A Story Structure That Works for Blogs, Pitches, and Presentations Alike

Leading with information is something that most people have been trained to do, and the approach usually follows the same formula.

Start with the Point, give Supporting Evidence, and finish with the Conclusion.

This structure is clear, logical, and professional in nature, but in some cases the results can be dull and impossible for people to recollect.

Many individuals are likely to forget the actual information shared, rather than the story of how it was shared through storytelling.

In fact, you can utilize one universal Story Structure to utilize in all written and spoken forms of communication in your business communications.

It goes like this: Situation. Tension. Resolution.

That’s it. Three movements. But let’s unpack why it’s so powerful.

Situation sets the scene. You’re telling your audience where things stand right now. This is the world they recognize. Their reality, their problem, their current state. When people see themselves in your opening, they lean in.

Tension is where most professional writing fails. We rush past it because tension feels uncomfortable. But tension is the entire reason anyone keeps reading, listening, or watching. It’s the gap between where things are and where they need to be. A challenge unresolved. A question unanswered. A risk unaddressed. Without tension, there’s no reason to care what comes next.

Resolution is your answer, your idea, your proposal. But notice, t only lands with weight because the tension made it necessary. The resolution doesn’t feel like information anymore. It feels like relief.

Now apply this to your work.

A blog post about SEO isn’t just tips. It starts with the frustration of writing content nobody finds.

A pitch isn’t features and pricing. It starts with the problem your client is quietly losing sleep over.

A presentation isn’t slides of data. It starts with a moment the audience recognizes as painfully true.

Same structure. Every format. Every time.

The best communicators aren’t more talented. They just understand that humans are wired for story, not bulletpoints.