Take a tip from Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens famously used balance to introduce A Tale of Two Cities:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times,
it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness,
it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity,
it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness,
it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …
To create balance, you might steal a tip from Dickens and:
1. Repeat and reverse.
| Start with your original idea | Repeat and reverse |
| It was the best of times. | It was the worst of times. |
| It was the age of wisdom. | It was the age of foolishness. |
| It was the epoch of belief. | It was the epoch of incredulity. |
| It was the season of Light. | It was the season of Darkness. |
| It was the spring of hope. | It was the winter of despair. |
2. Add don’t or not before the second phrase.
| Start with your original idea | Add ‘don’t’ or ‘not’ and repeat |
| If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years … | … don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes. |
| We are here to make money with you … | … not off of you. |
| I bear a message of challenge … | … not self-congratulation. |
| I want your attention … | … not your applause. |
3. Add “and” or “so” before the second phrase.
| Start with your original idea | Add ‘so,’ ‘and’ or ‘as well’ and repeat |
| If you suffer … | … we will suffer |
| If we prosper … | … so will you. |
| This printer will resonate with the CFO … | … as much as it does with the CEO. |
How can you tell better business stories?
Stories are so effective that Og Mandino, the late author of the bestselling The Greatest Salesman in the World, says, “If you have a point, find a story.”
Learn to find, develop and write stories that engage readers’ hearts and minds in our Master the Art of Storytelling workshops.
There, you’ll learn how to find the aha! moment that’s the gateway to every anecdote. How to start an anecdote with a bang — instead of a whimper. And how to use “the most powerful form of human communication” to grab attention, boost credibility, make messages more memorable and communicate better.
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