Ever wonder why Pixar movies always hit you right in the gut?

It’s not magic—it’s structure. And a plan to fire your most sensitive emotions to keep you hooked and feeling all the feels.

Pixar follows a simple, repeatable formula called the Story Spine, and you can use it to structure any story—whether it’s a product pitch, a marketing campaign, or a keynote speech.

I find it particularly valuable for innovators when introducing something new. 

Relatable Problem: Your stories feel disorganized or don’t land as powerfully as you’d like.

Pro Tip: Use the Story Spine Formula to structure your story:

  1. Once upon a time… (Set up the normal world -the boring status quo that we innovators fight against)
  2. Every day… (Show the existing struggle or challenge with “business as usual”)
  3. Until one day… (Introduce the turning point – the SHIFT, the big change that is your innovation)
  4. Because of that… (Show the first ripple effect- the feature with the big benefit)
  5. Because of that… (Show how the impact spreads to your stakeholders)
  6. Until finally… (Resolve with the ultimate transformation – show us what the future looks like with your innovation in hand)

It’s important to get really clear about the emotions you intend to evoke in your audience when crafting these 8 steps. Is everyone too comfortable in Step 1? Or have layoffs just happened and the current times are dire? Tap into what you want to your listeners to feel at each step in the story so they stay engaged the whole time.

Example:

A cybersecurity company launching a new fraud detection tool used this approach in their messaging:

“Once upon a time, businesses trusted passwords to keep accounts safe. Every day, hackers got smarter, breaking through security walls. Until one day, AI-powered fraud detection became possible. Because of that, companies could stop threats before they happened. Because of that, billions in fraud were prevented. Until finally, passwords became obsolete—and security became seamless. Now, customers – internally and externally trust us more than ever and we can set a new standard for the industry and truly differentiate ourselves from the competition.”

See how smooth that flow is?

Great stories aren’t accidents. They follow a spine that keeps them tight, emotional, and unforgettable.