Not Unique? Be Distinct.

David Paull
Behavioral Storytelling
2 min readSep 28, 2021

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Like me, you’re probably not unique. Sorry! But that’s OK. Just be distinct. Here’s how.

Hey storytellers.

Dispatches in Storytelling is now Behavioral Storytelling. What’s that all about? Find out here.

Now, on with this week’s newsletter…

How does this quote resonate with you?

“If you can’t be unique, be distinct.”

I don’t know who said it (if you do, please reply and let me know), but I think it applies to many of us.

Is what we do really unique? For most of us, not by this definition:

Unique: being the only one of its kind; unlike anything else.

But that doesn’t mean there isn’t something about what we do that’s special and different.

That makes us distinct by this definition:

Distinct: recognizably different in nature from something else of a similar type.

Rather than a story about how unique you are (which will likely ring hollow), how about a story about how distinct you are?

Applied to my R.S.P.C.T. Behavioral Storytelling framework, it looks like this:

R: What’s the REAL problem you solve (not the superficial one, but rather the deep down one)?

S: What’s at STAKE for your audience if they don’t solve that problem?

P: If they had a magic wand, what would be the PRIME outcome for your audience?

C: This is the CALL-to-action where you craft your distinct narrative into a story about how you (not because you’re unique, but because you’re…well…you!) deliver the prime outcome to address what’s at stake and solve the real problem.

T: Testimonials to back things up because as Seth Godin says, “People like us do things like this.”

Make sure to grab your free R.S.P.C.T. framework guide.

So, what makes you distinct? Figure that out and you don’t have to try to be unique.

If you’d like some help with that, I’ve got something new for when my free content isn’t enough and a full engagement’s too much. If you’re keen to learn more, check it out.

Thanks for reading.

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Cheers and remember, success finds those who tell compelling stories.

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