become a better storyteller

HOW PIXAR MAKES YOU CRY? is a 60-90 minute keynote (including Q & A), going through Pixar’s core storytelling elements (Care, Ordeal, Transformation, Meaning). It is a useful skill-building event for managers, executives, marketers, writers, and anyone who wants to be a better storyteller.

From the poignant end of Toy Story 3, to the devastating opening of Up, Pixar are masters in making us cry. The Pixar Cry is more than just tragedy or sentimentality. It is a cathartic blend of loss, growth and meaning. It is an adult acknowledgment of the sacrifice needed to reach a better version of ourselves. It rings with truth.

Put simply, Pixar has mastered how to make us CARE deeply about their characters, stories and ideas. They get us to be emotionally invested—just like any pitch, proposal or script, should aspire to be. Without a listener’s emotional investment, you’re just feeding them data.

In this presentation I’ve distilled the four core elements needed to create such a cathartic emotional climax, in a way that is easily applicable to any form of storytelling. Using examples from the Pixar films we all know and love, I break down exactly how Pixar achieves this storytelling feat again and again in their stories, and how you can achieve it in yours.