Your pitch, your resume, your story

More on the power of stories.

What is a resume but the story of who you are and how you got to be that person, told in a way that will move the hirer to want you on her team? What is a business pitch if it isn't the story of how your business can help the client - as they evolve their own story?

McKee talks of the value of originality. He says that it is the confluence of content and form: not only what you have to say but how you say it. "If the content is cliché, then the telling will be cliché. If the telling is conventional and predictable it demands stereotypical roles to act out well-worn
behaviors." He then reminds us sternly not to mistake eccentricity for originality. Difference for the sake of difference is as empty as slavishly following commercial imperatives, he says.

We are creative professionals: surely what we offer must be originality: isn't this what you want to be hired for? Isn't this what will separate you from the pack?

Think hard and deep about story as you craft your own pitch. In the meantime you can get your own copy of his book - click on the image. He lays out provocative ideas for writing screenplays that can provide you with a powerful framework and challenge for your own thinking as you write your pitch or resume.