Create ideas using: Tell a story: Conflict
How do I create meaningful conflict without just manufacturing drama?
Use real tensions your audience faces--competing priorities, difficult choices, opposing values. The conflict should be something people actually struggle with, not soap opera theatrics. Two characters wanting different things based on legitimate needs creates way more engagement than artificial antagonism.
What if my brand's category doesn't have obvious conflict?
Every decision involves conflict--even choosing between two good options. The conflict might be internal (what I want vs. what's responsible), relational (my needs vs. partner's needs), or practical (quality vs. budget). If you can't find conflict in your category, you're not looking at the human experience closely enough.
Example: How it could look
A financial services company shows a couple arguing about money--one wants to save for a house, one wants to travel now. Real conflict, no villain. The brand doesn't take sides--they show how their planning tools help couples navigate competing priorities without sacrificing the relationship. The conflict is the story.
Or like this:
Why is Tell a story: Conflict a great technique?
Conflict creates dramatic tension and emotional investment by forcing characters and audiences to confront difficult choices.
Makes stories compelling through tension
Reflects real human decision-making
Creates empathy for multiple perspectives
Positions brand as conflict resolver
Conflict is the engine of narrative. When you show real conflicts your audience faces, you demonstrate understanding of their lives. Resolving those conflicts through your brand makes you essential, not just convenient.
! When not to use the Tell a story: Conflict Technique
When you're creating conflict for drama without connecting it to real customer tensions. Random conflict is just noise.
Technique first described by www.deckofbrilliance.com