Where to find the core idea of your talk

Shows you where a throughline comes from, using six kinds of story and the point where purpose meets vision.

A throughline rarely arrives by waiting for it, so this lesson shows where to look. Almost any story you could tell about your work falls into one of six kinds. Your Origin story is why you started. Your Purpose story is why you exist. Your Vision story is where you are going. Your Customer story is who you serve and what they are up against. Your Product story is what you built. Your Impact story is what changes because you exist.

You can use these six without having written them formally. Run your eye across all six, or across your deep version, and notice which one your idea keeps returning to. If you have worked through the Story System, you already have all six in depth.

The throughline almost always lives where Purpose meets Vision. Why you exist joins where you are going, and that junction is usually where the single surprising idea is hiding, because your reason and your ambition meet there. Look for the sentence that keeps wanting to be said, and hold it to fifteen words or fewer.

Key ideas.

Almost any story about your work fits one of six kinds, Origin, Purpose, Vision, Customer, Product and Impact.
A talk's throughline almost always lives where the Purpose story meets the Vision story, the point where why you exist joins where you are going.
The junction of purpose and vision is where a single surprising idea usually hides, because reason and ambition meet there.
To find a throughline, read across your stories or your deep version for the one sentence that keeps wanting to be said.

Questions.

How do I find the main message of my talk?

Look where your purpose meets your vision. Why you exist, joined to where you are going, is usually where the single surprising idea of a talk hides. The course From Story to Stage suggests reading across six kinds of story, Origin, Purpose, Vision, Customer, Product and Impact, and noticing which one your idea keeps returning to.

What are the six types of stories for a business?

The six are Origin, Purpose, Vision, Customer, Product and Impact. Origin is why you started. Purpose is why you exist. Vision is where you are going. Customer is who you serve and what they are up against. Product is what you built. Impact is what changes because you exist. In the Source Talk Method, these six are where you mine for a talk's throughline.

Lesson 2.6 of From Story to Stage, a free written course by Aaron C. Leaman, published by Brighter Future. The terms it uses are defined in the glossary.