from the work of a scholar in my home field of Communication—Walter Fisher and his conceptualization of narrative rationality.
In the 1970s, Walter Fisher argued that stories possess a logic and rationality that is often not given credit. Fisher was pushing back against the unspoken assumption in Communication scholarship at the time that people make decisions largely due to well-reasoned arguments. Instead, he reminded the field that humans are “storytelling animals” and drew attention to how stories can be a valuable means of persuasion. In doing this, Fisher pointed out that people make decisions based on their personal values, regardless of how “logical” the decision, and that stories are one of the ways that we might connect to the values of an audience.
But what makes it so a story will connect with and also persuade an audience, according to Fisher? For one, a story must “hang together” or have probability. The stories we tell must seem to make sense, perhaps because the chronology lines up or the people involved act according to what we know about them. In the case of notable entrepreneur Steve Jobs, for instance, he was known as hard-driving and difficult to work with at times. Despite this, he enjoyed a fiercely loyal following amongst numerous employees and collaborators. Narrative probability helps us to see why this was: Jobs’ difficult personality was held up as evidence of his creativity, passion, and perfectionism—it wasn’t that he was intentionally cruel, but that he was a visionary who didn’t know any better (or couldn’t help himself). We can see how the image of Steve Jobs evoked the familiar character archetype of the “mad genius” and in this sense, his difficult personality made sense, and so became accepted, in the larger story.
Second, the story must “ring true” in the experiences of a given audience or resonate with their values and lives. This principle suggests that investors, supporters, and customers will gravitate to companies that address issues that are near and dear to their own hearts. Many of us may have heard of the story of Bumble, where Whitney Wolfe Herd left Tinder after experiencing sexual harassment and sought to create a feminist dating app that would flip the gendered dating script and place more control in women’s hands. If you identify with Wolfe Herd’s story or the mission of Bumble to challenge gender norms, then you may be more likely to become a Bumble user; that is, Bumble “rings true” for you more than other dating apps might. Of course, the opposite might be true, as well, and that’s the point—if the Bumble story does not ring true for investors or customers, then they may choose not to fund or use the app (though, given that Forbes has valued Bumble at over $1 billion, it would seem that their vision resonates with a lot of users!).
What does this mean for you as you build your own entrepreneurial story? First, you want to make sure that your story makes sense, regardless of how much time you have (or don’t!) to share it. Many of us take winding roads in life or have complicated backstories, and that’s okay, but what are the key turning points of your journey as an entrepreneur, or the important realizations about your target market that, when pulled together, create a viable narrative? When constructing your story, think of how you can best make it hang together, even if there are some bumps in the road. And remember that sometimes the best characters or plot twists in a story are the ones that are complicated—such was the allure of Steve Jobs and his journey with Apple.
Second, make sure you understand your most important audience—your early adopters. When pitching your idea to investors and other supporters, you will have an easier time if you can demonstrate evidence of early customer interest, and these early adopters can often become your most fervent supporters. In the case of Bumble, they have been successful in creating an ecosystem of women’s empowerment and the “millennial experience” that appeals to and draws in users of their diverse matching services as well as readers of their blog, The Beehive. Thus, although it might be tempting to craft your story with only investors in mind (they are where the resources often come from, after all!), it is actually to the values and interests of your target market that you should most appeal. No doubt, this principle is at the heart of emerging attention to evidence-based entrepreneurship.
Taken together, these two principles—the need to “ring true” to your supporters with the need for a story that is “probable”—depend on each other to tell a story that is logical, or rational. Just adopting one of the principles will create a story that sounds good but does not persuade supporters or will create a story that persuades supporters but because it lacks coherence, risks eventually losing those same supporters. At the end of the day, however, Walter Fisher also believed that a good story will be one that, regardless of the specific situation, upholds universal values of human conduct. This suggests it could be worth your time to do a “gut check” on the values you want to uphold with your venture and avoid tailoring your story too much.