Stories

Stories are buried deep in the roots of humanity. In fact, it is the media through which we understand the roots of humanity. They are important to me for this very reason. Stories are a catalyst for ideas, memories, and emotions. The ultimate catalyst however, is the one that tells them.

At its most basic level, news is a function of distribution -– news organizations (or members of the public) create stories to pass on a piece of information to readers, viewers, or listeners.

The key factor determining the value of the story is the audience. If the audience deems the story important, it will be well recieved.

Research proves two things about good stories:

• Treatment trumps topic. How a story is told is more important than what it’s about.
• The best stories are more complete and more comprehensive.

Tips for telling great stories:

• Create imagery for yourself
  • Think of and describe an image when you are telling a story. This is the closest you can get to telepathico communication.
• Find unique perspectives
  • if everyone is covering the funeral of John F Kennedy, be the one to find who dug his grave

Common mistakes when telling stories:

• Time is frozen
• Character is missing
• Stories lack meaning
• Relevancy is assumed
• Storytelling is predictable
• Limited use of digital media to amplify storytelling

Spoken stories vs written stories:

• Spoken:

  • When talking about a story, the central character is easily defined and assumed (usually it’s you!).
  • Spoken stories are an introduction to conversation. In fact, if the goal is create as much impact in a short time as possible, you want to spark a conversation, as those usually end up being more memorable.
    • developing a skill to create holes in your story that are meant to be sewn up by the questions of your audience is essential

• Written:

  • When writing, you must remove your perspective at first. Your body language and tone cannot convey your thoughts anymore, and therefore defining the story is very important.
  • You must be cognizant of the fact that there is no opportunity for conversation. In this case you want to lead the reader to the precipice of epiphany.
    • Choose statements that seem open ended but encourage a flurry of thought headed in the same direction that you are.

• Teaching is effectively story-telling

  • I liked Amir’s analogy for this:
  • It’s like the teacher has a trail through the dark forest, but the student can only discover it by first feeling around in the dark until they understand where to go, the teacher can guide, but the student must walk. If the teacher tries to drag the student down the trail before they are ready, they will trip, fall, and miss the big picture.

Although a common symptom for boring stories is excess information sprawling into too many weeds, a cure is not to cut information, but rather to put more emphasis on core information.

The smallest details make the best story. Observe. Details often say a lot more about the character than they are willing to say for themselves.

A good story is like mind control. See Neuroscience behind stories.

epiphany: the creation of a story starts with observation. The best story tellers know all the details, and from there curate the best ones to share with the rest of the world. This is a very good justification for beeing a deep learner and curious observer.

questions: Tone? Length? Speed? What is the value of a good story? How can I push someone to tell a story better (ie what questions do I have to ask to make my story listening experience better). What part of the brain reacts to a good story vs a bad story. How does social media affect stories?

Related: world building, questions, recursive questioning, interview, photography, leadership, journalism, news, music, content, social media