To choose the main character you have to know your customers well or choose a single customer you want to meet with the story. Choose a character for the character that has certain things in common without appearing artificial. The easiest way to create a credible avatar is to use a real person. That’s why movies and stories are often based on real events.

The highlight of the main character

Make sure that the main character’s plot is plausible and appealing to the listener. People are attracted to other people when they resemble them. But to find a sympathetic person you don’t have to come across your own clone.

We want a story that starts out with an earthquake and works its way up to a climax.

Samuel Goldwyn

We like to put others in a drawer and decide relatively quickly how to classify someone. In the evolution of mankind, the fact that one had to be clear earlier whether it was friend or foe led to this. This first impression, for which it is difficult to get a second chance, then decides whether the chemistry is right and we get stuck with the person.

Climax in storytelling

The first impression results from the non-verbal message like clothing and appearance, from the paraverbal statement that can be recognized in the sound of the voice and the verbally spoken word itself. In the beginning, what someone says is not as important for sympathy as the way he says it. As soon as a person has been put in a drawer by us, we love it when our classification is confirmed.

If someone ends up in the drawer of the unpunctual, for example, because he was late for the first meeting, he has a hard time getting out. Even if he appears half an hour earlier each time in the future, he remains a late comer. That doesn’t automatically make him unsympathetic.

The confirmation of the assignment to the correct drawer is responsible above all for the structure of confidence. It works like an examination of ourselves, whether we can classify a person correctly and whether the act of expectation is fulfilled, which we miss it.

As soon as we have managed to create characters that are interesting for the target group and to build up tension through the turning points, the critical question arises for the listener as to whether the main character would act according to the same pattern as he or she when it comes to the climax.

People are attracted to other people when they resemble them.

The climax can be a turning point at the beginning or end. Most of the time, however, it is easier to keep the tension up by choosing the turning point towards the end. The climax can also be the punch line at the same time, if the story is to find a quick end.

Why you need the climax action?

Stories without a climax are a disappointment, as one wonders why one has listened at all. The dramaturgical structure should therefore make sure that something happens in the story that emotionally enthrals the listener. Even better when those involved become affected. Because then the added value of the story is beyond question.

A storyteller can also tell about himself as the main character, if the dramaturgy of his story stands above his nature. I don’t know Reinhold Messner’s lecture, but if he would only talk about what a great pike he is to be the first person to climb the world’s highest mountain without an oxygen device, he would not be as successful as a speaker as he is as a mountaineer.

The climax decides what happens:

  • People love main characters with whom they can identify.
  • The main character must be sympathetic to the website visitor
  • For the first impression there is no second chance
  • Trust arises when we assign people to the right schools
  • The climax puts our expectations of the character to the test
  • When storytellers talk about themselves, they quickly become self-centered.
  • The climax satisfies the expectation of a story
  • The dramaturgy allows the listener to participate in the emotions
  • Through emotional participation, the listener becomes the affected person.
  • The story can reach a turning point in its climax or sharpen itself as a punch line.

Tasks:

  1. In which characteristics do you identify yourself with the main characters of your favorite movies?
  2. Which of your customers do you particularly like?
  3. How do you build trust with your customers?
  4. Which emotions do you like to talk about with customers?
  5. How do you manage to meet your customers emotionally?
  6. What could make you interesting as the main character for your target group?
  7. Which event sets you apart in this context?
  8. What special attitude do you use to show corners and edges?