Can ChatGPT Write Stories? What Leaders and Communicators Need to Know
How can you leverage ChatGPT?
The movie Summer School tells the story of a group of high school students forced to attend remedial English classes. One of the assignments is to write an essay on someone they admire. Dave and Chainsaw are two students who combine forces to write an essay. Because, as one of their fathers says, “They share the same brain.”
”…and that is why we admire makeup artist and creature creator Rick Baker very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very, much. It’s 100 words on the nose. You can count them if you want.”
This scene is what I think of when I hear people fearing ChatGPT will replace storytellers, news anchors, or marketers. It is a wonderful tool and will be able to support some content creation. Fearing it will replace everything is like thinking Segways would replace cars. Instead, they’ve found their niche on city tours and with mall cops.
When you type a question into the tool like, “Why should I use ChatGPT?” it spits out an answer in fourth-grade essay format. “There are many reasons to use ChatGPT.” It then lists three-to-five reasons and ends with “In conclusion, it’s a good idea to use ChatGPT…” Hardly gripping stuff. It will improve over time. But in the interim, it’s helpful in focused ways.
Getting Started
A few weeks ago, I gave a keynote to Ophthalmologists. The person that introduced me used ChatGPT to get ideas for structuring the introduction. Instead of sitting for several minutes guessing where to start, she was able to see some examples and create her own.
When you aren’t sure where to begin on something, experiment with ChatGPT to get ideas. Recognize that most of the time, it will generate the 101 basic version. Take that and build on it to make it your own.
Generating Ideas
The hardest part of telling stories at work can often be finding stories to tell. ChatGPT can generate prompts that give you ideas. Often, the act of scanning the prompts triggers an idea for a story and gets you to the starting line. Be specific in your query phrase. In preparing for this article I searched “story prompts for professional experiences.” I got back a list of ideas that cut across industries including:
A young intern’s journey to becoming a respected member of a top law firm.
A nurse’s heroic efforts during a pandemic
A chef’s rise to fame in a cutthroat world of high-end restaurants
The second time I tried “Stories in an office setting about change” and received more focused ideas.
Overcoming resistance to change by building consensus among team members.
Transforming company culture to be more open to innovation and change.
Overcoming setbacks during a period of change and using them as a learning experience for future challenges.
By themselves, these are pretty flat. But as you scan what is generated, your own ideas will emerge. It acts as an antidote to writer’s block by forcing you to react to what is generated.
Editing
No matter how careful you are with editing, it’s easy to miss things around grammar, flow, or even tone. ChatGPT can become the second pair of eyes looking through and catching things you may have missed. Especially if you are in a time crunch.
Avoiding Tropes
I asked ChatGPT to generate ideas for the cover of The Perfect Story. It came back with:
People sitting around a fire
An open book with a spotlight on it
A microphone on a stage
A tree with roots spreading out and branches reaching up
A compass
I have no interest in any of these images, which is exactly what I wanted to learn. Most of what you get back is the 101 level of things. The common tropes that everyone would say and use. There isn’t much originality or creativity at this point. It’s just pulling what is most common on the internet. Which is exactly what I wanted it to do. Because I want a book cover that is different and sparks intrigue. Not one that looks like other books out there.
If you are a thought leader or trying to come up with a creative concept, you want to differentiate your work and share the 301 or 401 levels. Use ChatGPT to understand the common tropes. Test if you have dug deep enough in your thinking so you aren’t sharing the first thing that would return on an internet search.
Just The Facts
Anat Baron is a friend and futurist who recently used ChatGPT to edit content as she worked on her website. It returned a description of her that included a few facts but was mostly fabricated. As she said in her own post, “It makes stuff up. And it sounds authoritative in doing so.” It was correct that Anat made a movie, "Beer Wars." But it made up a book it said she had written, complete with a fictitious title.
It’s unclear why it’s pulling so much inaccurate information. Over time it will become more accurate. But don’t take what it returns as fact.
Embrace The Process
Humans love to over-rotate on things. We jump right to what could be replaced and taken away instead of considering how something might be integrated. ChatGPT is a tool, not a replacement. Right now, it is like instant coffee. It serves a purpose, but by itself, it’s bland and weak.
The tool supports your process of working things out for yourself. Creating and thinking require working through your perspective, beliefs, and thoughts. It’s when you go three layers deep and come up with your take on a situation, idea, or solution.
My best ideas come through the process of working them out—often while I am walking in the woods. A tool may give me things to consider. But it’s how I conceptualize and put the pieces together that makes them compelling. The process of doing that is powerful and shouldn’t be lost by anyone. It’s what lets you speak and act with confidence.
Anything else is just like Chainsaw and Dave. Very, very, very, very, very, very, bad.
Want to learn how to tell stories on your teams without ChatGPT? Start a conversation.
Want to receive more articles like this one? Sign up for Brain Food here.
Follow along with my process of publishing my book or catch up on previous book writing blog posts.
