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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-07-2017, 02:18 PM
I am trying to get better at my story telling and was curious what things y'all do to tell great stories? For example, what tips would you give and what books, videos or comedy routines do you follow or mirror?
This is for various contexts not just talking to women, but could also be your friends and family or even your employees or just people in general. Right now, I am usually able to build some interest and get the occassional laugh and get to the point where I get buy in and they are excited to hear the big finish but I have trouble finishing the story. Either I don't really know what a good finish should sound like or or am unable to deliver the big laugh I would like to get. So aside from just general advice, how do y'all effectively finish your stories. What works for you and what mistakes do you now avoid? Also, how do you handle this situation where you are telling a story in a foreign language but you make a few grammar errors or forget a word and are corrected? How do you keep the momentum?
Finally, how do you handle questions when asked about your story? How do you address them while effectively keeping the momentum? Obviously, you like the interest but you don't want it to derail the story either.
And a final question with regard to flow and your storytelling. When you tell your great story and you get that high energy and response from others, are you then looking to end things right there or how do you handle the flow? For example, do you make an effort to go back to it in future conversations like comedians will do in their act with earlier successful jokes they told earlier in their act? in other words, do you use it to build up energy again in future conversations, meetings, dates, etc. or what is your process?
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-07-2017, 02:20 PM
Live a life worth telling a story about.
Make the boring, exciting.
Make the exciting, mysterious.
Get an IMDB credit. Have a strong Instagram page.
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-07-2017, 02:23 PM
Best to offer an example of a well told story and one of my favorites...the George Brett Story
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-07-2017, 03:32 PM
Man, good story telling is an art. I suck at it. I have my moments here and there and I have a handful of go-to's that kind of tell themselves simply because the content of the story is great so I don't need to worry about gripping the listener so much, but that's a trait I really wish I could adopt. Being able to captivate people with a story that isn't even particularly too interesting but they way you tell it is great and keep people intrigued.
I would say watch a lot of stand up comedy as some of those guys literally make a living off of telling stories and entertaining people while doing it.
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-08-2017, 08:47 AM
To OP:
1. Setup
2. Tension
3. Payoff
Think of a story as several little cycles of 1-3 above, but on a macro level it is also one big cycle (with the micro cycles ramping up in intensity).
For shorter stories or jokes, you just need one cycle.
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-08-2017, 09:11 AM
Quote: (08-07-2017 02:20 PM)crdr Wrote:
Live a life worth telling a story about.
Make the boring, exciting.
Make the exciting, mysterious.
Get an IMDB credit. Have a strong Instagram page.
I dunno man. I know a guy who is a real try hard with his stories. He tries to make the boring, exciting. And it's like, wow, thats really boring but you're acting like I'm supposed to be impressed.
He's an ugly guy and so really tries to compensate for it but pretending everything he says is exciting. He's even adopted a Radio Voice, where he talks like the guys from any high energy morning radio program.
It's way over the top.
I'd say the best advice is your first line "Live a life worth telling a story about"
You can't go wrong with that
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
08-08-2017, 09:23 AM
Quote: (08-08-2017 09:11 AM)Beijong Wrote:
Quote: (08-07-2017 02:20 PM)crdr Wrote:
Live a life worth telling a story about.
Make the boring, exciting.
Make the exciting, mysterious.
Get an IMDB credit. Have a strong Instagram page.
I dunno man. I know a guy who is a real try hard with his stories. He tries to make the boring, exciting. And it's like, wow, thats really boring but you're acting like I'm supposed to be impressed.
He's an ugly guy and so really tries to compensate for it but pretending everything he says is exciting. He's even adopted a Radio Voice, where he talks like the guys from any high energy morning radio program.
It's way over the top.
I'd say the best advice is your first line "Live a life worth telling a story about"
You can't go wrong with that
1. You cannot tell a story if you try too hard.
2. Those were sequential steps each step evolves into the next step.
When you live a life worth telling. You will be able to make the boring exciting and conceal the exciting to make it mysterious.
Because stories will just become apart of you. If I can make working as a Grocery Clerk exciting. You can make whatever you do exciting.
Note, it's very tough to make the exciting, more exciting. Working Wall Street for instance. The more you talk, the more you sound like you're bragging.
3. Stories must create and RELATE status or they aren't really stories. It must make you look good without bragging or showing off.
4. Seinfeld made the boring, exciting. By relating to their audience's boring daily life.
5. The Sopranos made the exciting, mysterious. See the last episode. I rest my case.
P.S. - Telling stories to women are completely different than telling "Shitting Yourself" stories to the boys.
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
09-13-2017, 06:48 PM
"Save The Cat" is a book on script writing that shows how the best storytellers in the world (Hollywood writers) do it.
Also take a look at "The Hero's Journey" by Joseph Campbell - I believe that's where George Lucas got the idea for Star Wars from.
Make a list of funny, scary, weird, interesting, events from your life. Then write out the story. Practice them when you meet new people or talk to girls. Like a stand up comedian, take note of where you hooked your listener and where you lost them. Keep refining your stories.
Practice.
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
09-13-2017, 07:14 PM
I've been in sales and negotiations for quite a few years. I can tell you that to tell a good story, people will be more likely to believe it if you put some passion behind your voice. If you sound bored, even a great story will sound boring. Look people right in the eye and tell the story WITH INTENTION. Avoid overly used adjectives like "good" and say "outstanding" instead, etc. Embellish a little bit without telling an outright lie. When you make things seem a little bit larger than life, then people lean in closer. Use your hands. Draw out the landscape if you're talking about a mountain. Beckon "come here" with a finger if you're talking about someone approaching another person in your story, etc. Let your hands, body language and eyes be in a flow of what story you're telling. Live in that moment by not trying to memorize word-for-word what you're saying, but rather living THE FEELING of the story. Lastly, PAUSE between "chapters" in your story. Don't keep blurting out things non-stop. Pause. Continue. Pause. Continue. Long pause. Continue. Let your works sink in, and people will have greater impression that what you say is worth listening to. When you're all done telling your story, lean back in your chair, spread your arms wide and SAY NOTHING. Let others have an opportunity to enjoy the ending, and ask you questions, as they most likely will.
This technique is very powerful in a social circle, on a date or trying to sell someone anything. Tell great stories, and you'll win followers.
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How Do You Tell Good Stories?
09-15-2017, 07:05 AM
Telling captivating stories isn't difficult nor very hard to learn.
Roosh wrote in I think Bang that he learned how to tell stories by retelling jokes from Seinfeld. I'd also recommend reading more fiction. You're looking for words and how to use them to extract an emotional tone or flavor. How something makes you feel can generally be used as a gauge for how others will feel.
Practice on close friends and family.
Be honest and don't try to make lame stories sound exciting. Sometimes telling mundane wtf type stories in a normal tone of voice is all you need to keep the pace of a conversation.