Story structures
Start in the middle
Also called In medias res
Open on the most gripping moment, then go back to explain how you got there, so the audience is hooked from the first line.
- Time15 to 25 minutes
- People1 to 6 people
- Steps4
What it's for
Chronological order is the natural way to remember a story and often the dullest way to tell it. Opening on a moment of tension, such as the outage at 3am or the client walking out, makes the audience ask how it happened, and the background becomes the answer.
It works for case studies and talks, where the first thirty seconds decide whether people listen.
How to run it
Pick the moment5 min
The most tense or surprising moment in the story. Describe it in a sentence or two.
Go back5 min
What's the minimum the audience needs to know to understand it?
Catch up5 min
Bring the story back to the opening moment.
Carry on5 min
What happened next, and how it ended.
Tips
- Be specific in the opening: a time, a place, a line someone said.
- Keep the flashback short. The audience wants to get back to the moment.
Where it comes from
The Latin phrase comes from Horace's Ars Poetica (around 19 BC), which praised Homer for starting his stories in the middle of the action.
Pairs well with
Story spine
Eight sentence starters, from "Once upon a time" to "And ever since then", that give any story a beginning, a turn and an end.
Show, don't tell
Replace a statement about something with a detail that lets the audience see it for themselves.
Man in a hole
Someone gets into trouble and gets out of it, ending better off: the story shape people never seem to tire of.