abt

ABT — And, But, Therefore

Randy Olson's narrative template (from Houston, We Have a Narrative), distilled from the shape underneath most great storytelling. Three words carry the whole arc: And (setup), But (tension), Therefore (resolution). It's the fastest way to make a point feel like a story instead of a list — and it fits in one breath.

   AND            BUT             THEREFORE
   setup    →     tension    →    resolution
   agreement      the problem     the solution / action
   "here's        "here's what    "here's what
    the world"     went wrong"     we do about it"

The Three Beats

1. And — the setup. The context everyone already agrees on. The stable "here's how things are." (Often implied rather than starting with the literal word "and".)
2. But — the tension. The problem, twist, or conflict that breaks the agreement. This is the engine. No "but", no story — just a list of facts.
3. Therefore — the resolution. What follows: the consequence, the solution, the call to action. The payoff the tension set up.

The post frames it as Agreement → Problem → Solution. Same three beats.

When to use it (and when not)

Use it for: elevator pitches, cold-email openers, headlines, the first line of a talk or memo, a Slack message that needs to land fast, boiling any longer story down to its spine.

Reach for something else when: you have room to build an arc (→ pixar-pitch), you're presenting a full decision (→ pyramid-principle), or you're writing conversion copy (→ storybrand). ABT is the compression format — it's a scalpel, not a canvas.

How to build it

1. Find the "But". Start here — the tension is the whole point. If there's no conflict, twist, or problem, there's no story to tell.
2. Set up only what the "But" needs. Keep "And" to the minimum context that makes the tension land. Over-long setup kills the pace.
3. Let "Therefore" pay off the exact tension you raised — the solution should answer that problem, not a different one.
4. Test for "And, And, And". If you can't find a "But", you have information, not a story. Keep digging for the tension.
5. Say it out loud. ABT should sound natural in one breath. Trim until it does.