The Benshi

I’m tellin’ ya, it’s deep. The Logline Maker is like a looking glass. Download our CONNECTION STORYMAKER and embrace the complexity that resides in such a simple device.

THE MASTER OF ELEMENT #2. Wanna learn about the power of the Logline Maker — just listen to virtually any routine from Louis C.K. He lives his life running himself down — wanting you to know endlessly that he is a FLAWED protagonist (Element #2 of the Logline Maker). Just look at the first 5 quotes from him (and really pretty much ALL of them) in this list of 55 quotes. Just about every time he opens his mouth he is saying, “I am SO flawed.” And guess what, people love him. Not a coincidence. It’s #2 at work. Yes, the Logline Maker really is that powerful. It is the crystal ball of communication.

 

SIMPLE AND BROAD VERSUS COMPLEX AND DEEP

You want simple — we give you the ABT.

You want the infinite complexity of the human condition — we give you the Logline Maker.

For the ABT, look at this quote from one of the organizers of last week’s CERF meeting in San Diego where I presented the ABT to 1,000 people in our plenary panel: “The plenary also had a lasting effect as several speakers later in the week added an ABT statement to their talks and they were littered throughout conversations during the social events. I have even had two ABT e-mails since the conference.”

So there’s your simple, instant, “I get it,” broad communication tool. People learn the ABT in less than a minute and it has the power to be “transformative.” But it’s not like the Logline Maker.

The Logline Maker is the whole shootin’ match. It is the entire cosmos in a single template. I’m increasingly thinking that no human is able to fully “grok” the true essence of the Logline Maker. Yes, it is that powerful. Just look where it came from — Joseph Campbell and George Lucas. Could it get any more profound than that in today’s world?

We knew this as we wrote our new book Connection, but we’re getting to know it even more deeply each week with what we’re doing this fall. As far as we can tell, no one has ever assembled this sort of partnership of these two templates — the ABT and the Logline Maker. It’s not surprising we’re hitting these weekly revelations.

 

THE LOGLINE MAKER IS NOT FOR CHILDREN … EXCEPT THAT IT ACTUALLY IS

Remember how Luke Skywalker had to learn patience in order to master “the force.” The Logline Maker is “the force” when it comes to broad communication. Joseph Campbell knew this. George Lucas figured it out from him. Now we’re slowly figuring out how to use it in teaching these core elements of broad communication.

So the first thing we’ve come to realize is that anybody who just tosses out the elements of “The Hero’s Journey” without a great deal of delicate, cautious, thoughtful preparation for their students or workshop participants is basically doing the same as something like handing out iPhones to toddlers. That’s not to say that toddlers can’t pick up an iPhone and have fun and do a few useful things. But seriously … think about it. It’s the same deal.

The Logline Maker is incredibly simple on the surface, but inside is as complex as an iPhone. More importantly, it needs to be presented slowly, thoughtfully, and probably with some baby steps first, such as the ABT.

 

THE POWER OF THE FLAW

So that’s enough wonderment for today. You’re going to hear lots more as I continue this journey. But for now, here’s the revelation du jour: why do you think self-deprecation is such a good thing for a speaker? The answer is #2.

The second element in the Logline Maker is the “FLAWED protagonist.” People love, love, love to hear stories about heros who have flaws. So that’s what is going on as Louis C.K. is explaining to you over and over and over again about what a dumbass he is. There might as well be a little flag over his head with a #2 on it and a bell going off each time he does it.

It’s not just a quirky little thing that people love their protagonists to be flawed. It is fundamental. And takes a lot of absorbing to really grasp. And then you match that fondness up with the fact that science expects scientists to 100% flawless in the doing of science, you begin to see a possible communications disconnect.

How’s that for flawed reasoning (but then wait, does that mean likeable reasoning)?