How to tell jaw-droppin, mind-boggling, heart-stopping stories!
3 Steps to Shock and Awe your audience.
Ever since I was 12 I dreamt of being a professional storyteller.
Motivational speaking, Debate, School Power Point Presentations, you name it.
If there was a way to get an audience in front of me, I wanted in.
I started attending workshops, festivals and listening to podcasts about how to be a better storyteller. I even conducted workshops on the topic myself and used my story telling skills to help students apply for top universities globally.
And believe me when I say...
Storytelling is a life changing skill.
It's the one skill that can catapult you to the top of your field, get you a job you love, help you make an impact and change lives.
But there's one huge problem...
Most people have no idea how to tell a simple story.
And that's because they've been taught to think of stories in the wrong way. []
Because storytelling isn't really about entertainment.
Storytelling is about persuasion.
It's about the ability to take your audience on a journey, make them feel what you're feeling and see the world through your eyes...
All without saying the words : "I think you should..."
Now if that's not magical, I don't know what is.
If you ever do a google search on "Story-telling 101" you'll come up with:
The Hero's Journey
The Rule of Three
Show, Don't Tell
And a million other "rules" and "formulas" for how to tell a story.
These are all fine and good, but they're not going to help you craft your KILLER story.
Forget all those rules for a moment and listen close because…
you only need TWO elements to tell a good story.
A MVS
Tension
“MVS” stands for Minimum Viable Story.
In other words it means…"good enough".
Most people THINK that they need to have experienced something life-changing or world-shattering in order to have a good story.
WRONG.
You just need a story that you would enjoy telling.
In other words, if you can’t smile while telling the story… or laugh about it then you should probably choose another story.
Step 1: How to generate a Minimum Viable Story
The best framework to generate many stories quickly is this method called: "First Best Worst Last" from Matthew Dick's book Storyworthy.
Take a topic and combine it with each of the four elements.
For example, let's say you want to tell a story about "Kissing".
What was your first kiss like?
What was your best kiss like?
What was the worst kiss like?
What was your last kiss like?
The best part of this method is that it automatically sets up your intro.
→ "The last kiss I had..."
→ "The worst kiss I ever had..."
→ "The best kiss I ever had was actually my first..."
Do this with 4-6 topics and you’ll be flooded with stories.
Step 2: Inject Tension
Tension is the lifeblood of any TV drama.
It's the reason why the Kardashians are still relevant and why Game of Thrones has a cult following.
People LOVE tension.
What is Tension?
Tension is just another word for PROBLEM.
You always need a "problem" in your story to solve. (Humans love coming up with problems)
Phrases like:
But
Suddenly
Unbelievably...
The worst thing happened...
The last thing you'd expect occurred…
Are instant ways to create tension.
Step 3: Put it all together
The worst kiss I ever had was also my first kiss.
Imagine the most awkward, painful and embarrassing situation you've ever been in...
Now multiply that by a million.
I was 12 years old and at my friend's pool party. I had just mustered up the courage to kiss my crush when suddenly...
She started choking me.
I was trying to figure out what the heck was going on when I realized that her braces had gotten tangled in my hair.
So there I was, being choked by my crush while her friends laughed hysterically.
But then the worst possible thing happened...
She started to throw up.
Vomit went everywhere.
It got in my hair, on my clothes, and all over my face.
It was the most humiliating experience of my life.
And to this day, I still get nightmares about it!
See you next week,
Brian "MVS” To
One Dope Link
👉David Perell’s Workshop on How to Write Online