Matthew Luhn's presentation is not available on-demand. Please enjoy the notes from his session at Conex: The Content Experience 2018.

Session Notes:

“My job is to make you cry. And make you laugh.” Woah! That’s a big job, Luhn.

As a fresh-out-of-school animator hired to work on The Simpsons, Luhn’s transformative moment came when he stepped into the Simpsons story room. The people working on the show were comedians, writers, comic artists—they all understood the principles of good storytelling. That’s where Luhn’s heart was….

And when he was hired to work on Toy Story, he was an animator during the week, but spent nights and weekends working on storyboards.

The lessons he learned in storytelling were invaluable.

So, what does a story need to be to make it stand out?

• Memorable – make it resonate with the senses: taste, touch, smell, sound… but #1 is sight

• Impactful – happiness releases dopamine, sadness creates empathy. Highs and lows keep you focused, wanting more.

• Personal – always possible, even for a square box like a computer. Apple computers are at face height and they used to say hello when you turned them on. These details make an authentic connection.

These are the elements of a great story:

• Find a great hook (most people have an eight-second attention span). It needs to be unusual or unexpected, including action or conflict.

• Show transformation. How do you get people to try something new? Show them a story of someone else who purchased the product and had success, share anecdotes and testimonials, and even cautionary tales.

• Connect. Start with knowing the audience you’re targeting. Use universal themes: fear of failure, abandonment, not belonging, or desire for love, safety, and happiness. #relatable

• The story, aka your pitch. Make sure you have a beginning (the set-up), a middle (the build), and an end (the payoff). If you don’t follow this structure, people tend to get lost or can’t follow. Share the mistakes you learned along the way, and try to use visual props to further the story. (Remember, the #1 sense to target is sight.)

Parting words of wisdom from Luhn:

Don’t be clever. Be vulnerable and honest.

Don’t actually tell people the theme of your story. Make them feel it.