Ira Glass On The Basics Of Storytelling

Great storytelling isn’t just something great writers can do, it’s a skill that’s present in every great leader. Strangely enough it’s a skill that’s very rarely taught for the business or political world. You’ll see it as a performance art, as a skill for writers of all kinds but seldomly with focus outside of the arts and entertainment. It’s hard to find concrete advice on how to craft and tell stories, specially advice from master storytellers. That’s what makes the following videos remarkable. In this series of four videos Ira Glass, famous for the fantastic radio show & podcast This American Life, goes into many of the specifics of good storytelling. The videos focus on video and audio productions but most of the advice applies just as well to written or spoken storytelling.

The Key Points:

It’s More Than The Facts

Storytelling is not just about the facts, it’s about the emotions and ideas surrounding those facts. The story provides context and meaning to those facts.

Use Anecdotes

It’s the most basic form of storytelling. One action leading to another and another, it creates momentum even out of the most boring events.

Raise Questions And Answer Them

This is the bait to keep your listener’s attention. If the house is quiet then you must tell the audience why it’s quiet.

Always Have A Moment Of Reflection

This is where you make a point and it’s the reason people have stuck along with your story. It doesn’t matter how great a story is, if there’s no point it will fall flat.

Don’t Be Afraid To Kill Crap

If the end result of your story is not as great as it should be dont be afrait to scrap it. In fact you should enjoy killing bad stories as they make way for new and better ones.

Persevere Through Your Own Crap

When you have just started honing your storytelling skills your results will often feel lacking and a little lame. This is normal, just keep working as much as you can and the gap between your taste and your skill will eventually close. Dont give up!

Act Naturally, Talk Naturally, Be Yourself

You might be tempted to try and sound or act as you think someone telling a story should talk or act. Truth is, the more genuine you are the more you’ll keep your audience engaged.

It’s Not About Yourself

Even if the story is literally about yourself, dont make it look that way. There are other characters in every story and you must make it a point to shine light into their perspective or your perspective of them. Storytelling at its core is drama and you cant have drama with just one character.

And that’s it, some pretty sound and concrete advice from one of the most compelling storytellers of our time. Some of it might seem like common sense but when on the spot, common sense tends to flee. If you’ve got any other storytelling or presentation advice, feel free to share it!