How to Tell Stories. Intermission.

One time, in a college writing class, we had to write a story in 5oo words. I wrote with the voice of a young woman accused of witchcraft by one of the priests in the Spanish Inquisition. The interesting thing was when it came time to read our writing. Most of the people in the class read without inflection, with no emotion. Letting the words stand on their own. The usual dry comments followed their reading. Comments on technique. Focus. Word choice. Then I read mine. I read it as the young woman, filled with the pain & scorn of her words. I still remember the silence when I finished. Finally, one woman said, in a small voice. Well, the writing wouldn’t have been half as good if you hadn’t read so well.

Well, duh. IF I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD STORY, WHY WOULDN'T I READ IT WELL?

The sad thing is that this happens more often than we’d like in science & technology & education & business. I know, I have this life altering science. Or this amazing technology. Or this great way to teach kids. But I’m just going to give you bunches & bunches of data to prove I’m really smart & you know, shuffle back & forth & hope you get it.

Here’s a good thing to write on a piece of paper & put up where you can see it every day: People are not stupid. They just don’t know the same things as you do. It’s not their job to know the things you know. That’s your job. Your other job? It’s to explain why the stuff you know matters. For that, you’re going to need a story.

As you might have noticed, the stuff I've given you up to now is mainly about specific techniques (even if you have to put a little bit of heart in them to get them rolling.) Here’s the truth. You can have all the rules about technique you want & you won’t be able to tell a story. It’s kind of like making love. Having a rulebook of techniques doesn’t make you a good lover. No, being a good lover starts with a passion for the other person. A passion for discovering it together. You start from there & all the rest is practice…

The funny thing is that you already tell stories all the time. Except you call them theories. Or business models. Or lesson plans. On second thought, you’re probably right not to call them stories, because they’re not very interesting as stories. You’ve been trying to convince us with the science, or the technology, or the model. Listen to me: JUST STOP IT.

First, you have to convince us that it’s worth being convinced about.

Because, really, all the best theories & visions & plans are sweeping & dramatic & have implications that ripple far out into the future. They’re sexy & compelling & thrilling. They open up whole new worlds. So why not act that way when you tell us about it? Why not make it sexy & compelling & thrilling? Hmmm?....

with love, Brian

Comments

[Teresa]

thank you for this.
My only concern as a young person about to enter into her first ever college writing class in January is having to read my work out loud. I'm not afraid of public speaking, I'm afraid of exposing my work while having to make eye contact at the same time. y-i-k-e-s.

-teresa