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Curious Tales

What is the Curious Tales story tactic?

Tell me what grabs your attention and you're halfway to grabbing my attention too.

You have no control over your own curiosity. Some things fascinate you, others don't. What's intriguing for you might seem weird to me, but I am interested in what makes you tick. So your Curious Tales are a great way to give me insights into what drives you forward.

Tip: Try Curious Tales as part of a team building session, along with Drive Stories.

How to use the Curious Tales story tactic

When you need to explain what's driving you or your team forward, try one of these Curious Tales. You can also use the same questions to discover what's driving your user, customer or stakeholder.

1. Curiosity = anomaly + potential benefit
   What do you keep noticing about a certain situation? What's new, unusual and potentially useful?

   • "Eureka!" moment

   • Slow hunch that builds up over time.

2. Caution = anomaly + potential threat
   What makes you uneasy about a certain situation? What's new, unusual and potentially harmful?

3. Flow: when are you so absorbed in a task that time just flies? this is when you're practising your skills and learning something new. It's deeply satisfying.

   • Where are you, what are you doing, who are you with?

   • What does this tell us about your goals and motivation?

4. Envy: when have you realised that someone else is doing what you want to do? This is healthy, motivating envy--not the same as envying someone's luxury lifestyle.

   • Who do you envy? What are they doing?

   • What does this tell us about your goals and motivation?

5. Sacrifice: when have you given up something valuable to follow a particular path?

   • What did you choose? What did it cost you?

   • What does this tell us about your goals and motivation?

Use these insights to develop a character story with Trust Me, I'm an Expert.

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