Stories that Move Mountains: Storytelling and Visual Design for Persuasive Presentations

Walking Backward Through the Story

Sometimes the best way to work through all the “What Ifs” is to execute the change and see what happens! Not really, but virtually, through the power of imagination. The technique we suggest here is to walk backward through the timeline of the story.

Why go backward? Going through the steps in reverse order breaks the normal thought processes and helps to undercover assumptions and different perspectives.

This technique is one my personal favorites and one I've used many times to explore a story under development.

I learned how to do it 12 years ago, and in the preceding text, where it says “walk backward,” I mean this literally. There is something about physically moving yourself along a timeline that helps to step through the story. I often start with my back to the wall, which represents today, and stepping forward for as many steps as there are milestones in the story. As I walk forward, I imagine myself moving forward in time until I reach the end of the story. Then I close my eyes, imagine the future, and start talking about it.

I start by putting myself in the position of someone in the audience at the end of the story. The first step is to visualize the world of this person when the change is completed, using the full range of emotions and senses in the description. I think about what the person can do. How colleagues, friends, and ...