There are certain words that impart multiple meanings, and that causes them to reverberate with us. When used skillfully, one word can capture multiple facets of an idea. The word ‘reason’ does that for me.

To reason

Reason as a verb describes the process of thinking, understanding, and judgement. Great storytelling has this reasoning at its foundation. The logic helps us accept its plausibility. If we’re creating fiction, it allows our readers to suspend disbelief and let the story sweep them away.

Reason is imperative for any business hoping to tell a compelling story. If we hope to inspire prospects, we can’t let slapdash reasoning undermine our believability. Strategy isn’t the glamorous part of the process. It can feel tedious and taxing. But making sure the fundamentals of our thinking are unassailable is absolutely invaluable. We will build our story on top of this foundation. And only if it is rock-solid can we hope to tell a story that will make our prospects’ hearts skip a beat.

To have a reason

Reason as a noun describes our purpose. What is our raison d’être? Why are we here? It is defined by the difference we will make in a life, a community, or the world. I call it the Big Audacious Meaning. Compelling storytelling is born from this profound core tenet. A powerful reason emerges from a diligent reasoning process. Because of its unassailable foundation, the story becomes immune to our prospects’ natural cynicism. This speeds our prospect’s adoption. And if the story has a profound reason at it’s core, our prospects not only adopt it, but embrace it and even champion it. Imagine your story reaching that heady altitude.

Great stories

The story we tell will be incomplete without both definitions of reason. If we are purely logical, our story will be dry and academic. But without the foundation of solid reasoning, our story will feel temporary and insignificant.

We need reason. And a reason. It’s how great stories come to be.