Can We Predict How Audiences Will React to Our Stories?
My Experiment with the Gene Roddenberry Story
Have you ever shared a story you were passionate about, only to watch it fall flat with your audience? Or witnessed someone else captivate a room with seemingly magical communication powers? I've been there too, and it led me down a fascinating rabbit hole.
The Spark That Started It All
It began when I stumbled across a LinkedIn post by Jeremy Connell-Waite about his #20GreenIdeas reading challenge. He posed a question that stopped me in my tracks: "Is it possible to PREDICT how an audience will RESPOND to your story before you tell it?"
Jeremy had embarked on what he called "probably the most fascinating personal research project I've ever done" – reading 20 books in 20 days by authors from 10 different countries.” Then he did something truly innovative: he analyzed each author's communication style and created colorful visual breakdowns showing exactly how they connected with readers.
The dashboards reminded me of weather maps – but instead of tracking storm patterns, they revealed how authors used different ingredients like emotion, facts, credibility, and urgency to create their unique impact.
Why This Matters for All of Us
As Jeremy pointed out, "Whenever we write a post, give a presentation, a pitch, go for promotion, or share a story that means a lot to us – we all want the audience to respond positively."
This hit home for me. How many times have I crafted what I thought was the perfect message, only to have it miss the mark? Too often, I realized, I was focused on what I wanted to say rather than how my audience might receive it.
The idea that we could actually predict and improve audience response before sharing our stories seemed like finding a communication superpower. I had to try it for myself.
My Kitchen-Table Experiment
For my experiment, I chose a story I'd written for my blog "Disrupting the Norm" about Gene Roddenberry, the visionary creator of Star Trek: “Beyond the Final Frontier: The Man Who Invented Tomorrow.” I picked this piece because I wouldn't need anyone's permission to tinker with it.
Think of it like taste-testing a recipe. I had a dish (my original story), but I wanted to know if adjusting the ingredients would make it more delicious to my target audience, people interested in innovation but not necessarily technical experts.
I enlisted an AI assistant's help to analyze my original story using a framework similar to Jeremy's. It was like putting my writing under a special microscope that revealed things I couldn't see on my own.
What the Communication X-Ray Revealed
The analysis was eye-opening! It showed that my original story was like a meal with too much of some flavors and not enough of others:
Strong on information. Lots of interesting facts about Roddenberry's life and Star Trek's impact
Decent emotional appeal. Good inspirational tone about human potential
Weak on urgency. Not enough "why this matters right now"
Almost no challenge. Few questions or ideas that made readers think differently
Most surprisingly, my story was heavily tilted toward what communication experts call "left-brain" appeal (facts, information, and education). The "right-brain" elements like storytelling, inspiration, and challenging perspectives were present but much weaker.
It was like I'd created a documentary when I wanted to inspire a movement!
The Remix: Rebalancing the Recipe
Armed with these insights, I set out to revise the story. Rather than starting from scratch, I adjusted the key ingredients:
Added compelling statistics (like "The Roddenberry Foundation, which advances Gene Roddenberry's vision for a better future, has received 7,600 applications across its programs and given grants in 22 countries.")
Created "Why This Matters Now" sections connecting Roddenberry's vision to today's challenges
Broke up dense text with friendly headings and bullet points
Added thought-provoking questions that invite readers to see themselves in the story
Created clear next steps for readers inspired to take action
The result? A story that still celebrated Roddenberry's vision but was much more likely to inspire action among everyday readers.
How Much Better? The Taste Test
To see if my tweaks actually improved the recipe, we created what I call a "Communication Effectiveness Score." Think of it as a taste-test rating that combines:
How balanced the different elements are
How engaging it is for different thinking styles
How clear and readable the content is
How effectively it inspires action
The original version scored a 67 out of 100. The revised version jumped to 83 out of 100!
That's like turning a pretty good homemade meal into a restaurant-quality dish just by adjusting the seasonings.
See the Difference for Yourself
The most exciting part of this experiment is that you can be the judge! I've published both versions of the Gene Roddenberry story on my blog “Disrupting the Norm”, and I'd love for you to tell me:
Which version grabbed your attention more?
Did the revised version make you more likely to take action?
Original Version: Beyond the Final Frontier: The Man Who Invented Tomorrow.
Improved Version: Beyond The Final Frontier: How Gene Roddenberry's Vision Is Shaping Our Future Today
Why This Matters Beyond One Story
This experiment taught me something powerful: effective communication isn't just about having good content. It's about presenting that content in a way that connects with your specific audience.
As Jeremy noted, in business storytelling "we're not creating art that purely entertains. We're creating COMMERCIAL ART which has a value and a purpose. And we need our audiences to ACT."
Whether you're pitching an idea, teaching a concept, or trying to inspire change, understanding how different communication elements work together gives you a tremendous advantage.
After all, as Jeremy asked, "wouldn't it be better if we knew how likely [audiences] were to act BEFORE our talk, and not when we do a post-mortem afterwards?"
I think Gene Roddenberry would agree. After all, he understood better than most that the way we communicate our vision shapes whether it remains science fiction or becomes reality.
