Sure, crafting a story is easy without a plan until you’re suddenly stuck with a muddled story and a looming deadline. Using a storyboard may feel like a constraint when you’re itching to start your project, but the result is a more organized and compelling story.

Whether you’re a writer, filmmaker, animator or presentation creator, our storyboard template will speed you on your way to delivering a truly compelling story. Check it out!

You can get this storyboard template for free with a SlideRocket subscription (also free). This template and others are in the Templates gallery within SlideRocket.

Stories help people make sense of the world. They create rapport between you and your audience, and people are more open to your ideas when they’re wrapped in a (compelling) story.

Storyboarding is akin to brainstorming within a nice, easy-to-use framework, but without the headache of staring at a blank page until you start thinking about your fantasy football lineup. A storyboard helps you:

• Define the parameters of the story
• Plan for the arc of your story in a logical way
• Maintain creativity while saving time

The “6-pack” Storyboard Template

The 6-Pack is a frequently used storyboard template, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t highly effective. While you have to keep your descriptions short, the ability to see multiple scenes/shots of your story unfold on the same page is quite helpful.

The “Hero’s Journey” Storyboard

The Hero’s Journey storyboard template is a great way to craft your characters. The simple “W” visual works well to keep you focused on creating a clear progression for your characters.

The “Big Shot” Storyboard Template

This template is as simple as it is captivating. It uses one image (or scene) per slide which makes optimal use of the ability to reorder slides, it’s perfect for sharing your storyline with an audience (i.e., it’s easy to see), and you can put a lot of text on there. On the downside you don’t have multiple panels on the same slide like with the “Six Pack” above.

You can go “old school” and grab markers, paper, glue and poster boards to create your storyboards or you can use online presentations. Unlike the old school route, online presentations are much easier. After all, you can’t email a poster board to your colleagues. Online storyboards allow you to collaborate and receive feedback faster. In fact, a major benefit is having the ability to quickly reorder panels as your story changes and even duplicate the panels. You can use any media such as video without any problems. And integrations with programs like Flickr enable you to search out free images to serve as metaphors that flesh-out your story. And the presentation is always in “live” mode so it’s always up-to-date.