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Five Ts

What is the Five Ts story tactic?

Keep these Ts in your back pocket in case someone puts you on the spot and you need to tell a story right now!

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.

How to use the Five Ts story tactic

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".

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