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Five Ts
Table of contents
What is Five Ts?
Five Ts is a card from the Storyteller Tactics deck by Pip Decks.
Timeline: beginning, middle and end.
Turning Points: realisation, decision and change.
Tensions: anxious moments and conflict.
Temptations: easy way out or do the right thing?
Teachable Moments: the moral of your story.
Tip: Story Listening will also help you develop off-the-cuff story skills.
When to use Five Ts
- Preparing for a high-stakes presentation or pitch
- Facing a sudden need to engage an audience
- Addressing a team during a crisis or change
- Launching a new product or service
- Rebranding or repositioning in the market
- Needing to resolve internal conflicts through storytelling
- Inspiring a team towards a new strategic direction
How to use Five Ts
Timeline
Beginning, Middle and End.
- “At first .. .” [problem]
- “Then we tried...” [action]
- “And now we...” [result]
Or even simpler: Before and After:
- “We used to do/think...” [status quo]
- “But now...” [new order]
Turning Points
key moments in the timeline.
- “We realised we had a big problem when...”
- “We made a breakthrough when...”
- “We knew we had to act when...”
- “Everything changed when...”
Tensions
Start with the moment of maximum conflict or anxiety, then tell us how it works out. For example, “At the start of the Covid pandemic, I lost all my clients in a week...”
Temptations
Was there a moment when you could have been lazy, told a lie or taken the easy way out, but instead you did the right thing?
Teachable Moment
- “So I guess my point is...”
- “I’ll never forget...”
- “What this taught me is...”
Which version do you feel most comfortable telling? This matters, because we can sense when you’re “putting on a show” rather than speaking “naturally”.
