HOW TO BEGIN A STORY

This is one of the most important episodes in the series on How To Tell A Story.

It’s important for two reasons. One, your opening is your hook; it must create immediate engagement with your audience. Two, it sets the tone and the expectation for everything that follows in your story.

The word, story, defines all of your intentional communication. It can be a presentation to a large audience, a one-on-one conversation, either personal or business, a YouTube video, an email. A story is absolutely anything that uses words to impact and influence another human being.

You will learn about two provocative hooks, real examples from two compelling presentations that I experienced.

Plus, you’ll discover these powerful techniques for how to begin a story:

• Make a bold statement
• Open with a shocking statistic
• Begin with a prop
• Start with anything that arouses strong curiosity

Finally, you will hear the opening of a short story called “Mrs. Kelly’s MOnster,” by Jon Franklin, a Nobel Prize winning journalist.

You will be able to improve and transform your everyday communication immediately after listening to this podcast.

A HIGHLY RECOMMENDED BOOK

 Writing for Story: Craft Secrets of Dramatic Nonfiction by Jon Franklin