Communication isn’t only about finding the right words. It’s about finding the right way and the right time to say them.

So your story’s first key driver must be who. You must consider the beliefs and aspirations of your intended audience before you begin to communicate what you want them to know.

you need to decide if the purpose of that message is to get attention or to deepen trust and connection. Is it to empower people to be open to persuasion or to act? Perhaps it’s some combination of all four drivers. Story Drivers serve as your reminder about the job you’re asking the story to do.

The truth is, our ideas succeed when we are trusted and believed by the right people.

Dyson’s system did away with the need to replace the dust bag that was essential for the conventional vacuum to function. Selling the replaceable dust bags generated considerable revenue for these market leaders. No wonder they were reluctant to change their business model.

There is no trust without stories we can believe in.

Our message will fall on deaf ears and closed hearts unless we find a way to make a connection with its intended audience. As author J.K. Rowling said, ‘No story lives unless someone wants to listen.’

We collected followers. Created clickbait. Counted pageviews. Tracked open rates. The medium not only changed the message, it changed the messenger too. And in the end, the tactics we used made us less effective as communicators and changemakers.

You can buy attention, but you can't buy trust.