Tell it well
Types of conflict
Check what your character is up against: another person, nature, themselves or the system, since conflict is what gives a story its pull.
- Time15 to 30 minutes
- People1 to 8 people
- Steps3
What it's for
A story without conflict is a report. Naming the kind of conflict helps you find it and make it clear. In business stories the most useful are usually against the system (rules, markets, legacy technology) and against self (doubt, habit, a wrong belief the hero had to drop).
Stories often have more than one. The strongest ones connect them.
How to run it
Name the character2 min
Edit the centre with who the story is about.
Find the conflicts10 min
Add notes to each kind of conflict your character faces.
Choose the main one4 min2 votes each
Vote on the conflict that carries the story.
Tips
- "Against another person" in business stories risks blaming someone. Prefer the system.
- Inner conflict makes a story human. Ask what the hero had to stop believing.
Where it comes from
A traditional way of classifying conflict in literature, taught in schools for a century or more. Lists range from three types to seven.
Pairs well with
Overcoming the monster
A hero faces a threat that seems too big to beat, struggles, nearly loses, and wins against the odds.
Show, don't tell
Replace a statement about something with a detail that lets the audience see it for themselves.
Hero's journey
The pattern behind many myths and films: a hero leaves the ordinary world, is tested, and returns changed, with something to share.