There are only SEVEN stories

We hear a lot about the importance of storytelling in marketing and brand-building – with good reason. A powerful story forges an emotional connection with your target audience in a way that cold, hard facts never can. As the author Philip Pullman once put it: “After nourishment, shelter and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world.”

But whether you’re writing a blog, thinking about website content or simply telling a yarn, have you ever thought about the plot structure of your story? If not, Christopher Booker can help.

The controversial late author, journalist and founder of Private Eye wrote a whopper of a book called The Seven Basic Plots. Across 700-plus pages, he convincingly argued that there are only seven basic plot structures – structures that are constantly recycled for everything from a business speech to a TV ad or a Hollywood film.

Here’s Booker’s list of plot archetypes, with an example for each one:

1 Overcoming the Monster (James Bond)

2 The Quest (Watership Down)

3 Rags to Riches (Cinderella)

4 Voyage and Return (Alice in Wonderland)

5 Comedy (Much Ado About Nothing)

6 Tragedy (Macbeth)

7 Rebirth (Sleeping Beauty)

Which of the seven do you like to use for your business-related communications?