The principle of depth is that stories live beneath the surface.
Think of a movie or a business presentation like an iceberg.
- The images and words of a movie, what you actually see and hear, are the surface of the iceberg above the water.
- The screenplay for the movie, which contains the structure and scenes in sequence, is the inside part of the iceberg above the water.
- The story is the part of the iceberg below the water.
Here’s why this is important. Suppose a writer pitches and sells a story to a movie studio. The story gets developed into a screenplay. Stars are cast, sets are built, the project is shot, raw footage is edited, and the first cut of the movie is shown to a feedback group… who HATES it.
It’s a problem that happens with some frequency.
So, how do the writer, director, and producers make the movie better?
It depends on where they LOCATE the problems.
Are the problems in the story, the screenplay, or the movie?
Typically, the feedback group is talking about problems they see in the movie. They don’t like a certain character, they didn’t believe this scene would happen this way, they were bored at this point, etc.
These problems could be solely with the editing, directing, or acting, but it’s also possible there are story problems percolating up.
A story problem is a little like having a rock in your shoe just big enough to throw off your stride. Your knees or your back might hurt, but you won’t be able to really solve those issues without doing something about the rock in your shoe.
Similarly, only by understanding the story problems can the screenplay be adjusted, the raw footage re-edited, the sound effects changed, perhaps certain scenes shot again, etc., in a way that makes sense for the entire movie.
Now, let’s talk about business.
Suppose you deliver a sales presentation to a customer and it doesn’t go as well as you hoped. You want to improve the presentation for future customers. How do you do that?
It depends on where you locate the problems.
- The presentation itself, the images and words seen and heard by your audience, is the outside surface of the iceberg above the water.
- The pitch, the argument WHY your audience should think, feel, or do what you want, is the inside of the iceberg above the water.
- The story is the part of the iceberg below the water.
When you’re looking to improve a business presentation, you need to be able to define the difference between these three levels: story, pitch, and presentation, just like the movie studio needs to be able to delineate between the story, screenplay, and movie.
In this way, you can determine how to adjust the story, which then guides you to making the right changes to your pitch and presentation.