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25 Storytelling Secrets I Wish I Knew In My 20s — Transcript

by Philipp Humm · 2,953 words · 429 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00by now I've spent
0:02$27,000 on storytelling courses and I
0:05learned 25 lessons that made really the
0:08entire investment worth it today I'm
0:10going to share all of them lesson number
0:13one imagine you watching this nature
0:15documentary and the scene starts with
0:17this camera shot all the way from the
0:20helicopter like you see the forest below
0:22you see the ocean stretching it's
0:25beautiful but after a while you're like
0:27dude like give me some action want to
0:30see the line approaching as prey your
0:32stories they're no different yes you can
0:35start with that overview with that
0:37helicopter shot but then you want to
0:39zoom in lesson number one zoom into the
0:43moment don't just say I faced a
0:45difficult challenge well that's boring
0:47the better way is to zoom into the
0:49moment so you describe the manager
0:51pacing around the room maybe the intern
0:54spilling coffee or maybe that handshake
0:57that turns everything around give your
0:59audience something to see hear and feel
1:03lesson number two next is a technique
1:05that requires I would say minimal change
1:08but has just a huge pay off instead of
1:11saying I wanted to run a marathon that's
1:14pretty boring right say the marathon was
1:17in 7 days and I'd never run more than 10
1:21km in my life lesson number two add a
1:25ticking clock now time pressure makes
1:27everything feel much more intense when
1:29you you tell your audience that there's
1:31way too little time to complete this
1:33massive task they'll feel the tension
1:35and they'll be much more engaged lesson
1:38number three don't start your story like
1:40this uh let me tell you a story okay
1:44don't do that no don't say the SW word
1:47the SW word is story some people hear
1:50the word story and it triggers this
1:52negative expectation they think like
1:54here we go again have do we have time
1:56for this 15minute fairy tale instead of
1:59saying the word story say experience
2:02event example or case let me give you an
2:05example two weeks ago I had a very
2:07interesting experience and then you
2:10launch into your story lesson number
2:12four the best stories are emotional and
2:15the easiest way to make your story more
2:17emotional is to share what you were
2:19thinking in that moment now you have
2:22thousands and thousands of thoughts
2:24every single day hopes dreams fears
2:28crazy thoughts now share some of those
2:30thoughts in that crucial moment of the
2:32story lesson number four think out loud
2:36so instead of saying I was worried about
2:38the presentation share the thoughts
2:41maybe those were like I
2:44thought how am I going to turn this
2:46around my manager already thinks that
2:48I'm useless when you share those
2:50thoughts give us the raw unfiltered
2:53thoughts not this super polish or super
2:55professional version when you share what
2:57was going on through your mind your
3:00story will instantly feel much deeper
3:03much more relatable lesson number five
3:06imagine you walked across this room in
3:08front of a bunch of people with an empty
3:11glass nothing special right but now
3:14imagine you do that same walk but this
3:17time with a full glass in your hand and
3:19then also someone tells you if you spill
3:23just one drop your entire family will
3:26die now you're like you walk across this
3:29room
3:30every single person in the room just
3:31watches every single step you take
3:34holding their breath that is lesson
3:37number five Raise the stakes tell your
3:40audience what's on the line what happens
3:42if you win what happens if you lose what
3:44will be the impact on your life but also
3:46on the life of your loved ones raise the
3:49stakes lesson number six way too many
3:52storytellers share those unnecessary
3:55details they're like um I was 16 years
3:58old I had braces
4:00I
4:01had messy hair and I was wearing this
4:04band shirt like cool who cares that's
4:07not memorable the better way is to
4:10reveal some personality Quirk something
4:13that is a little bit unique about you as
4:15a character lesson number six show
4:18personality quirks you can say for
4:20example I was the type of person who
4:22made a pros and cons list even before
4:25choosing breakfast quirks like that they
4:28bring your a character to life and they
4:31help your audience see you in this more
4:33unique more memorable way lesson number
4:36seven stories aren't just about
4:38impressing people but they're about
4:40connecting with your audience the
4:42easiest way to build trust is to share
4:44something that you struggled with
4:47vulnerability builds trust so instead of
4:50pretending to have it all together share
4:52maybe the messy the not so good part the
4:55imperfections vulnerability shows that
4:58you're human and that's at the end what
5:00makes people trust you lesson number
5:02eight I've seen it so many times a
5:06story average at best but then suddenly
5:09turning into this incredible story just
5:12because of one thing a big surprise
5:16something totally unexpected a Twist
5:18that no one saw coming lesson number
5:20eight surprise your audience now that
5:23surprise can be anything unexpected an
5:26unexpected event a weird reaction or
5:28maybe even unusual decision anything
5:31that your listeners didn't see coming
5:33lesson number nine this is the technique
5:36that I use the most in my stories now
5:39imagine if I shared a story like that um
5:42well in that moment my boss informed me
5:45that he wasn't impressed with my
5:46presentation and that I should prepare
5:50more that's super boring right now the
5:53better way is to share the exact words
5:56of that moment to bring the story to
5:59life lesson number nine share the
6:02dialogue back to that same example in
6:04that moment my boss walked up to me and
6:06said Phillip what the hell was that you
6:10were all over the place did you even
6:12look at the slides
6:14before now we're talking now it's much
6:17juicier right lesson number 10 this is
6:21something that took a while for me to
6:23learn but something that has had a
6:25massive impact on my storytelling skills
6:28before I used to think that I would have
6:31to tell this full story anytime like
6:33with a start with a middle and an end
6:36now when you starting off that full
6:39story can feel incredibly awkward like
6:43so overwhelming but now years later I
6:45realized that you actually don't need to
6:47tell the full story you can just tell
6:50Snippets of that lesson number 10 tell
6:53micro stories so instead of sharing the
6:55full story share maybe a single pivotal
6:59moment from that story maybe it's this
7:01moment of realization maybe it's this
7:04one conversation that stood out or maybe
7:06this one meaningful thing that touched
7:09your heart example right then he looked
7:12me in the eye and said you have no idea
7:14what this means to
7:17me those micro stories will feel much
7:20more authentic and they'll help you get
7:22much more comfortable using stories in
7:24your day to-day lesson number 11 stories
7:28often don't land because the story
7:29always feel too polished too rehearsed
7:32not as if the Storyteller was really
7:34connecting to the story now to fix that
7:37visualize the scene unfolding in front
7:40of your eyes as you speak lesson number
7:4211 relive the moment when you tell that
7:45story imagine you're back in that moment
7:48and then just describe it as if it was
7:51unfolding in front of your eyes so where
7:53are you what are you seeing what are you
7:56thinking what are you hearing when you
7:58describe what you see and feel in real
8:01time the story will feel more emotional
8:04more Vivid and much more engaging lesson
8:07number 12 this is actually something
8:09that I still struggle with today often
8:12when I tell a story I move into this
8:14performance mode I'm like it was October
8:182022 I was in my apartment in Amsterdam
8:22sometimes when I share a story my voice
8:23changes and suddenly I sound more like
8:25this motivational speaker or this fairy
8:28tale uncle lesson number 12 drop the
8:31storytelling voice now tell your story
8:34in the same way you shared with a close
8:36friend a family member or even your
8:38therapist tell your story as
8:40conversational as possible lesson number
8:4313 you've probably heard by now
8:45thousands and thousands of stories but
8:48pray you forgot 99% of them now why is
8:51that because they were missing one
8:53crucial element that sound like I was
8:56that type of person before I did this
8:57crazy stuff and I was the same person
9:00after her no they don't have any element
9:04of change lesson number 13 show the
9:07change show us who you were before what
9:10you did but how it changed you what was
9:13the transformation if for example you
9:15were completely out of shape now you're
9:17running a marathon if you were terrified
9:19of public speaking now you love being on
9:22stage show the transformation lesson
9:25number 14 have you ever watched a movie
9:28where everything just went
9:31perfectly of course not it would be a
9:34movie yet this is somehow how we often
9:37tell our stories we're like well we
9:40launched the product and everything went
9:42perfectly lesson number 14 conflict is
9:46King bring in some sort of conflict a
9:48difficult decision an emotional
9:50challenge a physical challenge any type
9:52of conflict even if your conflict is
9:55maybe opening that stubborn bottle of
9:58ketchup bring
9:59some sort of conflict without conflict
10:03it's not a story lesson number 15 every
10:06great story has this one single moment
10:09where everything shifts it's maybe this
10:12decision realization or any sort of
10:15breakthrough a 5c moment that changes
10:19everything lesson number 15 find the
10:22turning point for example this can be
10:24maybe the second that you decided to
10:27leave your toxic job or maybe that
10:29moment when your partner said let's do
10:32this every great story should have this
10:345c moment that changes everything that's
10:38really that's the heartbeat of your
10:39story that's where everything else
10:42builds up to just to that final moment
10:45lesson number 16 people are usually
10:49pretty rigid when it comes to their
10:50stories they're like I timed it and it
10:53takes exactly 2 minutes 35 seconds I
10:56need that time to tell the full story
10:59but hey this is not how life works
11:02sometimes you have 30 seconds sometimes
11:03you get five minutes to tell your story
11:05the best story tells know how to adjust
11:07their stories lesson number 16 scale
11:10your stories practice telling a
11:12three-minute version a 90-second version
11:15a 30-second version this helps you know
11:18what are the essentials what can you
11:19eliminate but most importantly it helps
11:22you to adapt the story to any setting or
11:25audience lesson number 17 one of the
11:28biggest mistakes people do when telling
11:30stories is to give too much context
11:33they're like it was a sunny Tuesday
11:37afternoon the birds were chirping and
11:40the air smelled a little bit like
11:43lavender dude seriously like no one
11:47cares unless those details are crucial
11:50later skip them lesson number 17 jump
11:53into action the better way is to make
11:55your character do something biking
11:58shouting talking
11:59any sort of action example it's October
12:032024 I'm standing in front of that
12:05conference room taking a deep breath
12:09when you share the action your audience
12:11can imagine the scene unfolding in front
12:14of their eyes lesson number 18 when I
12:16started on my storytelling journey I
12:19thought that great stories they have to
12:20be about these huge events like the
12:23near-death experience or this spiritual
12:25awakening but here's the problem those
12:28stories should they can be entertaining
12:30but they're not relatable lesson number
12:3218 focus on small relatable moments so
12:37instead of sharing about those gigantic
12:39life stories share those tiny stories
12:42maybe a story about you missing the Bus
12:45learning something small or just having
12:48this moment of
12:50realization those are the moments that
12:52build that connection lesson number 19
12:55the best storytellers they aren't
12:57necessarily the ones with the best
12:58stories but the best storytellers are
13:00the ones with the most stories now think
13:04about it if you have let's say only
13:06three stories well there won't be that
13:08many options where you can tell them
13:10imagine you had 30 50 or even a 100
13:14stories well then you will always have
13:16exactly the right story for the right
13:18moment so lesson number 19 start a story
13:22Bank a story bank is this central place
13:25where you safe and organize your stories
13:28so what I usually save even there is the
13:30the title The Lesson the summary and
13:32maybe the theme I'll actually include my
13:34template in the description below so
13:36that you don't have to start from
13:37scratch but by saving your stories
13:40you'll never run out of stories again in
13:43your life lesson number 20 there is one
13:46exercise that has helped me more than
13:48any other exercise to become a better
13:50Storyteller but also a better speaker
13:53now that is to improvise stories now
13:57what I do still almost on a daily basis
14:00I go online go on this random topic
14:03generator get a random topic and then
14:06start improvising that story I speak for
14:09like one to two minutes I try to use the
14:11structure that I know and I try to make
14:13it as interesting as visual as possible
14:16but when you're starting off don't
14:18overthink it just start improvising
14:21improvisation is this powerful tool that
14:24will help your mind to think much more
14:25quickly on the spot but also helps to
14:28become a much more confident Storyteller
14:31lesson number 21 if you say for example
14:35I was nervous well your audience they
14:38hear those words but they cannot see
14:41that emotion they cannot feel the
14:43emotion behind those words but if you
14:45say instead that moment my hands were
14:48shaking my throat just felt so dry and
14:52my heart was just pounding like a drum
14:54well when you share that then your
14:56audience can really see and feel the the
14:59emotion so lesson number 21 show don't
15:02tell describe what the emotion looks
15:04like how does your body how does your
15:07face change when going through that
15:08emotion the more your audience can see
15:11that the more they will connect to your
15:14story lesson number 22 by now you
15:17probably have hundreds and hundreds of
15:19untold stories stories that you just
15:23haven't noticed yet now the easiest way
15:25to find them is to look for the highs
15:28and the lows from a specific period in
15:30your life so pick a time like let's say
15:33the first year in your job or maybe the
15:36last year in your relationship and then
15:38ask yourself H what were the highs and
15:43the lows during that period now what
15:45were the moments that let's say I was
15:47particularly happy where was
15:48particularly excited or maybe sad or
15:51disappointed once you have that ask
15:54yourself what did I learn during that
15:56moment and then if you like that lesson
15:59while craft a short story around that
16:01lesson it's such an easy way to have
16:03this pool of stories lesson number 23
16:06now trying to memorize your story word
16:09for word can often make you feel a
16:11little bit stiff like a little bit fake
16:13the better way is to think of your story
16:15as a map right you know where you're
16:17starting off you know roughly where to
16:19stop along the way and you also know the
16:21Final Destination but the route how you
16:24get there well that one you're a little
16:26bit more flexible you can adapt as
16:28needed
16:29lesson number 23 memorize the start the
16:32scenes and the finish so memorize your
16:36first few lines then you memorize the
16:38key scenes or moments where the story
16:41takes place and then lastly memorize the
16:44last lines of your story that will keep
16:46your delivery Pretty Natural and
16:48actually helps you recover when you get
16:50lost at one point in your story lesson
16:52number 24 you've probably told a few
16:55stories before but maybe you actually
16:58have no clue how you're actually Landing
17:01how you're actually coming across while
17:03telling the story when I started for
17:05example telling my stories I often
17:07looked like this grumpy teenager who
17:09really hated life but back then I didn't
17:12know I only realized that once I
17:14actually saw a video of me speaking
17:16lesson number 24 record yourself yes I
17:20know recording yourself can be awkward
17:22at first but it helps you understand how
17:25you come across once you've watched
17:27yourself you will know what things
17:28things you can improve on lesson number
17:3125 after watching yourself speak it's
17:33tempting to fix everything right your
17:36gestures your pauses your fillow words
17:39everything when we try to focus on too
17:41many things you won't make any progress
17:44at all so lesson number 25 fix one thing
17:48at a time now focus on one area that you
17:51want to improve on now which area should
17:54you pick work on the one thing that
17:56distracts people the most from you your
17:59story for example if you use a few
18:01filler words throughout your story
18:03probably doesn't matter but if you use a
18:05filler word every single five seconds
18:08well it will probably become distracting
18:11so what I would say is focus on the
18:13thing that distracts the most that's it
18:16those are 25 lessons I learned from all
18:19those courses but hey I'm mindful that
18:22we moved quite fast today um but hey I
18:26also recorded another video that
18:27actually goes much more into the details
18:29of each one of those lessons so go ahead
18:32and check it out now
18:35[Music]

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