The Writing Weapons McKinsey Taught Me: From Logical Thinking to Copywriting

Chapter 5 Persuasive Stories, How to Unfold
—— Can you tell the story of "commercial use"?
5.1 The nature of the story

There is a logical story, that is, the "key levels" are intertwined

In business writing that demonstrates logical expressiveness, great attention should be paid to the "story unfolding" when designing copywriting.In fact, the development of the story includes the aspects of content and structure.Although the content of each copy, including the theme, era, parties, etc., is often very different, most of them have something in common in terms of structure.The so-called "structural story unfolding" refers to the development of the overall general direction of the copywriting.

From the perspective of the pyramid structure, what we want to explore is: under the main theme, what kind of connection exists between the key themes that support the copywriting?We all have to fill in the information (sentences) in the topic eventually, what kind of relationship will there be between the key information at this time, and develop to the main information?In other words, in the pyramid structure, the development process at the level of the key theme is a kind of structural story unfolding. (Figure 5-1)

Here, I want to analyze the story unfolding structurally (rather than plot content), and emphasize that story unfolding is the connection between key themes.

Connecting words, make your storyline compact and exciting
Why do we have to pay attention to how the story unfolds?The reason is that even if individual information seems logical and clear, as long as the interrelationship between these information is not clear, the content absorbed by the receiver is extremely limited.At this time, even if you stuff more fragmentary information to the other party, it will be difficult for him to fully understand.For example:
"Company A's management team has finally begun to pay attention to mental health."

"Company A's average overtime hours are not longer than those of other peers."

"The probability of psychological discomfort among employees of company A is three times that of the industry."

Even if you convey these messages, the other party does understand the content of individual information, but just like this, I am afraid that the other party will not have a clue at all, so they will ask: "What do you want to express?" interrelationships, such as:

"Company A's management team finally started to care about mental health." Because

"Company A's average overtime hours are not longer than those of other peers." But

"The probability of psychological discomfort among employees of company A is three times that of the industry." Therefore

This kind of performance is more able to stabilize the psychology of the receiver.Taken to the extreme, even if the recipient does not quite understand the content of individual messages, understanding the interrelationships between each message can be reassuring.For example, even if the information of A and B is difficult to understand, as long as you convey to the other party "A is the cause of B, and B is the result of A", he will naturally feel a certain sense of stability in his heart.In other words, clear story development can promote understanding.Of course, it is best if both the content and the relationship are clearly communicated to the recipient.

Speaking of this, I think many readers should have discovered that the so-called relationship or association is not the "logical connective" introduced in Chapter 2?Yes, logical connectives are symbols that clearly show the relevance of information.

The so-called "story unfolding" refers to how logical connectives connect information in the most important key levels of the pyramid structure.Of course, the sub-levels below the key level, or sub-sub-levels, also have stories unfolding.If we use the analogy of a movie or a drama, the key level of story development is "act", such as the first act and second act, while the secondary level is "scene", and the secondary level corresponds to "paragraph".

The same is true for the main theme, several main themes can be strung together to unfold a story.For example, the movie "Star Wars" is divided into the old trilogy and the new trilogy, and these six parts work together to construct a larger story.Next, we'll learn about story unfolding from a structural perspective.

5.2 Laying out with SCQOR
The basic process of story unfolding is S → C → Q → O → R
To structure the story, SCQOR is an effective framework (Figure 5-2).

If you can combine the structure of unfolding the story with the structure of solving the problem learned earlier when designing the copy, the effect will be very good (Figure 5-3).

The so-called "SCQOR" is the abbreviation of the first letters of the following items:

S: Situation (setting status)
C: Complication (problem found)
Q: Question (set the topic)
O: Obstacle (overcoming obstacles)
R: Resolution (solution, finishing)
If "SCQOR" is roughly distinguished, SCQ is the introduction of the story, O is the center of the story, and R is the result of the story.Generally speaking, the content of the introduction and result of the story is relatively small, and the central content of the story is the most.

Compared with the well-known "Qi, Cheng, Zhuan, He" structure, SCQ means "Qi", O means "Cheng, Zhuan, Cheng, Zhuan, Cheng, Zhuan", and R means "He".In addition, "introduction, expansion, and closure" are used for correspondence, SCQ is "introduction", O is "expansion", and R is "closing".

First, we analyze a relatively short example of a story unfolded in an SCQOR structure.

Ms. A has worked in the financial department of the Tokyo head office of a large garment factory for many years.One day, the boss tested whether she would be willing to transfer the business department of the local branch, and Ms. A was forced to make a decision on whether she would be willing to transfer.She considered her future career planning and family situation in many ways, and finally decided to transfer.

At the beginning, "Ms. A has worked for many years in the financial department of the Tokyo head office of a large garment factory" is S (setting status). In addition to introducing the protagonist of the story, it also shows her current stable status.

Then "one day, the boss tested whether she would like to transfer the business department of the local branch", which is C (a problem occurred), which overturned the current stable situation.At this time, the position does not have a bad feeling for Ms. A. If she regards the boss's temptation as an opportunity, this is a question of pursuing the ideal type.

Next, "Miss A is forced to face the decision of whether she is willing to transfer" is Q (setting a topic).Assuming that Ms. A believes that accumulating business experience in a local branch is the only way to achieve her career goals, this is a topic of implementation strategies.

Then, "Miss A considers her future career planning and family situation in many ways" is O (overcoming obstacles).In order to shorten the story here, we have to increase the level of abstraction and briefly describe the plot, otherwise you can describe Miss A's inner struggle more concretely.The plot of "overcoming obstacles" in the heart is the core of the story.

As a result, the "final decision to transfer" is R (resolve, close).The recipient will wonder what happens next, but that's a continuation of the story.

5.3 SITUATION (setting status)
Introduce the main character first

Now everyone should have a preliminary understanding of the "SCQOR" type of story development steps.Next, we analyze each element in more depth.

The first is S (setting status).The sender (that is, you) should first introduce the protagonist of the story, and at the same time let the recipient of the information know that the protagonist is currently in a stable state.The protagonist can be a person or not. It can be represented by a company, a certain department or a certain position, or it can be an industry or a region.However, its necessary condition is that the protagonist, even if he is not human, must possess some kind of will or desire, or be a subject who can take some kind of action.

There are countless examples where the main character is not human: Natsume Soseki’s book “I Am a Cat” has a cat as the main character, Disney’s Mickey Mouse is a mouse, and “Thomas the Train” has a train as the main character. The main character in the proposal to corporate customers should be It is the other party's enterprise.In most cases, business people will regard each other's company as the protagonist.

Then describe the stable situation that has continued to the present

In the S stage, in addition to introducing the protagonist, the situation must also be described in chronological order, which is the core theme of the S stage.By "situation" I mean a steady state that has continued to occur so far, whether good or bad.In other words, something like "continuing a good state," "continuing a bad state," or "nothing happened, just passing time" would work; The content of the words is coherent, that is, the state continues to be unstable.

In order for readers to think about what S refers to, let me give an example:
(S)DIY Company is a DIY supplies retailer that is closely connected with community life. It has nine stores of the same type in emerging residential areas in satellite cities in Tokyo.This company is an unlisted family business with an annual growth rate of 20% in recent years.One policy promoted by company owner T, which has received high praise, is that employees give concise and easy-to-understand sales instructions to customers who come to the store.The company's business model is to purchase products from manufacturers in large quantities and lower the purchase price, thereby setting the retail price at a low level.

This example generally shows that the protagonist has been in a good and stable state so far.In terms of coverage, it includes the overall operating conditions of the enterprise.The protagonist is set as a DIY company, a retailer selling DIY supplies, owned by T.This is how setting the situation to bring out the stage of the story unfolds.

Next, let's look at another example.

(S) Since its establishment in the 20s, the company's "stubborn enterprise" has provided software services to corporate customers with network components (Groupware) as its core product.Our business philosophy is "Customer Satisfaction", and we continue to strive to develop products and services that simplify complex information systems.

Now, there are more than 19000 companies across the country using the company's main product - the comprehensive software "Miracle Company Series".

This example also shows that the protagonist has been in a good state of stability so far.As far as the coverage of the story is concerned, a certain category of specific products is locked.At the same time, it also defines the stage setting (legal person) and world view (industry leader).

Next, we use the same example, but modify the second half of the plot development:
(S) Since its establishment in the 20s, the company's "stubborn enterprise" has provided software services to corporate customers with network components (Groupware) as its core product.Our business philosophy is "Customer Satisfaction", and we continue to strive to develop products and services that simplify complex information systems.

Although there are more than 7000 companies across the country using the company's main product - the comprehensive software "Miracle Company Series", but in recent years, the products of competitor A have opened up a considerable gap.

This example shows a specific competitive relationship, while the second half shows that the company's situation is not optimistic.That is to say, at the stage of S (setting the situation), whether it is good or bad, after introducing the protagonist, it is necessary to briefly summarize the current stable state.

To set the coverage of the story

From the previous examples, you should have understood that S's task is to introduce the main character of the story, while also setting the coverage of the story unfolding.

At the S stage, the transmitter decides how much ground the stage in the story structure should cover.Is it the universe, the Milky Way, the solar system, the earth, Asia, Japan, Tokyo or the Suginami district of Tokyo?Is it the world economy, a specific industry, a company, a sector, or a specific product or service?First, come up with a worldview (of the story).

(S) Arizona Systems, a large-scale integrated communication system company in the United States, developed the video conferencing system "Presence R", which has high-resolution images and high-quality sound effects, and strengthens the sense of presence. A strong sales force.The multi-category strategy adopted by this company is ahead of other peers.In the future, in the virgin land of the Japanese market, the management team of Arizona Systems will continue to take the offensive.

The protagonist of the story is the management team of Arizona Systems.The core of this story, that is, the stage setting, should be the evaluation of the company's future entry into the Japanese market.Therefore, if after S, the C, Q, O, and R successively carried out have nothing to do with the Japanese market, and describe the strategy of the European market from the beginning to the end, then the recipient will definitely find it very strange.

The opening description of the situation should evoke a sense of identity
The content described in the S stage must resonate with the receiver.When setting a situation, the most important thing is that the relevant content must conform to the knowledge, belief, feeling or desire of the recipient.So, using the aforementioned Arizona Systems example, it would be bad if the reader had the following negative reaction:

"What! Prompt R seems to be struggling in Europe."

"It turns out that the strength of the Prompt R is its low price."

"They don't seem interested in the Japanese market."

If the recipient has the impression that "you don't understand anything", then it will be difficult for the recipient to accept the story you unfolded.Therefore, it is important that the transmitter must allow the receiver to read (or listen) to the content of the set situation and produce a "yes, you are right" response.Only by gaining the other party's sense of identity first can we continue to develop C and Q after S.

The basic policy of the S stage is: just because the recipient already understands, it should be expressed more, and don't think that "they already know, so it doesn't matter if they don't speak out".

5.4 COMLICATION (problems found)
Subvert the status quo, but let the other party resonate
Immediately after the S (set the situation) is the C (find the problem). C upsets the steady state of S, in other words, C shows that things change.You can think of C as "discovering problems" mentioned in Chapter 4.

As mentioned above, from the perspective of logical expression, most business copywriting is seeking solutions to problems, that is to say, almost all of them are "fix broken things", "don't let things break", "make things better". " and other solutions to the problem.Therefore, in addition to meeting minutes, when we design copywriting, it is best to be aware of the problem-solving process in order to be persuasive.

The role of C is to identify the type of problem the protagonist is facing.You arrange C to appear on the stage, subverting the stable state of S.Depending on the scenario you're narrating, the types of questions will vary.Specifically, there are three question types:

· Restoration: What has been damaged must be repaired and cannot be left alone.

· Hidden danger prevention type: No problem at present, but I hope it will not be damaged in the future.

·Pursuing the ideal type: There is no obstacle at present, but I hope to be better.

The role played by C is to determine which of the three types the problem belongs to according to the plot of the story, and use this as the core performance.At this time, like S, you must choose a question type that matches the receiver's perception.

If the recipient's cognition is "things are broken", but you still advocate loudly that "there is no obstacle at present, I hope it will be better", then it will only make the other party think "you don't understand, things are broken".If this happens, it may be difficult for the other party to accept the next story unfolding.

However, if the sender's cognition is "things have been damaged", but the other party believes that "things are not damaged, and they are still good", then the sender is better to use the pursuit of ideal questions to develop the story, and the persuasion will be more convincing. high.

Originally, the purpose of writing a proposal is to prompt the recipient to take the action implied by the sender.Therefore, the sender does not necessarily have to change the perspective of the receiver to understand the problem, but to cater to the receiver's understanding of the problem.

Break the sense of stability given to the opponent at the beginning

Here, we will analyze the concept of C in detail during the unfolding of the story from S to C.I continue to use the previous example to see how the C phase behaves.In this example, stage C presents an idealistic problem.First repeat the phase of S once:
(S)DIY Company is a retailer of DIY supplies that is closely connected with community life. It has nine stores of the same type in emerging residential areas in satellite cities in Tokyo.This company is an unlisted family business with an annual growth rate of 20% in recent years.One policy promoted by company owner T, which has received high praise, is that employees give concise and easy-to-understand sales instructions to customers who come to the store.The company's business model is to purchase products from manufacturers in large quantities and lower the purchase price, thereby setting the retail price at a low level.

Next, for the stage of C:
(C) Recently, the undertaker of the manufacturer said that they started to implement the early payment incentive system, that is, if the account can be paid within 15 days, they will provide a 30% discount, and hope that the DIY company will join this system.After T's trial calculation, this system is very beneficial to the company's revenue and very attractive.However, in order to shorten the payment that needs to be paid in an average of 60 days to less than 15 days, it is necessary to increase a considerable amount of working capital.Moreover, the company's future goal is to increase the number of stores, but the capital allocation has reached the limit.

As you can see, the fact that manufacturers invited DIY companies to join the early payment incentive system became the reason for subverting the stable state of S.Even if you do not join this system, it will not have any impact on the status quo of DIY companies.However, if you take advantage of this opportunity, you can enjoy great benefits and discounts.Therefore, this is an ideal-seeking problem.

However, in the process of pursuing the ideal, a huge working capital must be added.At the same time, the future goal of the DIY company is to increase the number of stores, which also requires money, but the company's capital allocation is not abundant.As a result, things became more complicated, because the stage C was originally only about discovering problems, but now there are topics such as selecting ideals and asset inventory, and these are all ideal-seeking problems.

Assuming that going from S to C (from stable to subverted stable) is part of a copy or briefing, and the subject of the report is T, then the content of the story must resonate with T and make him say, "Well, you Yes."

(End of this chapter)