At a recent conference, I was asked to talk about change – on short notice. The forcing function turned out to be quite useful in making clear to me some thinking about change that had been in the back of my mind for a while. Having to stand and deliver induced me to start organizing my thoughts quickly! I thought blog readers might find a version of my speech useful, since I’ve talked about storytelling and in particular the Stranger in a Strange Land story from time to time.

Most people find change uncomfortable, disruptive, and alarming.  As my grandmother used to say, “the only people who crave change are wet babies.”  We avoid changing when we can. When we can’t, we tell a story to help ourselves – and the people around us – cope with that change. The story has five chapters. Speakers can use this story to help their audiences on a change journey.

But first a general caution. The mistake that many people make when talking about change is to try to minimize it, or to claim that it won’t be difficult. We humans know that’s not true; we know that change is hard. If you’re helping people with change, don’t try to diminish the challenge they’re facing. That will seem disingenuous to them.

Here are the five chapters in the story of change.

In the first chapter, we encounter the circumstances that let us know we must change. The emotion invoked is confusion. The old rules no longer seem to apply.  Or perhaps we appear to be in new, unfamiliar terrain – or hearing a new language. We’re disoriented. Chapter One is all about bewilderment.

In the second chapter, we pull ourselves together and start to explore our new surroundings. This chapter finds us at our worst, our most uncomfortable.  We’re blundering around in the new situation, crashing into barriers and breaking rules. We make a lot of mistakes. But we do have to explore; it’s healthy and a sign of progress. Chapter Two is about exploration. 

In chapter three, we meet a mentor.  The mentor is an enigmatic character.  Why is he/she helping us? Does she know something that’s useful?  Is he telling us the truth? With a bit of luck, our mentor is well-meaning and helps us begin to make sense of the new world we find ourselves in. Chapter Three is about the encounter with the mentor.

Chapter Four witnesses the combination of the insights of the mentor with the newly developed expertise of the hero.  It’s important to understand that it’s not solely the work of the mentor that pushes the story forward at this stage.  The mentor can hint, point in the right direction, and help us along the journey.  But he/she cannot take the journey for us or leave it to chance, either.  Chapter Four is all about the wisdom generated between the hero and the mentor.

Chapter Five wraps up the story once the hero has achieved mastery.  It’s more than the wisdom generated by the mentor and hero together, because it’s a result of the clarity of the mentor and the hard work and courage of the hero. In the end, it’s the hero’s journey, and his/her ability to succeed in a new world, that makes the story compelling.  Chapter Five is all about mastery.