Improve your Stories: use more “therefore”s and “but”s

“What if a writer is trying to tell a story and nothing much happens, nothing is resolved…”
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How to Tell A Boring Story

Use: “and then this happened”.

The essential ingredient of a boring (it is going nowhere) story is the “and then this happened”…  “and then this happened”…  “and then this happened” structure.

There is no conflict.  

It is a laundry list of stuff happening… there is no sense of tension building and the listener getting curious and wondering about what is going to happen.

All good stories are a variation of: “Once there was a problem, but then it was resolved”

How to Make Story Engaging

Use lots of “but…” and “therefore…”  Check out the video below – it claims to have stolen the idea from Orson Wells, but I think ideas are meant to be stolen and shared.

PS I came across this gem from Nick Morgan’s blog the secrets of good storytelling.

https://vimeo.com/tonyzhou/fforfake

Resources:  Check it out on vimeo: F for Fake (1973) – How to Structure a Video Essay from Tony Zhou

[Infographic] Body Language, including the 6 Universal Emotional Signals

 

Nick Morgan, founder of Public Words, and one of the worlds top communications coaches, put together the Body Language infographic.  It answers questions such as:

  • How many seconds does it take for us to judge another person?
  • What are the 6 universal emotional signals?
  • How to disagree without making an enemy?
  • How to deal with an angry colleague?
  • How to ask your boss for a raise?

The Body Language Infographic

Check out Nick Morgan’s body language infographic below:

Reposted from http://publicwords.com/the-body-language-infographic/

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