The Ultimate Guide To Storytelling

Salaam friends,

Storytelling is a skill that doesn't come naturally, but it's our most natural and effective way of communication. When I share a story with my wife, friends, or at work, I view it as a performance. This might sound like I'm seeking attention, but my real intention is to become a better storyteller. I want people to be entertained by what I share and to connect with their emotions through my words. This approach applies to writing as well.

Now, you might think I'm a bit crazy, but I've developed a framework for this. It's not perfect, but it's a great guide for beginners. It's what I've used to shape stories for presentations and family dinners. I call it the HEE Framework:

Hook
Escalate
End

Never start a story with, "You want to hear something crazy!" because that sets high expectations, and depending on how good your story is, you'll either over-deliver or underwhelm. It's a gamble. Instead, begin the story as close to the end as possible. For example, if you're telling a story about the time you saved your friend from drowning, start with: "Three years ago, my friend and I went to the swimming pool, but there was a twist - one of us didn't know how to swim."

I'm making this up, but you get the point.

Escalation is what keeps people engaged. If the stakes of the story don't increase, it'll get boring. It's like telling someone about your ordinary day: wake up, go to work, take the kids to school, spend hours on our phones, get things done, come back home, and spend the evening with family or watching a show. No one's interested in such a day, unless you were involved in saving someone's job, defused a fight on the train, or reconnected with a high school classmate now facing homelessness.

The ending doesn't have to tie up all loose ends; it just needs to evoke an emotion - happiness, sadness, satisfaction, calmness.

Next time you share a story with someone, noticed the way you structure it. Be more intentional about the way you share your life experience, because it can make someone's day.

📖 Writing Prompt
Exercise: Thoughts and Emotions
Title: Needs

Write a fragment of a story about a character in a desperate situation. This person has to tell a story to get our of the desperate situation he or she is in (600 words).

Source: The 3 A.M. Epiphany* by Brian Kiteley 

🔎 Word of the week

Denouement (n): the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
In a sentence: the film's denouement was unsatisfying and ambiguous

Source: The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

🔖 Quote to ponder

"I'm making explorations. I don't know where they're going to take me
— Marshall McLuhan

Source: Keep Going: 10 Ways to Stay Creative in Good Times and Bad by Austin Kleon

A question to consider❓

What's one story I find myself telling often from my childhood, and how can I structure it better?

📸 Through My Lens