How To Become A Master Storyteller

0:00today we're talking about storytelling

0:01if you want your content to perform

0:03better you need to learn how to tell

0:04better stories so in this video I'm

0:06going to walk through my six favorite

0:08storytelling techniques that will

0:10massively improve your content after

0:12watching this I guarantee you will think

0:14differently about the way you write

0:15scripts and make videos by the way I'm

0:17Callaway I've pulled over a billion

0:19views on short form video I've got

0:20500,000 followers and I think about this

0:22stuff all the time all right let's dive

0:24in tip number one is what I call the

0:25dance all great stories are like a dance

0:28between context and conflict you give a

0:31little context the characters on a

0:32mission they're doing something and then

0:34oh oh no here comes a conflict you give

0:36a little bit more context the characters

0:37have solved that first conflict they're

0:39on their way and then oh oh no another

0:41conflict this dance is how you keep the

0:43viewer locked in it could be a feature

0:45film or a short form video the dance is

0:47always there now why does this work

0:49conflicts create open Loops in the brain

0:52and then context helps close those Loops

0:54the best explanation I've ever seen for

0:56how to tactically implement this dance

0:58idea is from Matt Stone and Trey Parker

1:00they're the ones who created South Park

1:02they were giving a talk at NYU watch

1:03this we found out this really simple

1:05rule that maybe you guys have all heard

1:07before but it took us a long time to

1:09learn it but we can take these beats

1:12which are basically the Beats of your

1:13outline and if the words and then belong

1:18between those beats you're basically you

1:21got you got something pretty boring what

1:23should happen between every beat that

1:25you've written down is either the word

1:27therefore or but right so so what I'm

1:31saying is that you come up with an idea

1:32and it's like okay this happens right

1:35and then this happens no no no it should

1:37be this happens and therefore this

1:40happens but this happens therefore this

1:43happens and that as soon as we are able

1:45to and literally sometimes we'll we'll

1:47write it out to make sure we're doing it

1:49U we'll we'll have our beats and we'll

1:51say okay this happened but then this

1:53happens and that affects this and that

1:55does to that and that's why you get a

1:57show that feels like okay this to that

1:58to this to that but this here's the

2:00complication to that so tactically it's

2:03as simple as using the words but and

2:05therefore consistently throughout your

2:07script that will create those open

2:09conflict Loops if you're using the words

2:11and then it'll feel like you're piling

2:13on detail after detail after detail and

2:15the viewer will lose interest now let's

2:17quickly take a look at one of my best

2:18performing videos you'll notice there

2:19are four but then conflict Loops in the

2:23first 30 seconds watch this something

2:25crazy is happening with Stanley Cups you

2:27ever seen one of these Stanley Cups

2:29Stanley Cups Stanley Cup racking up 6.7

2:31billion views this 40 o Stanley quencher

2:33has become the Louis Vuitton of drink

2:35wear it's a status symbol new releases

2:37are selling out in seconds people are

2:39flipping them for hundreds on eBay

2:41Stanley the company 10x its Revenue in 4

2:44years off this single product but the

2:46real question is how' they do it how did

2:48Stanley Cups go from a construction

2:49worker's thermos to the dream Christmas

2:51gift I got a

2:53Stanley it's a wild story so in 2019

2:56Stanley was actually about to

2:57discontinue the cup but this group of

2:59mom block loggers the buy guide knew

3:01they were making a huge mistake so they

3:03cut a special affiliate deal with

3:04Stanley to bulk order 5,000 cups with a

3:07Twist Stanley had to make them pastel

3:09colors those 5,000 cups sold out in 5

3:12days and completely Chang their

3:13philosophy on design but it gets even

3:15better a few months ago Stanley had the

3:17burning car moment so I'm consistently

3:19setting up these head fakes to keep the

3:20storyline moving use this but then

3:22framework next time you're Ting a script

3:23I guarantee it'll uplevel that video all

3:25right tip number two is rhythm I talk

3:27about this a lot but there's this

3:28natural subconscious pacing and Rhythm

3:31that is soothing to the brain you can

3:33hear in my delivery I'm pretty decent

3:34with this like natural EB and flow the

3:37rhythm of the syllables when I talk is

3:39soothing to listen to now I used to be a

3:41rapper and I was a drummer Growing Up So

3:43this pacing and rhythm is kind of

3:44embedded in me which I think is why I'm

3:47naturally good at talking in this way

3:49but I do have this tactical way that can

3:51improve anyone else at Rhythm take a

3:53look at this image which was written by

3:54the legendary author Gary Provost now

3:57listen as I read this this sentence has

3:59five words here are five more words

4:01five-word sentences are fine but several

4:03together become monotonous listen to

4:04what is happening this writing is

4:06getting boring the sound of it drones

4:08it's like a stuck record the ear demands

4:10some variety now listen I vary the

4:12sentence length and I create music music

4:15the writing sings it has a pleasant

4:17Rhythm a lilt a Harmony I use short

4:19sentences and I use sentences of medium

4:21length and sometimes when I'm certain

4:23the reader is rested I will engage him

4:25with a sentence of considerable length a

4:26sentence that burns with energy and

4:28builds with all the impotence of a

4:30crescendo the roll of the drums the

4:31crash of the symbols sounds that say

4:33listen to this it is important so write

4:35with a combination of short medium and

4:37long sentences create a sound that

4:39pleases the reader's ear don't just

4:41write words write music you see how when

4:44all the sentences in the same row are

4:45about the same length it creates this

4:47monotonous predictability subconsciously

4:49people get turned off by this this is

4:51what makes them churn to the next video

4:53what you want is to use a variety of

4:55sentences and syllable combinations to

4:57create this unpredictable Rhythm now if

4:59you look at my script document I write

5:01every sentence on a separate line if you

5:03look straight down it'll look like a

5:05jagged edge and that confirms that I'm

5:07using different length sentences next

5:09time you're writing a script try to look

5:10for this if you see your document and

5:12all the sentences seem to end at around

5:14the same point you don't have enough

5:15diversity and it will feel like this

5:17monotonous plotting all right lesson

5:19three is tone the most successful

5:21creators in every discipline are the

5:22ones with the most conversational Tone

5:24It really feels like you're right in the

5:26room with them Emma Chamberlain ascended

5:27to stardom so quickly because she was

5:29naturally amazing at this Casey iats

5:32another one that's really good at this

5:34when you watch his videos and you listen

5:35to him talk it feels like he's right in

5:37the room with you now the person I

5:38learned from most about this was Steve

5:40Jobs if you watch his original keynote

5:42from the first iPhone launch in 2008 he

5:44is amazing at creating this

5:46conversational room like you and him are

5:48just golf buddies shooting the now

5:50this is very intentional and took years

5:52of practice for him to hone in he's also

5:54very gifted at it by doing this Emma

5:56Casey Steve and others are able to break

5:58down that conscious barrier of personal

6:01identity when you watch instead of you

6:03questioning to yourself am I getting

6:05sold to you get out of your own mind and

6:07just feel like you're in a conversation

6:09like you would have to answer a question

6:10that they ask you directly in a way you

6:12forget where you are and that's the

6:14magic of this now I'm still working on

6:15this myself I've only been making

6:17content for like 18 months but if you go

6:18back to my first 50 videos it really

6:20does feel like I'm talking at you

6:22instead of with you the best tactical

6:24way to get better than this other than

6:26just 100 reps is to write and film your

6:29videos as if you're talking to one close

6:31friend if you have to just print out a

6:33picture of them and tape it on the

6:34bottom of your camera lens so you're

6:36literally looking at them as you record

6:38and when you write your scripts make it

6:39so like you're typing a text or

6:41recording an audio note directly to them

6:43over time you'll get better at this

6:45conversational nature but it will feel

6:46like you're having a one-on-one

6:47conversation that's how you break down

6:49this barrier tone is one of those things

6:50that inevitably you will get better over

6:52time the more you film The more you

6:53forget that the camera is just a camera

6:55all right tip number four is Direction

6:58this may seem counterintuitive but the

6:59best place to start when you're writing

7:00a story is the end figure out what the

7:02end is going to be and then work

7:04backwards from there I like to call the

7:06last line of my script the last dab

7:08because I want it to be so memorable

7:09that if that's all someone heard they'd

7:12be willing to share it with a friend in

7:13short form video especially the video is

7:15designed to Loop so the last line is

7:17actually a setup for the first lines as

7:19it replays I think of this a lot like

7:21baseball the nine hitter is supposed to

7:23set the table for the top of the order

7:25it's the exact same thing with the last

7:27line or two of your video when you're

7:28thinking about how to write the script

7:29script focus on where you want to take

7:31the viewer what do you want to leave

7:32them with what do you want the last

7:33thing they hear to be then you can work

7:35backwards from there and build up that

7:37dance in the middle when I think about

7:38someone that does this super well it's

7:39Christopher Nolan think about his films

7:41tenant Inception Interstellar these are

7:43extremely complicated plot lines that

7:46inevitably he had to work out the end

7:48before he could build up the conflict in

7:50the middle now you're probably not

7:51shooting feature films but this same

7:52logic can be applied to all types of

7:54content usually when I'm writing scripts

7:56I'll write the first and last line I'll

7:58go in between create a bunch of space

8:00and then I'll fill it in that's a good

8:01tactical way to try to get better at

8:02this all right tip number five is a

8:04concept that I call story lenses and

8:06it's a way to get better at producing

8:08unique content for social media in

8:10today's day and age finding a cool topic

8:12is not enough unless you're super niched

8:14down there's likely dozens of other

8:15people that are talking about that same

8:17topic so how do you differentiate a

8:18story lens is your unique angle or spin

8:21on a particular story imagine a beam of

8:23light the beam of light's coming across

8:25the screen the naked beam everyone looks

8:26at and sees the same thing it's like

8:28this white beam of light but as as soon

8:29as you put a lens or a prism in front of

8:32the light what people see will look

8:33differently than the main beam think of

8:35that prism or that lens as your story

8:38lens it's your unique fingerprint and

8:40how you uniquely tell the story about

8:42that topic let's take an example when

8:44Taylor Swift went to the Super Bowl the

8:46most common lenses would have been to

8:47talk about what she's wearing or when

8:49she's getting there or what her facial

8:51reaction is to something a lot of people

8:53covered those exact same stories a less

8:55common lens would be to talk about a

8:56prediction for what you think might

8:58happen less people would have have that

8:59but an even less common lens would be to

9:01talk about the business impact that she

9:03was driving on the NFL for being at the

9:05game and that's the lens that I chose to

9:07take because I thought I could be a

9:08category of one that's why I ultimately

9:10made this video and it pulled a million

9:12views it was different my story lens was

9:14something unique that people hadn't seen

9:15before all right the last tip number six

9:17is the hook now I left this for last

9:19because everybody always talks about the

9:21hook first and it makes sense it is very

9:23important if people churn on the hook

9:24the rest of what I talked about doesn't

9:25really matter so I've got two ways to

9:27level up your hooks the first is that

9:28your first line should be as Punchy and

9:31as indicative of the plot as possible if

9:33the video is about your best Garden

9:35techniques the hook should be some

9:36derivative of these are the best Garden

9:38techniques for x or I've got these

9:40Garden techniques or this thing is a

9:42garden technique that you should study

9:43you shouldn't start your hook with some

9:45open opaque line like wait till you see

9:47this or you're never going to believe

9:48this because if the first line doesn't

9:49immediately grab the viewer in short

9:51form video You're Dead the second point

9:53on hooks that's extremely powerful and

9:55something I overlooked for a long time

9:56is that visual hooks are 10 times more

9:59more effective than Audio Only hooks

10:01what does this mean when you're on the

10:02screen and you're saying something but

10:04the only thing the viewer can see is

10:05your mouth moving and maybe the captions

10:07dancing that's going to be way less

10:09effective than if you put a visual on

10:11the screen for them to look and react to

10:13because people's eyes perceive faster

10:15than their ears can hear so you want to

10:17complement what you're saying with a

10:19visual on the screen this is a visual

10:20hook somebody that's really good at this

10:22is my friend Kevin from epic gardening

10:24if you watch his videos he immediately

10:26shows a visual that confirms what what

10:29he's talking about like this one about

10:30strawberries before I hear anything he

10:32says I see a strawberry on the screen

10:34it's Vivid red immediately I know this

10:36video is going to be about strawberries

10:37if I like strawberries I'm going to

10:38stick around to see what he's saying now

10:40I've started testing this and I've

10:41noticed the visual hook aspect has been

10:43super helpful at retaining viewers so in

10:46summary when you're thinking about your

10:47hook get to the point and show while you

10:49tell all right that's it for this one if

10:50you like this video and got value from

10:52it I host a free community for people

10:53that are trying to level up their

10:55content creators entrepreneurs marketers

10:57it's called Wavey world I've got all

10:58types of vide like this how to pick

11:00content topics editing tips how to

11:02create formats and series if you need

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11:07in there it's completely free in the

11:08meantime keep me posted on what you

11:10thought of this video and we'll see you

11:11guys on the next one peace