The Secret to Becoming a Better Storyteller

There's one critical thing that you need to do if you want to tell better, more powerful, more persuasive, more inspirational, more cohesive, more sticky stories.

Whether you want to get on a big stage or you want to just do it in the boardroom in front of your boss, okay? You need to consume stories, not just passively.

Not just getting on Netflix and binge watching, okay? I am talking about studying story, consuming story.

So I have given several people this exercise lately in my one-on-one coaching, which is if you want to write a book, I want you to go to the library.

I want you to go to the bookstore.

And I want you to find the genre that you want to be in.

And I want you to pick up a bunch of books.

And I want you to read the first page.

And I want you to see how they're constructed.

I want you to notice the structure of the book.

How are the chapters laid out? What kind of elements do they have within the story? And I want you to read so that you see how they're using the music of language.

So thriller writers, for example, use language specifically on purpose to drive the reader to experience something.

on purpose.

Like if there's a big thing coming up in the story and you feel like your heart starts racing and racing, you're like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what's going to happen? You might notice that the writer starts with longer sentences and then the sentences get shorter and shorter and shorter and faster and faster and faster and until it points you right at a sentence that's really short and staccato, which is a music term, staccato, right? It's like, boom, boom.

It might be just two words, three words, one word.

And you read faster and faster and faster because of that.

And your body reacts with a physiological response that's like, ah, my heart is racing.

I'm like on a roller coaster.

What's happening? So I want you to pay attention to the music of language.

Now, the music of language also has alliteration and rhyming.

Of course, story is made up of things like action, specific details, sensory details.

I can see something.

I can taste something.

I can smell something.

I can hear something.

There's one critical thing that you need to do if you want to tell better, more powerful, more persuasive, more inspirational, more cohesive, more sticky stories.

Whether you want to get on a big stage or you want to just do it in the boardroom in front of your boss, okay? You need to consume stories, not just passively.

Not just getting on Netflix and binge watching, okay? I am talking about studying story, consuming story.

So I have given several people this exercise lately in my one-on-one coaching, which is if you want to write a book, I want you to go to the library.

I want you to go to the bookstore.

And I want you to find the genre that you want to be in.

And I want you to pick up a bunch of books.

And I want you to read the first page.

And I want you to see how they're constructed.

I want you to notice the structure of the book.

How are the chapters laid out? What kind of elements do they have within the story? And I want you to read so that you see how they're using the music of language.

So thriller writers, for example, use language specifically on purpose to drive the reader to experience something.

on purpose.

Like if there's a big thing coming up in the story and you feel like your heart starts racing and racing, you're like, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what's going to happen? You might notice that the writer starts with longer sentences and then the sentences get shorter and shorter and shorter and faster and faster and faster and until it points you right at a sentence that's really short and staccato, which is a music term, staccato, right? It's like, boom, boom.

It might be just two words, three words, one word.

And you read faster and faster and faster because of that.

And your body reacts with a physiological response that's like, ah, my heart is racing.

I'm like on a roller coaster.

What's happening? So I want you to pay attention to the music of language.

Now, the music of language also has alliteration and rhyming.

Of course, story is made up of things like action, specific details, sensory details.

I can see something.

I can taste something.

I can smell something.

I can hear something.