6 engaging storytelling techniques

8/12/2019 6 Engaging Storytelling Techniques

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6 Engaging Storytelling Techniques

Here is My Secret Storytelling Technique:

As you probably already know, this site is about the arts of aking funny, interesting andconnection!building con"ersation# $n relations to this, this storytelling ethod is ainly focused

on enhancing the reader%s ability to use storytelling as yet another tool of aking interestingcon"ersation#

The ain purpose of telling a story should be to build a connection with the other person in thecon"ersation, this eans that the usual cornerstones in storytelling becoes uniportant, $%thinking of cople& plots, twits and surprising endings# More than e"erything else, the intentionof a story in con"ersation should be to engage people into the con"ersation# This is by far donein the best way with short, pithy stories, so try to keep your stories short and siple, cut oute"erything that a story can be told without# $f you in any way can cut soething out of a storywithout hurting the point of the story, please do so# To any people gi"e way to any detailswhen telling a story in a con"ersation, cople& stories are harder to follow, and factual detailsabout when and where it happen, and further who you were with that they, does not really

engage the listener, so these details are unnecessary are should thus be left out#

Here are the 6 building stones of any interesting story#

Hooking the listener

'erbally painting the setting

These techniques would also be great tools to ake it ore interesting:

(our character

the )$*!perspecti"e,

*actions describing words* and then

end on at least one )relatable feelings*

Step +: Hooking the listener this paragraph is iportant, so please read carefully-

$f you read this paragraph carefully, nobody can stop you fro learning one of the ost powerfularketing techniques in the world used today#

$n y opinion an alost hypnotic arketing technique that is based on "ery basic huanphysiology# $ know it sounds like $% trying to hype soething here, but what you don%t know isthat this arketing secret technique is in fact utili.ed e"ery day, e"ery hour, by ost a/ortele"ision station, newspapers, aga.ines and other edias all o"er the world to ensure thatyou stay tuned in to their channel, hooked to what they ha"e to say# This is what they don%t wantyou to know#



0kay let%s get on to it, $ won%t bother you with details of how a brilliant scientist stuble upon thisloophole in the huan ind, but what she basically reali.ed was that: $f a person is interruptedin the iddle of soething, they ha"e a really hard tie to get that thing out of their ind untilthey can get back to it and finished it#

1efore $ re"eal how you can use this technique to basically ha"e the ability to ake anything

interesting, $ /ust ha"e to tell you one iportant thing# $% going tell a little bit about yself andhow $ learned this arketing secret and how it has changes the way that $ ake con"ersationwith others today# 2ell as so any other $ ha"en%t had the ost happy childhood, y dad left usbefore $ was born and y o was entally ill, so at the age of 3 $ got taken away fro yo and put in an orphanage, $ li"ed for years until one day a foster faily4 5id you see what$ did here$ proised you soething iportant and interesting, and then $ want to tell you aboutsoething else, for how long could $ ha"e been talking about y self and y story before youwould lose interest +7 or aybe 87 inutes This is how this technique work, thecon"ersationalist or tele"ision station- get%s you interested in soething and then theypostpone what e"er you were interested in learning about, by for e&aple inserting coercialright before the ost e&citing oent in a o"ie#

1ut the sae effect can be created if $ can get you to ask you self a question after hearing )ahook line*#

$n away )The hook 9ine* should tell your )audience* e&actly )what they will take away fro whatyou are about to say* or )why should they listen to it*

A bit abstract 9et e gi"e you a couple e&aples of great hook lines:

)Maybe you can relate to this4* ;reat opener for any story#)$% considering to tell you about the ost ebarrassing oent of y life4 <pause## akethe ask for it=)

>8 really good e&aples of )hook lines* that $use e"eryday:

$ don%t know if you ha"e e"er tried this4$ don%t know how you feel about this4$ don%t know if you can relate to this4$% interested in learning4$ don%t know how you think about4$ don%t know if this is true4$ a going to tell you soething about yourself4

$ don%t know if $ should say this, $ probably shouldn%t4H aybe you can tell e if $% wrong4$ don%t know if you ha"e e"er considered this4Maybe you feel like this4$ ha"e ne"er4Maybe you had this e&perience4$ don%t know if you are a ??!person4$ can see you && @f&# Style-, so assue you are creati"e person4Maybe you ha"e had this feeling4



A $ wrong45o you think this is true42ouldn%t you like to learn this4Ha"e you e"er had this feeling4(ou scare e here%s why4$ don%t know if you ha"e tried this4

$ don%t know how you feel about this4$ don%t know if you can relate to this4$% interested in learning4$ don%t know how you think about4$ don%t know if this is true4$ a going to tell you soething about yourself4$ don%t know if $ should say this, $ probably shouldn%t4Blease tell e if you think $% wrong about this4$ don%t know if you ha"e e"er considered this4Maybe you feel like this4$ ha"e ne"er4Maybe you had this e&perience4

$ don%t know if you are a ??!person4$ can see you && && @ Style-, so assue you are creati"e person4Maybe you ha"e had this feeling4

A $ wrong45o you think this is true42ouldn%t you like to learn this4Ha"e you e"er had this feeling4(ou scare e4

! 1y Markus Ellek

(ou can enhance the pulling effect of these *hook sentences* by not sounding too deterined totell your story# Make the feel that it%s a possibility that you ight hold it back if they are notreally interested# Tease your listeners a bit, ake the ask you to tell you story# A great hookline creates curiosity and build anticipation#

Step 8: 'erbally painting the setting

My best ad"ice to you here is to keep the description to a bare iniu# E&aple:

*$ was in a ta&i cab#*

)$ was in the bathtub*That%s enough inforation# The listeners already get it#

(ou don%t need to tell that it were in a "ery clean ta&i cab on in the centu of london on a rainyTuesday# That%s too uch irrele"ant inforation that /ust test the listeners )patience* and fill upthe story with words that doesn%t really akes it ore interesting or engaging# So, Ceep thesetting inforation to the bare iniu, if you can try to describe it with a&iu of fi"ewords, /ust enough to gi"e Dwalls% to your story#



The key point that $% trying to underline here is that storytelling is not about the "erbaldescription, it%s far ote about your perforance#

Step : Fsing your character#

Gon"ersation is ore interesting when you act out whate"er you are talking about, this

especially applies to storytelling#

Another really iportant factor that akes con"ersation and especially personal storiesinteresting is that you tell the story or ake the con"ersation fro the $!perspecti"e# 2hen youuse %$!perspecti"e% it gi"es you a natural opportunity to act out your story# ote that in relation totalking fro the )$!perspecti"e* any begin to use other eupheiss such as the word Dyou%,this water down the story because now you are telling it fro the )th!person!perspecti"e* andthus it%s not as engaging#

To reali.e the power of talking fro the $!perspecti"e, please re"iew the following 8 e&aple ofdialogues and then decide which of the you find ore interesting#

)5on%t you /ust lo"e riding a bicycle# (ou know when you pedal uphill through South East9ondon you can see all the lea"es changing colors this tie of year, aking a pit stop at theposh tea shops# (ou can then eet fascinating people#*

'ersus this##

)$ lo"e riding y bike# $ pedal uphill through South East 9ondon ! $ notice the lea"es changecolors at this tie of year, it ake e feel happy# $ pit stop at the tea shops witch $ find poshand eet fascinating people there#*

$n y oppinion the second e&aple is far ore engaging to the listener, wicth akes it easier torelate to# The reason for this is because it has a consistent character throughout the entire

store, and thus the listener slips easier into the iagination of the storyteller#

Step ># Fsing Actions 5ecribing 2ords#

Fse action words#

$ IFMBE5 o"er##$ 2A9CE5##$ 1E5 502$ 9$JTE5##$ TFKE5##$ 2ET TH0F;HT##

$ STFJJE5 it into y##

Step L: Make you story super engaging with action words# Action word help the story slip easierinto the listeners iagination#

$ walked rapidly around the corner, a girl turned in front of e to stop e, she was attracti"e soreached up with hand and placed it on her neck, She siled so $ pulled her in and kissed hercute kissable lips# Her boyfriend saw it and cae o"er to kick y but#



end of scene-

5o you see how this how engaging this story is copared to how bad the plot or story is Actionword akes soething ore iaginati"e#

Step 6: 5escribe your characters eotional reaction to each scene#

$ walked rapidly around the corner, a girl turned in front of e to stop e, she was attracti"e soreached up with hand and placed it on her neck, She siled so $ pulled her in and kissed hercute kissable lips# Her boyfriend saw it and cae o"er to kick y but#

4$ felt EM1AKKASSE5 and JK$;HTEE5 i had to get out of their#

TH$S $S $MB0KTAT like it any o"ie you%ll e"er see, it is the eotional reaction of thecharacters in the storycon"ersation in this case you- that akes the listeners relate to hi andthus they feel they are on his or her side# This is really essential knowledge when you try to

build a connection whit a person#

Here is how you tell a interesting and engaging story:

Keali.e that a single scene as described abo"e- can ake up for a whole storyNN Ceep it assiple as possible, though if you need to tell a longer story you can siply stack scenes uponeach other until the story reaches the end where there is a burst of eotions or change inconte&t#

6 engaging storytelling techniques

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