Storytelling 101

According to Ira Glass, there are TWO BASIC BUILDING BLOCKS of any story.

1. The anecdote: A story in its purest form is sequential. No matter how boring the pattern of facts, how you tell the story makes the difference. Bait your audience. Create suspense; constantly raise questions and answer them.

2. Have a moment of reflection: Show your audience why they needed to pay attention.

Usually people get into careers because they are passionate about something.

At first, your work may not be good enough. Everybody who does creative work went through a phase when they failed to translate the stories in their head. But if you are not failing, you are not creating a situation to get lucky, be successful.

It is normal to take a while to perfect your work. You will realize it takes more time to find a story than it takes to produce it. Additionally, only 1/2 to 1/3 of your story ideas will become a story that is worth telling.

Just don't create mediocre work. Sometimes you will have to abandon a story because it turned out to be different from your initial perception.

These TWO PIECES OF ADVICE will help beginners.

1. Be yourself. Don't try to sound like professionals in your field. If you have a good personality and are interesting, your audience will pay attention.

2. People want to see you interacting with other people. Don't talk about yourself more than the subjects of your story. Balance your work with information about yourself and the interviewee. It gives your stories character and drama.