Summary: Not every piece of text needs to tell a story. Sometimes, what we’re dealing with is not narrative content but structured data — like a JSON error message. Trying to extract drama or meaning from such output is like trying to pull silk from concrete. In this post, we’ll dissect what this actually means, why it matters, and how mistaking structure for storytelling creates problems in communication, especially in strategy, marketing, and product development.
What You’re Looking At Isn’t a Story — It’s a Signal
When someone drops this line: “Unfortunately, the provided text does not contain a story or narrative to be extracted and rewritten…” — they’re not being dismissive. They’re calling out a simple truth. The response wasn’t crafted for human digestion in the way an article, pitch, or case study would be. It’s structured machine-talk — JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) — a way software sends and receives information. It’s clean, rigid, and built entirely without drama.
Why is that important? Because marketers, copywriters, and strategists love stories. We’re wired for them. But you can’t treat a blueprint like a biography. You must recognize the medium before you force meaning onto it. Otherwise, you create confusion, misinterpret intent, or worse — act on false patterns that don’t exist.
Structured Data ≠ Narrative Arc
Let’s get real clear on the distinction: JSON responses have fields like “code,” “status,” “message,” and maybe a timestamp. They exist so systems — not people — can rapidly identify what went wrong (or right). For example:
{
"status": "error",
"code": 404,
"message": "Resource not found."
}
That’s not failing to tell a story. That’s successfully reporting a state. The error message is talking to another machine or frontend, not your customer. So when someone asks, “Can we rewrite this response into something more engaging?” the honest answer is: No — because it’s not trying to engage.
Why Trying to Tell a Story Here Backfires
Marketing isn't about fluffing up everything into an emotional arc. It’s about precision, timing, and context. If you turn a machine error into a human story where there is none, you might:
- Inject false meaning and confuse your internal team
- Lead developers or stakeholders to think there's user feedback, where there’s only system diagnosis
- Waste creative energy where clarity and accuracy matter far more
So if your gut instinct is to narrativize everything, ask yourself: “What is the intent of this text? Who is it communicating with?” Because sometimes the most empathetic thing you can do is leave it alone.
Applying Chris Voss: What’s Really Being Said?
Voss would tell us to mirror back what we just heard: “It doesn’t contain a story to be rewritten…” Okay. So that means it wasn’t ever meant to be marketing content. What does that tell us about the project we’re working on? Is the team misaligned on scope or goals?
Now turn it into a calibrated question: “How should we communicate differently to our marketing team when what we're reviewing is diagnostic output, not user-facing language?”
The golden nugget here is not the error message. It's the miscommunication around expectations. That’s where negotiation becomes useful. Let the “No” here — No, this is not a story — serve as a productive stop sign. It invites you to reframe how your team collaborates, especially across tech and communication roles.
Empathy Check: When the Message Feels Like Failure
If you’re the one who wanted to turn that response into something engaging, your impulse was valid. You're trying to generate value. You’re hoping to help the product or message resonate. That drive is good — but it must be directed.
This isn’t a failure of creativity. It’s a reminder to aim your creativity at the right targets. Where should the story live? Perhaps not in the JSON, but in teaching users why the error occurred, what they can do next, or how the company resolves tough edge cases. That’s a story worth telling — the human side of error handling.
Cialdini’s Levers: Where’s the Influence?
Let’s spot the persuasion levers here:
- Reciprocity: When a machine fails, users deserve a response that gives them direction, not confusion. Crafting follow-up content — like an article on why 404s happen and what users can do — builds goodwill.
- Consistency: Maintain clarity in what types of output belong to which team. Don’t say structured error messages are “creative content.” It breaks internal trust. Be dependable in how you treat technical messages.
- Authority: Respect the structure. Data responses carry precision. Disrespecting their limits erodes your credibility in cross-functional teams — especially among engineers and DevOps.
So, What’s the Story Then?
The story isn’t in the error log. The story is in how teams misread data contexts. It’s about the gap between outputs intended for humans and those meant for machines — and how often we fail to bridge that gap.
If you want to use this content effectively, don’t wrap a plotline around a payload. Instead, build clarity between technical workflows and communication strategies. Teach your team to know the difference. Protect their time, trust, and attention by rooting your messaging in the proper channel.
Questions That Unlock Better Workflows
If we take Chris Voss seriously, we don’t just answer—we ask. So, ask your stakeholders:
- “How can we align our storytelling energy where it will have the most user impact?”
- “When something technical goes wrong, how can marketing support recovery without muddying the signal?”
- “What is this message trying to accomplish — and who’s the real audience?”
Final Takeaway
Not every message is a narrative. And not every moment deserves storytelling. But every moment deserves clarity. And clarity builds strength — across departments, across brands, and across strategies.
So next time someone hands you a JSON error and asks for creative copy, ask yourself: “Am I here to tell a story — or to translate intent?” One matters more than the other depending on the task at hand. And the wisdom is knowing the difference.
#TechnicalWriting #MarketingClarity #StrategicCommunication #TeamAlignment #JSONErrors #CommunicateWithPurpose #EncodingMeaning
Featured Image courtesy of Unsplash and Growtika (FQ3lFA4Zi58)