Narrative Resonance

The phenomenon in which a story lands deeply with its audience by aligning with their emotions, experiences, or values. Contrasted with mere “reach” — the difference between a message being received and a message that sticks. In Jay Acunzo’s B2B storytelling framework, resonance is the only differentiator available when competitors are making identical arguments on the same functional axes.

Resonance requires a premise — a defensible, personal claim — that bridges the storyteller’s individual experience to the reader’s broader context. Volume of reach without resonance produces no lasting brand preference; favorite-effect is the downstream outcome of consistently designed resonance.