A Story is a Deal: How to use the science of storytelling to lead, motivate and persuade

by Will Storr

In this highly anticipated follow-up to the Sunday Times bestseller The Science of Storytelling, acclaimed story guru Will Storr shows you how to engage and influence your audience to create irresistible pitches, build passionate brand loyalty, motivate teams and lead with effectiveness and charisma.

Using the latest findings from social psychology, evolutionary psychology, organisational psychology and neuroscience, A Story is a Deal argues that we won't unlock the true power of story if we treat it merely as something we read on a page, see on a screen or hear in a speech. Storr shows how successful stories possess us and shape identities, which changes beliefs, drives action and achieves extraordinary results.

With examples ranging from Aztec rituals to Apple's legendary advertising successes (and long-forgotten fails), A Story is a Deal lays out a revolutionary new method for creating the most persuasive by harnessing the power of our storytelling brains.

Genres: Nonfiction, Business, Writing, Leadership, Audiobook, Psychology

368 pages, Paperback

First published February 20, 2025

About the author

Will Storr is a long-form journalist, novelist and reportage photographer. His features have appeared in The Guardian Weekend, The Telegraph Magazine, The Times Magazine, The Observer Magazine, The Sunday Times Style and GQ, and he is a contributing editor at Esquire. He has reported from the refugee camps of Africa, the war-torn departments of rural Colombia and the remote Aboriginal communities of Australia, and has been named New Journalist of the Year, Feature Writer of the Year and has won a National Press Club award for excellence. His critically acclaimed first book, Will Storr versus The Supernatural is published by Random House in the UK. The Hunger and the Howling of Killian Lone is his first novel.

Reviews

[Ietrio · Rating 1 out of 5]

i liked the title. it's a smart observation. only the title was written probably by an intern at the publisher, or one of his many contacts in the propaganda machine of the media. the inside is the usual navel gazing of one of many writers of whatever master wants them to write about.

[Matt Hutson · Rating 2 out of 5]

Atomic Statements: These are highly condensed yet powerful expressions that convey deep meaning in just a few words. For example, an advertisement tagline like “Stay where the world can’t find you” communicates an entire narrative about escapism, solitude, and peace of mind in just seven words. These statements work because they create intrigue, evoke emotion, and instantly connect with the audience.

To maximize their impact, atomic statements should be strategically placed at the beginning and end of a persuasive essay, speech, or marketing campaign. Opening with a strong statement captures attention immediately, while closing with one reinforces the core message and leaves a lasting impression on the audience, increasing recall and influence.

The Art of Vivid Description
Effective storytelling and persuasion rely on engaging all five senses—sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell—to immerse the audience in the experience. When people can see, hear, or even imagine smelling something described in words, they feel more emotionally engaged and invested in the story.

Just as we perceive the world in intricate detail, descriptions should be rich and vivid, allowing the audience to visualize and emotionally connect with the story. The more specific the imagery, the more memorable and compelling the story becomes. Using metaphors, similes, and analogies can further enhance the depth and impact of the narrative.

People make decisions based on emotion and justify them with logic. Stories that tap into deep emotions—joy, fear, anger, or nostalgia—are more likely to persuade and leave a meaningful impression.

Focusing on What Matters
When telling a story or persuading an audience, focusing on a single central idea is essential. Trying to convey too many points at once dilutes the message, weakens its impact, and risks losing the audience’s attention. A well-crafted story or argument revolves around one key theme that resonates throughout.

A story isn’t a full account of reality but a curated selection of key moments that paint a coherent and compelling picture. Every great story omits irrelevant details and highlights only what contributes to the overall impact. Choosing the right details ensures clarity, engagement, and memorability.

Status and Social Influence
Platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram operate on a status-based model. Users share accomplishments, purchases, and life events to reinforce their social standing. The introduction of the ‘Like’ button capitalized on this psychological need for validation, triggering dopamine responses that keep users engaged. The more people seek approval, the more they stay active, reinforcing their role in social hierarchies.

Successful communities—both online and offline—thrive on a shared vision, mission, or commonality. This fosters group identity and collective belonging, which strengthens bonds and increases engagement. Whether it’s a niche online forum, a corporate culture, or a fan base, shared reality builds loyalty and emotional investment.

In digital communication, status is subtly encoded. For example, iPhone’s distinction between blue (iMessage) and green (SMS) bubbles has contributed to social hierarchies, particularly among younger users. This seemingly small design choice reinforces in-group and out-group dynamics, influencing brand perception and consumer behavior.

Pricing and branding influence perceived quality. A $20 wine is often rated higher than a $10 wine, even if they are the same. Similarly, products from prestigious brands (e.g., Ray-Ban sunglasses) perform better in controlled tests, solely due to their reputation. People associate higher prices with superior quality, even when there’s no objective difference.

The Appeal of Underdogs and Overdogs
People admire those who overcome adversity through perseverance and grit. Underdogs symbolize resilience, determination, and the ability to defy the odds, making them highly relatable and worthy of support. Whether it’s an athlete, a startup company, or a character in a film, underdog stories captivate audiences and generate loyalty.

Those in positions of power or wealth can be perceived negatively unless they emphasize their struggles and humble beginnings. A compelling personal narrative that includes setbacks, challenges, or personal sacrifices helps bridge the relatability gap, making influential figures more likable and accessible.

Having an inflated sense of one’s own capabilities can be beneficial. Confidence enables individuals to persist through failures and setbacks, ultimately increasing their chances of success. Belief in oneself, even when unwarranted, can lead to greater achievements simply because it encourages perseverance.

Figures like Elon Musk and Taylor Swift exemplify how fame and status can lead to idolization. However, maintaining public favor requires balancing success with authenticity and audience engagement. The moment an overdog is perceived as detached or inauthentic, admiration can quickly turn into resentment.

The Power of Public Recognition
Acknowledging achievements in a public setting (e.g., social media, workplace meetings, award ceremonies) reinforces positive behaviors and motivates others to strive for similar success. Public recognition serves as a powerful reinforcement tool, encouraging excellence and inspiring ambition.
While public praise boosts morale, criticism should be handled with care. Addressing failures or mistakes privately helps maintain respect, fosters a supportive environment, and encourages individuals to improve without fear of humiliation or backlash.

The Formula for Effective Apologies

Four Key Principles:
1. Take Responsibility: Acknowledge the mistake without excuses. Owning up to an error builds credibility and trust.
2. Show Genuine Regret: Express authentic remorse rather than a scripted or insincere response. People can detect false apologies, and they often worsen the situation.
3. Explain the Mistake: Provide context to clarify what went wrong. Transparency fosters understanding and reduces suspicion.
4. Attempt to Repair: Offer a solution or corrective action. A sincere effort to fix the mistake demonstrates accountability and commitment to making amends.

Conclusion
Storytelling is a powerful tool in leadership, persuasion, and social influence. Whether crafting compelling statements, leveraging status dynamics, or reinforcing underdog narratives, understanding the psychology behind storytelling can enhance communication effectiveness.

Mastering these principles allows individuals to lead, motivate, and persuade more effectively in both personal and professional contexts. By refining the art of storytelling, we can shape perceptions, inspire change, and leave a lasting impact on those around us.

Book #8 in 2025 Book #439 of All Time

[Chris Boutté · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don’t know how Will Storr does it, but he continues to write some of my favorite non-fiction books of all time. I didn’t have high expectations of this book because I’m not a big fan of storytelling, but Will managed to blow my mind once again. In a sneaky way, this is almost an unofficial sequel to my favorite book by him, The Status Game.

In this book, Storr explains how storytelling is a part of how we evolved and how so much of human behavior can be explained by the stories we tell. Whether it’s our political affiliations or the things we buy, we’re telling a story about ourselves to the world. This book will help you understand yourself and others a lot more, and I can’t recommend it enough. I wouldn’t be surprised if I gave it another read by the end of the year.

[Pierre Lemerle · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 probably.
Great subject, but I struggled a bit to get into it.
Had the chance to meet Will, so really enjoyed the idea behind the book, and it was a really great talk from him, but then I did not get so much more out of the book itself.
Still a great topic.

[Duarte Rosa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although the overall concept is useful and the context is relevant, the book spends an unnecessary amount of time setting up the stage for its findings and too little time matching the framework to real life or hypothetical situations, to better illustrate how someone could realistically implement it in their lives.

[Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine you're at a party. Someone corners you to explain their revolutionary business idea. "People don't buy products," they announce, "they buy identity transformations!" You'd edge toward the buffet table. But what if they could prove it? What if they had the brain scans, the psychology studies, and the billion-dollar case studies to back it up?

That's what Will Storr has done with "A Story Is a Deal". He built a fortress of evidence around this insight. This, despite "identity transformations" sounding like motivational speaker fluff. The book changes how you see every advertisement, political speech, and water-cooler conversation.

Storr's central claim sounds almost too simple. "Humans don't live in reality; we live in stories where our identity matters more than our survival." We're not the rational creatures we pretend to be. We're characters in imaginary dramas seeking two things: connection and status. Connection, belonging to groups, and status, those groups giving value to us. Stories work because they offer us deals: "Become who you want to be, and I'll give you what I'm selling."

This could have been another pop psychology book filled with cherry-picked anecdotes. But Storr does something remarkable. He writes like a prosecutor, with evidence from neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and business. He shows how our brains sync up when we hear stories. He argues that we evolved storytelling to cooperate in groups. He tells how Apple's "1984" ad generated $500 million by offering viewers the identity of creative rebels.

The book's greatest strength is how it makes you see these "story deals" everywhere. Once Storr shows you the pattern, you can't unsee it. Why do people pay $300,000 for a handbag? They're not buying leather storage. They're buying the identity of someone who can afford $300,000 handbags. Why don't facts change political opinions? Because you're not debating information; you're threatening someone's identity in their story-world.

The book shines when dissecting real-world examples. Storr's analysis of Apple's "1984" vs. their "Lemmings" catastrophe is worth the price of admission alone. The first offered viewers the identity of creative rebels. The second insulted them as mindless followers. Same company, same agency, completely different results. Why? All because one understood identity deals and the other didn't.

The book's real achievement isn't explaining how stories work. It's changing how you see human behavior forever. This transformation is both a gift and a curse. You can't return to naive realism once you see story-worlds and identity deals. Every interaction becomes a negotiation between competing narratives. It's like developing X-ray vision. Useful, but you might wish you could just see the surface sometimes.

We are drowning in books that promise to "transform your business" or "revolutionize your thinking." Most deliver neither transformation nor revolution. Storr's book actually does what it promises. It reveals the hidden architecture of persuasion and gives you tools to use it.

The story this book tells about stories turns out to be true. And once you understand it, you'll never see human behavior the same way again. That's a deal worth taking.

[Lydia Vaile · Rating 4 out of 5]

# 👍🏻 What I Liked About It

- It's comprehensive, detailed "analysis” of storytelling and story being
- Many references, notes and examples that vividly share the idea
- The simplicity of narration, it looked like it costs almost nothing to the author to write this book
- I personally like the honesty, the truth behind human-nature of the author, his flaws and strengths, which might be a good psychological tactic for the success of this book

# 👎🏻 What I Didn't Like About It

- I thought, it could be a good additional research and narration in comparison to the ”[**The Science of Storytelling](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4...)",** but my expectations faced the more shallow analysis and hollow retrieval of the previously stated ideas
- in the end, it's still precious book for everyone, this is a must-read at least once!

# 👨‍🎓 What I’ve Learned

- We experience our lives as a continually unfolding dramatic plot. We pursue our goals surrounded by a colourful company of characters – heroes, villains, allies, lovers, monsters, rivals, teachers – who each play their part in our adventures. This cast of fellow players is crucial to our cognition. We rely on it to co-create our umwelt. The human umwelt is story.
- Indeed, this is one of the fundamental joys of storytelling: a great book, film or play is a shared reality that – if its characters and situations are in some way identifiable – anyone can fall into, and enjoy. Psychologists call it ‘transportation’. The story-world of our actual lives is replaced by the one we experience on a page, stage or screen.
- Our identity is the character we play in the story-world.
- ‘Status’ is widely misunderstood as equating to greed or narcissism, or pathological ambition, or a lifestyle of grotesque excess. All of this is wrong. Status is our natural reward for giving value to the superorganism. When we give to others that which is useful, they generally respond with respect and admiration. When they respond this way, we feel good.

# 📜 Quotes

“We spend all of our lives in a kind of detect-and-connect mode, on a restless mission to seek people-like-us with whom we can successfully cooperate.”

“This is what human life is. In the physical realm, we seek our survival and that of our kin. In the story realm, we seek to build and defend the precious resources of connection and status.”

“Humanity’s subconscious obsession with identity is the source of summitless mountains of global wealth.”

“Sean Parker has described the ‘thought process’ behind such technologies as being ‘all about: “How do we consume as much of your time and conscious attention as possible?” And that means that we need to sort of give you a little dopamine hit every once in a while…”

“Evan Williams once described his formula for social media success as: ‘Take a human desire, preferably one that has been around for a really long time … Identify that desire and use modern technology to take out steps.’ “

[Rich B · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book full of great ideas, but it doesn't quite connect all those ideas together well enough to make it a great book. It’s still worth reading, and I enjoyed it, but a few niggling flaws make it feel weirdly unpolished at times.

Reached the end with the feeling that the author had spent too much time gathering all this great material, and ran out of time putting it together.

The reason I say this is because there are several chapters which introduce an interesting idea, give some examples of it, then frustratingly peter out with a vague aphorism or obvious piece of advice. But then the next chapter moves on to something else entirely.

This means it feels like you're reading a series of loosely connected articles, rather than a coherently joined together single book.

Admittedly, there are core themes of "story" and "status" running through it, pulled from his previous books, and it does an OK job at putting the two together. However, it promises to show you "how" to deliver these, but the pragmatic aspects of the book feel a bit hit and miss. Some advice feels abstract and obvious, bordering on pretentious at times. For example, I could have done without the broad "humans are x with the superorganism" philosophising statements that are sprinkled throughout.

And yet, having said all that, I enjoyed reading it. It's well researched. It pulls lots of unusual and interesting examples from popular culture. It's thought-provoking and creative, and I took lots of notes as I read it.

So overall, it's excellent food for thought as a way to prompt ideas, but slightly less helpful than promised on how to bring them to life.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Storr's follow up on the Status Game offers an interesting review of story-telling, the human brain's reliance on stories, and a blueprint to create better stories.

At times, the book felt superfluously repetitive. I am all for immersion in a concept with different examples, various angles etc, but this book did not seem to offer enough "novelty units" per page.

Some statements were also left unjustified. For instance, Storr's suggested framework of obstacles and goals seems to generally apply, but he did not spend nearly enough space in the book refuting previous models such as Campbell's or Maslow's. Helping the reader understanding why such models are outdated would have helped us understand the real progress studying story-telling.

Overall, I would recommend this book, as it still offers good insight in the workings of ourselves and those around us.

[Iain · Rating 4 out of 5]

'A Story is a Deal: How to Use the Science of Storytelling to Lead, Motivate and Persuade ( by Will Storr shows that storytelling isn’t just art—it’s influence. Packed with psychology, neuroscience, and practical tips, Storr reveals how stories shape minds, motivate action, and persuade ethically. The book uses examples ranging from ancient rituals to modern marketing campaigns, including Apple's advertising, to illustrate how stories can be used to create powerful connections and drive results.Far from being a mere guide for writers, this book situates storytelling as a tool for leadership, persuasion, and motivation—arguably the ultimate form of human influence.

[C C · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish it. Awfully written, doesn’t take its own title seriously. ‘How to use the science of storytelling to lead, motivate and persuade’, best intentions but it does nothing to meet its brief. Disconnected and written on a very pedestrian way. Utterly repetitive and devoid of ideas, it’s not even good at presenting the data the writer has obviously researched without digesting. It’s a pity, the topic is promising.

[Rachel Koay · Rating 3 out of 5]

a story is a deal is a compelling, well-researched exploration of storytelling’s power, ideal for leaders, marketers, and anyone interested in persuasion. however, its theoretical depth may overwhelm casual readers, and those seeking rigid formulas might be disappointed.

[Tony DuShane]

I love Will Storr, and just like he mentions in the book, a lot of the info he's gone over in his previous books. Didn't feel the need to finish it, but, want to read The Status Game and Science of Storytelling again. Highly recommend those.

[Bob Conder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the book and learning more about story theory and its effect on individuals. In order to hear, and understand the narrator it required turning the volume up and reviewing several sections.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, I enjoyed the book.
Although, I feel this is an amalgamation of his two previous books plus a bit more.

[Chris Bauer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some interesting perspectives I'm looking forward to testing out in my next sales pitches.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come...

[Tim Mathis · Rating 5 out of 5]

really useful information

This is a really great mix of theory and application for people looking to use story to sell or persuade.