To be able to create a good speech or book, you may study ways and techniques to influence people's minds through rhetoric for long or to learn the art of storytelling once. The storytelling skill is what people have been learning throughout thousands of years, but it became a separate niche only in recent times. Storytelling is a skill useful for anyone influencing people with spoken or written words. If you are a student, an essay writer, a speech creator, a book author, etc., these 10 storytelling tips are certainly for you. Professional recommendations will help you make your story bright, lively, and remarkable. Now read the article, and then start telling your stories with new knowledge.
1. Action is Fine in Storytelling
Understand your readers. They have seen dozens of headings, titles and read through masses of texts daily. Additionally, there is a need to like, comment, subscribe, drink some coffee during the break, etc. Don’t overload them with long intros. Give them action from the very first words. You will tell about a place, a context and a hero after. Storytelling is all about making the reader fall in love with your text right away, as there are too many competitors.
2. Storytelling is about Details
Simplicity and action development are crucial to hook the readers’ attention. But to keep them in tension, you should create a real and bright story possible to believe in it. To reach the goal, try adding some details in your storytelling piece. For instance, give a hero some unusual appearance feature to make him or her remarkable and special. Or you can add some details about the place. Give readers a feeling of smell, sound, shape: they should feel your story. Still, don’t overuse this in storytelling. Details are like species to the story, so use them carefully.
3. Storytelling Through a Person
A story should cause emotions, use your characters for that. There should be people in your storytelling text, even if you tell about things. Nothing prevents you from humanizing them, giving them personalities and characters. Show how they passed through their way, how they changed themselves or the others. And how they got what they deserved finally: a reward or punishment.
4. Storytelling Heroes Have Disadvantages
Times when idealized heroes could conquer hearts and brains faded away. Nowadays, people are interested in people having their good and bad features, just like anyone else. If your storytelling is about a product, don’t be afraid to give its disadvantages on top. Such a move will only increase the trust of your audience and make your story truthful.
5. There Should Be a Conflict
Conflict is an engine of a story. It clashes two or more elements between themselves and creates something new as a result. It kicks the hero out of balance and makes a story interesting to watch. Readers (or listeners) want to know who will win. "A cat was sleeping on a carpet" – is not a story. While "A cat was sleeping on a dog's carpet" is what you need. Conflict is not obligatory to have two heroes fighting. In storytelling, a conflict can be connected to internal struggling and doubt, or to the outer world. A fight of a human against nature is a classic example.
6. Visualize Your Story
Vision is the most important channel for humans to perceive information. In the storytelling context, it is a powerful weapon to gain their attention. Correctly chosen visuals create a certain mood, interest, give expectations, and make texts colored and bright. Do you remember how cool books with pictures were when you were a child? They seemed much more interesting than those “adult” books, didn’t they? With time, you learned how to perceive plain texts. But your mind still likes pictures. And your readers like them, too.
7. Storytelling Likes Natural Language
If your hero uses slang in communication, don't sweep his or her speech. It should sound natural, just like people speak usually. But still, it is not recommended to go too far and use specific definitions. What can confuse will confuse. Write simply, without clichés and complex constructions. Try reading the storytelling text aloud while preparing it, and rewrite pieces which seem to be unnatural.
8. Show, Don’t Tell
Professional writers know that stories should be written (or told) with images, not facts. When describing the process of bacon frying, don’t speak about the pan on a cooker with bacon frying in it. Describe how the melting grease sizzles and how it smells. Make the reader’s imagination work, and you’ll bind them to your story.
9. Give Hints
It is a simple way to hook readers and make them read the story until the very end. Stimulate their curiosity by showing them a part of future events. Even rough hints work, like: “He never suspected how far this decision would lead him," "But things were a lot more interesting," etc. Sometimes, it is fine to use a mild spoiler and tell readers about a future (un)happy end of your storytelling text. The reader will still be interested in what happened. But you should make sure that the final of the story won’t disappoint them. Give hints in the middle part of the text or speech, after readers dived into it.
10. Don’t Tell the Moral of Your Story
A story good for storytelling always has a certain point, sense, and idea. It should tell something to the audience and make them want to act. In a great story, an author reveals the idea directly. In a perfect storytelling piece, readers or listeners make the right conclusion on their own. In case they concluded things themselves, they are more likely to agree with it and commit appropriate actions. You shouldn't become a mentor. Just tell your story, and let the readers choose.
To Conclude
A good story involves readers with very first words and offers them a trustful reality. Storytelling is about a person changing during the process of struggle. Readers feel empathy about the hero as they see themselves in him or her. Storytelling uses images, not facts, and includes visual elements looking naturally. The usage of a storytelling technique makes the audience curious but does not tell about the idea directly. The reader is who should make conclusions and take actions.
Have good luck, and use storytelling tips to make your stories remarkable!