Great stories succeed because they are able to capture the imagination of large or important audiences.
精彩的故事之所以成功，是因為它能夠抓住大部分或重要受眾的想像力。
A great story is true. Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic. Consumers are too good at sniffing out inconsistencies for a marketer to get away with a story that’s just slapped on.
一個偉大的故事一定是真實的，而它的成功不一定是因為它的真實，而是源於它的一致性和地道性。消費者們太聰明，很容易發現故事的紕漏，所以市場狗們不要投機取巧，胡亂應付觀眾。
Great stories make a promise. They promise fun, safety or a shortcut. The promise needs to be bold and audacious. It’s either exceptional or it’s not worth listening to.
精彩的故事會有一個承諾。他們承諾快樂，安全感或指出捷徑。承諾需要大膽無畏。如果故事不夠意外，沒有人會願意聽。
Great stories are trusted. Trust is the scarcest resource we』ve got left. No one trusts anyone. People don’t trust the beautiful women ordering vodka at the corner bar (they’re getting paid by the liquor company). People don’t trust the spokespeople on commercials (who exactly is Rula Lenska?). And they certainly don’t trust the companies that make pharmaceuticals (Vioxx, apparently, can kill you). As a result, no marketer succeeds in telling a story unless he has earned the credibility to tell that story.
偉大的故事值得信賴。信任是我們僅剩的最稀缺資源。沒有人會相信別人。人們不相信漂亮的女人會在街角酒吧獨自購買伏特加酒（除非是白酒公司付的錢）。人們不相信廣告代言人（誰是Rula Lenska？）。人們也當然不相信製藥公司（Vioxx會讓人致死）。結果，除非講故事的人自己已經贏得了某種信譽，否則營銷人員的故事都不會被採信。
Great stories are subtle. Surprisingly, the fewer details a marketer spells out, the more powerful the story becomes. Talented marketers understand that allowing people to draw their own conclusions is far more effective than announcing the punch line.
偉大的故事是隱晦的。令人驚訝的是，營銷人員講的細節越少，故事就越有說服力。聰明的營銷人員要知道，讓人們自己得出結論比我們口吐蓮花要有效。
Great stories happen fast. First impressions are far more powerful than we give them credit for.
偉大的故事發生得很快。第一印象比我們認為的要重要得多。
Great stories don’t always need eight-page color brochures or a face-to-face meeting. Either you are ready to listen or you aren’t.
精彩的故事不一定總是需要八頁的彩色小冊子或面對面的會議來講述。重點是：您準備好聽故事了嗎？
Great stories don’t appeal to logic, but they often appeal to our senses. Pheromones aren’t a myth. People decide if they like someone after just a sniff.
Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone. Average people are good at ignoring you. Average people have too many different points of view about life and average people are by and large satisfied. If you need to water down your story to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. The most effective stories match the world view of a tiny audience—and then that tiny audience spreads the story.
精彩的故事並不總符合邏輯，但它們通常會吸引我們的感官。費洛蒙不是神話。人們只需要嗅一下就知道是否喜歡某人。偉大的故事很少適用於所有人。一般人都會忽視偉大的故事。普通人對生活的看法五花八門，他們也普遍會自滿。如果要淡化故事以吸引所有人，那麼它不會吸引到任何人。最有效的故事會與少數觀眾的世界觀相匹配，然後那群少數觀眾會傳播故事。
Great stories don’t contradict themselves. If your restaurant is in the right location but had the wrong menu, you lose. If your art gallery carries the right artists but your staff is made up of rejects from a used car lot, you lose. Consumers are clever and they』ll see through your deceit at once.
偉大的故事自身並不矛盾。如果您的餐廳地理位置不錯，但是菜品不行，您還是會失敗。如果您的美術館展示了優秀藝術家作品，但您的員工看起來都是開廢品二手車的，那您就輸了。消費者很聰明，他們會立刻識破您的騙局。
Most of all, great stories agree with our world view. The best stories don’t teach people anything new. Instead, the best stories agree with what the audience already believes and makes the members of the audience feel smart and secure when reminded how right they were in the first place.
最重要的是，偉大的故事符合我們的世界觀。最好的故事不會教給人們任何新東西，而是與聽眾的信仰相一致，提醒他們原來想的就是對的，讓聽眾們覺得自己很聰明且充滿安全感。