User Guide

How to use StoryMachine

Meet StoryMachine

You have an upcoming presentation. You have notes, documents, maybe some old slides, or perhaps just a head full of rough thinking. StoryMachine helps you turn that material into a story built for your audience, then gives you what you need to deliver it: the words for the first and last minute; speaker notes; and, if you need it, a brief for your slides.

It takes six steps and less than 30 minutes:

Answer some key questions. What kind of presentation is it? What is it about? Who is your audience, and why does it matter to them? What do you want them to do? What is your message? How long is it?
Add what you have. Type or paste your notes and upload your files.
Get your story straight. StoryMachine writes the first draft of your story. You make it right.
Add interest and impact. One button adds a strong start, signposts, a clear ending, speaker notes and suggestions for more powerful language.
If you need them, make your slides. A PowerPoint outline, a slide brief and a prompt for your own AI tool.
Rehearse it into life. Speaker notes and the words in full.

Your first story is free. You need only your email; no credit card required. Each part arrives with a line saying why it is there, so you learn the method as you work with it.

Step 1: Key questions

Help StoryMachine understand what you want to do.

Think carefully about these questions. They are the foundation of your presentation. Give as much detail as you can.

What kind of presentation is it? Pick the kind of presentation you are making and StoryMachine makes sure that each act does its job for that audience.

Kind	Act 1	Act 2	Act 3
Project update	Where we are. Where we are now against the plan, and where we want to be.	The way forward. The issues and risks in the way, and how we will deal with each, step by step.	What we need. Actions, owners, timescales, budget, and the approval we need.
Strategy recommendation	Why change. Where we are now, where we want to be, and why it matters.	The strategy. The route we recommend, step by step, and why it beats the alternatives.	What happens next. The recommendation, the actions from here, and the decision we need.
Sales pitch	The need. The need, what it is costing them, and the gap to close.	The solution. The product, idea or service, and how it closes the gap.	The proof and the close. The proof, the price, and the next step we agree.
Choosing between options	The choice. The problem or opportunity ahead, and the criteria for a good decision.	The options. Each option, with its costs and benefits measured against the criteria.	The decision. The decision required, the recommendation if needed, who decides, by when and how.
Funding request	The opportunity. The problem or opportunity, who it matters to, and what it is worth.	The plan. What you will do, who will do it, the milestones, and the evidence it will work.	The ask. The amount, what it pays for, the return or result, and the decision you need.
Leading change	Why change. Where we are, why staying here is not an option, and what it costs us.	The change. What the change is, how it will happen, step by step, and what stays the same.	What it means for you. What changes for each person, the support they will have, and the first thing we ask of them.
Product launch	The need. The need or frustration this audience knows, and what it costs them today.	What is new. What the product does, how it meets the need, and the proof.	How to get it. When and how to get it, the price or offer, and the first step.
Team kickoff	Why we are here. What we are here to achieve, why it matters, and what success looks like.	How we will work. Roles, the plan, the milestones and the ways of working we agree.	What happens first. The first actions, owners and dates, and what we ask of each person.
Lessons learned	What happened. What we set out to do, what happened, and the result, in facts.	What we learned. What worked, what did not, and why, most important first.	What we will do differently. Each change, who owns it, and what we ask of this audience.
Conference keynote	Why it matters. How your talk fits the conference and the audience.	The present. How you and your organisation are navigating the field.	The future. What happens next, what it means, and what you want from this audience.
Bad news	What happened. What happened, the impact on people, and why, in facts.	Putting it right. What we are doing now to contain it, and the longer-term fix.	Where this ends. The future state when all is put right, and the help and information for people affected.
Something else	Why. The context and the challenge.	How. The answer, and how it works.	What. What we need from this audience.

Hover over each button for a line on what it helps you do. If you choose nothing, StoryMachine picks the likeliest kind of presentation and says which.

Then five questions:

What is your presentation about?
Who is the audience, and why does it matter to them?
What is your objective? What do you want the audience to do as a result?
What is your message, and why should they care?
How long is your presentation, not counting questions? StoryMachine builds the story to fit the time: less content for a short talk, more for a long one.

The more you say in response to each question, the sharper your story will be. For example, "The executive committee, who approved last year's budget and want to know what it bought" gives StoryMachine far more to work with than "senior managers".

Be specific about the objective. For example, when you finish the sentence After my presentation, the audience will..., "...approve the second phase and name an owner by Friday" is much better than "...understand the project".

Each answer can run to 3,000 characters. Give as much detail as you can. If you really don't know, leave it blank. StoryMachine will not guess: it will name what is missing as a gap, so you know what to find out before you present.

Tone of voice. Choose formal, business or conversational. A line under each button says which rooms it suits. ("Business" suits most.)

Step 2: Your material

Upload or add your content.

Bring whatever you have. StoryMachine works only from your material, so the more of your own thinking it has, the more the story will sound like you.

Good material might include:

your notes, however rough;
the deck you used last time;
a paper, a report or a proposal;
an email that explains the situation;
a few lines on why this matters to you.

Type or paste your notes into the large box. It holds up to 60,000 characters, about 30 pages of text.

Upload any relevant files: PowerPoint (.pptx), Word (.docx), PDF or plain text. Choose up to ten at once; their words are added to the box one after another.

Note: a scanned PDF is a picture of text, so there are no words to read. Export it again with text, or paste the text in.

These kinds of files stay on your computer. StoryMachine reads the words and adds them to the box. The files themselves never leave your computer. There is no size limit on the files you can upload.

Add photos and screenshots: an image of a whiteboard, a flipchart, a slide, a page of handwritten notes. Upload them with the same button, or paste a screenshot straight into the box. StoryMachine writes out the words and the figures that it can read. Check them against the picture.

Photos and screenshots have to be uploaded to our servers for StoryMachine to read them and convert them to text. Once this is done, the photo or screenshot is immediately deleted.

Before you press Find my story, review what landed in the box and delete anything that does not belong.

Your email

Sign in with a six-digit code, the first time you press Find my story.

Press Find my story. If this is your first visit, a box opens beside the button. Enter your email and we will send you a code. Type it in the box. No credit card required.

Everything you have typed stays on the page while you sign in. Once the code is accepted, StoryMachine continues its work.

The code works on any device.
Each code works once, for an hour. If you ask for another, use the newest code you have received.
Nothing after a minute? Look in your junk folder and mark the email as safe.

If you already have an account, click Already a user? Sign in at the top of the page. Your stories are waiting.

Signing in also adds you to the Presentation Guru mailing list. One helpful email a month, full of useful ideas for your presentations. Unsubscribe any time.

Step 3: Get your story straight

Stage 1. A first draft of your story, for you to make right.

Follow-up questions. If something important is still missing after your answers and your material, StoryMachine will ask you up to two short questions before it writes the story. Each question comes with an example of a possible answer. A couple of lines will do, but the more detail you give, the better the story. If you really don't know, leave it blank and press Write my story: StoryMachine will name what is missing as a gap.

The first draft. A bar shows how far StoryMachine has got. Then the first draft of your story arrives, from the top:

The Big Idea. The one line that people will repeat in the corridor afterwards. It is the memorable form of your argument. Everything else rests on it, so spend whatever time it takes to get it right.

The audience. Who they are, what they want, what stands in the way, what they need to hear, and what to leave out. The "leave out" list matters: it keeps your story free of unnecessary detail and leaves space for what is truly important.

What you want your audience to do. Your completion of the sentence "After my presentation, the audience will...". If you can't finish this sentence, the presentation is not ready.

The argument. Your case in one sentence. Everything in the three acts supports the argument.

Three acts. Each act has:

a headline that makes a point, written as a sentence you could say aloud;
a core message that explains it;
a soundbite, a line worth quoting. It is marked "from your notes" when the words are yours, and "proposed" when StoryMachine wrote it. Put a proposed soundbite in your own words before you present;
supporting points: only the evidence that carries the point. Everything else can go in a handout.

The gaps. What your material does not say and only you can supply: examples, numbers, the reason your presentation matters to you. StoryMachine never guesses. It asks.

Now make it right. This is the most important step. Everything that follows is built on your audience, your argument and your three acts, so check them before you go on. Change any line (see Make it your own below). When the story is right, press Add interest and impact at the foot of the page.

Step 4: Add interest and impact

Stage 2. The opening, the signposts, the ending and your speaker notes.

Press Add interest and impact when your Stage 1 story is right. It takes about a minute. StoryMachine adds:

The Prologue: the golden minute. Your opening, written in words for you to say. It earns attention in the first sentence, states the Big Idea, explains why it matters now and tells the audience what to expect. The word count and speaking time sit underneath. Aim for about a minute.

A signpost that introduces each act. The sentence that tells the audience what is coming next.

The Epilogue: end with certainty. Audiences need certainty. The Epilogue recaps your headlines and the actions from here, and sends the audience away with your message ringing in their ears.

Your story in five lines. The whole talk in 30 seconds. If it works here, it will work with your audience.

Speaker notes. Short cues for each part, in the order you say them.

Add power to your words. A well-made line sticks in an audience's mind like the hook of a song. Strong speakers choose their words deliberately. StoryMachine suggests up to four lines that would gain power from a rhetorical device. Each suggestion sits in red under its line. It shows the line rewritten ("For example, you could say this:"), then the name of the device and what it is: tricolon, anaphora, chiasmus, hypophora and many more. Press Use this line to put it in your story if you like it. Using a suggestion counts as an edit by hand, so it is always free. After you edit, press Suggest again after your edits.

Every addition is a suggestion. Use it, change it or leave it. When you are happy with every line, press My story is ready at the foot of the page.

If you change the Big Idea after Stage 2

The Epilogue ends on the Big Idea. If you change the Big Idea afterwards, a red panel appears above the Epilogue. Press Rewrite the ending and StoryMachine rewrites the Epilogue, the final line in the five-line summary, and the speaker notes so they land on the new Big Idea. Your Prologue and your acts stay exactly as you left them.

Make it your own

You can add or edit every section, at either stage.

Type. Click any line and change it. Your edits save as you go.

Ask for another version. Each line has quick edits, such as "sharper", "simpler" or "more memorable". You can also type your own instruction, such as "use the hospital example" or "make this about the customer". StoryMachine rewrites that one line and keeps the rest of the story true to it.

Argue with StoryMachine. Under your story, Refine the story lets you talk it through. Tell it what feels wrong, push back on its choices, ask it to try a different angle. It explains its thinking and, when you agree, revises the story accordingly. Remember, this is a collaborative process.

Run it again. Press Rework the notes, change your material or your answers, and press Find my story again. This rebuilds the whole story.

Your free story includes one rerun and five AI edits. A rerun rebuilds the whole story from your changed notes. An AI edit is one line StoryMachine rewrites for you, or one reply when you argue with it. A line at the foot of the story shows how many reruns and AI edits remain. Edits by hand are always free. A story you pay for has no limits.

Every story has a panel headed Make it your own: the details only you can add, followed by advice to help you rehearse. Do these things before you present. Audiences believe speakers who sound authentic.

Everything saves as you work. Open My stories at the top of the page to return to any of your stories at any time.

Your story is ready

Download it, then make your slides and rehearse.

Press My story is ready and StoryMachine gives you three things to do, in order, or only the ones you need:

Download your story. PDF: the whole story in one document: your audience and argument; your presentation with its timing, and the suggestions in red under the lines they would strengthen; the gaps only you can fill; your story in five lines and your speaker notes; and a final page on the method. Use it to rehearse, to share with a colleague, to keep. Word: the same content as an editable document.
If you need them, make your slides.
Rehearse it into life.

Want to change something? Go back to your story and edit any line. Your downloads, slides and notes always follow the story as it stands.

Every figure in the story comes from your material. Check each one against its source before you present.

Step 5: If you need them, make your slides

A PowerPoint outline or a prompt for your AI tool.

Story first, then slides, then rehearsal. That is the order of the method. Press Make your slides. The slides page gives you:

What great slides do. One idea per slide, the three-second rule, titles that tell the story.
The slide brief. Every slide in order: the words, the picture and the part of the story it serves. You can build your slides from this brief.
A prompt for your own AI tool. The prompt with the rules for slides built in. Press Copy the prompt and paste it into whichever AI tool you use to make slides.
The PowerPoint outline. Each slide's words in the title placeholder and its picture brief in the content placeholder, with the cue in the speaker notes. Apply your company template and the slides take on its look.

If you tell StoryMachine you will not use slides, it says so, and still gives you a brief in case you change your mind. A talk built for words alone is a strength.

Step 6: Rehearse it into life

Say it out loud.

Press Rehearse, or Next: rehearse it into life at the foot of the slides page.

Speaker notes. Short cues, in the order you say them. Speak from these. A cue reminds you what comes next; the actual words will come from you in the room, so they sound like you. Word for word is for legal and political speeches only.

The words in full. The Prologue, the signposts and the Epilogue written out, for rehearsal. Learn the Prologue and the Epilogue by heart. Tell the acts in your own words.

Then:

Review StoryMachine's suggestions. Add the example, the number or the anecdote only you have.
Say the Prologue and Epilogue aloud. Change any word that does not feel natural for you.
Rehearse from the speaker notes. Talk it through with a colleague and ask three questions: What was my argument? What do I want you to do? What will you remember tomorrow? If your colleague's answers match your intent, the story works. If not, fix the story. Slides cannot repair a weak argument.

A story you pay for can change at any time: go back, refine it, make new slides and rehearse again.

Choose a payment plan

Your first story is free, start to finish: both stages, the PDF and the Word file, and the slides. You need only your email; no credit card required. It includes one rerun from Rework the notes and five AI edits. Edits by hand are always free.

After that, press Upgrade at the top of the page:

each additional story, $9.99: that story, for as long as you keep it, edited as often as you like;
one month, $19.99: as many stories as you like for one month, cancel any time;
one year, $149.99: as many stories as you like for one year, cancel any time.

A story you pay for has no limits: rerun it, edit it and argue with StoryMachine as often as you like, and download it again whenever you want.

If you cancel a monthly or yearly subscription, it stays active until the end of the month or year. You keep every story you made while you were subscribed, and you can still edit as often as you like even after your subscription has ended. If you want to start a new story, you will need to buy a new story or a new plan.

On one of our programmes? Use the link from your programme email. Sign in on that page and you will receive the stories your programme includes, to work on any time. You can also enter a programme code at any time under Programme code at the top of the page.

Billing. Monthly and yearly subscribers manage or cancel from Billing at the top of the page. Payments go through Stripe.

Get help

The code did not arrive. Check your junk folder, wait a minute, then send another request. If more than one email arrives, use the newest.

The code did not work. Each code works once, for an hour, and a new request cancels the old one. Request a new code and use that.

My PDF upload added no text. It is probably a scanned document. Either export it again with text and paste that in, or photograph or screenshot the pages and upload those.

The story missed my point. Sharpen your answers to the key questions, then press Find my story again. Those answers steer everything else. Or tell StoryMachine what you meant.

A figure looks wrong. StoryMachine keeps every number exactly as your material gives it. If one looks wrong, check the source. Then correct the line by hand.

The soundbites do not sound like me. They are not meant to sound like you until you edit them. This is a collaborative process. Put each one in your own words.

I have used my free rerun or my five AI edits. You can still edit every line by hand, and download the story as often as you like. For more runs and edits, buy a story or choose a plan under Upgrade.

I lost my notes when I signed in. That should not happen: the page keeps everything while you sign in. If it does, write to us at the address below.

Can I use it for a client presentation? Yes. The story is yours: your material, your conviction, your words.

For anything else, or for training for you or your team in the method behind it: storymachine@themessagebusiness.com

Terms, privacy and refunds are linked at the bottom of every page.