How to Tell Stories Like the Top 1% — Transcript

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1. 0:00Hey there. I analyzed 78 of the most
2. 0:02successful people on the planet to find
3. 0:05out how they tell stories. After
4. 0:07watching hundreds of the interviews, I
5. 0:09realized that they all use the same five
6. 0:12storytelling techniques to hook us. Once
7. 0:14you master those, you'll know how to
8. 0:16tell stories like the top 1%. First
9. 0:19technique, let's start with a short
10. 0:21story from one of the richest men on
11. 0:23this planet, Jeff Bzos. See if you can
12. 0:26spot what makes his story work. is the
13. 0:28in the first month I was packing boxes
14. 0:31on my hands and knees on the hard cement
15. 0:33floors and um with somebody else s
16. 0:36standing next to me kneeling next to me.
17. 0:38We're packing and and I said, "You know
18. 0:40what? We need knee pads. This is killing
19. 0:43my knees." And this guy packing
20. 0:45alongside me said, "We need packing
21. 0:48tables."
22. 0:49And I was like, "That's the most
23. 0:52brilliant idea I've ever heard." Did you
24. 0:54catch it? He didn't start with, "Oh
25. 0:56yeah, when I founded Amazon, blah blah
26. 0:58blah blah blah." He skipped the
27. 0:59backstory and he dropped us straight
28. 1:01into the moment on the floor, knees
29. 1:03hurting, boxes everywhere. That's what
30. 1:06great storytellers do. They start right
31. 1:08into the action. They don't tell you
32. 1:10what happened, all the backstory. They
33. 1:12show what's happening. So ask yourself,
34. 1:14what are you doing in that crucial
35. 1:16moment of the story? Are you typing,
36. 1:18packing boxes, walking, screaming,
37. 1:21closing your laptop? Those small actions
38. 1:23pull people into the moment and they
39. 1:25give you a story momentum. For example,
40. 1:27I'm staring at my laptop when this
41. 1:29notification pops up. Or I'm putting my
42. 1:32bags onto the security belt at the
43. 1:34airport. Quick visual details like these
44. 1:37tell your audience one thing. You're not
45. 1:39wasting their time. You're taking them
46. 1:41straight into the heart of the story.
47. 1:43But once great storytellers drop you
48. 1:45into the moment, they then move on to
49. 1:46the next technique. Second technique.
50. 1:49Let's check out this quick story from
51. 1:50Mark Cuban, who's an investor on Shark
52. 1:53Tank. See if you can spot what makes a
53. 1:55story so compelling.
54. 1:57>> Remember one day my dad was playing
55. 1:58poker. I was like, "Dad, I need a new
56. 2:00pair of Converse, right?" And he's like,
57. 2:01"I see those, you know, those shoes on
58. 2:03your feet. They still work, right?" And
59. 2:05I'm like, "Yeah." He's like, "Well, when
60. 2:07you have a job, you can buy whatever you
61. 2:08want, but until then, those shoes still
62. 2:10work." And um I'm like, "Dad, I can't
63. 2:12get a job. I'm 12 years old." And one of
64. 2:14his poker buddies speaks up and goes,
65. 2:15"Yeah, I got a job for you." I'm like,
66. 2:17"What?" He goes, "I've got these boxes
67. 2:18of garbage bags and you can go sell them
68. 2:20around the neighborhood." I would go to
69. 2:22our neighbors and I go, "Hi, I'm your
70. 2:25neighbor, Mark. Do you use garbage
71. 2:27bags?"
72. 2:28>> You sound like a shark.
73. 2:29>> Yeah. Right. Yeah. Exactly. And of
74. 2:31course, everybody uses garbage bags. So,
75. 2:32I'll never forget they cost me three
76. 2:34bucks for a box of a hundred. I would
77. 2:36sell them for six bucks and I would just
78. 2:38take them to them every couple weeks,
79. 2:40right, whenever they needed more garbage
80. 2:41bags. And I'm making 20 bucks a week,
81. 2:43which was like big time. I got my shoes
82. 2:46and you know, but that taught me to be
83. 2:49confident and that taught me that I
84. 2:51could sell and that taught me that
85. 2:53selling was helping, not convincing. You
86. 2:55know,
87. 2:55>> here is what makes the story work so
88. 2:57well. Mark makes one thing crystal clear
89. 3:00right from the start. He shares what he
90. 3:02wants. He wants sneakers, right? Pretty
91. 3:05easy. And the moment he says that, we're
92. 3:07hooked. Like, hey, we're wondering will
93. 3:09he get them? That simple story gives the
94. 3:11story a purpose, a direction. It gives
95. 3:13us something to root for. So share the
96. 3:16goal upfront. Say it in one clear
97. 3:19sentence. For example, I had one goal
98. 3:21and that was not to get fired. Or I just
99. 3:25wanted to finish that marathon to prove
100. 3:27myself that I can do the hard things as
101. 3:29well. The moment your audience knows
102. 3:31what you're chasing, they'll stay with
103. 3:33you until they find out if you got it.
104. 3:35But then once the goal is clear, you can
105. 3:37then make the story even more powerful
106. 3:40by using the next technique. Third
107. 3:42technique. This time, check out this
108. 3:44quick but powerful story from the actor
109. 3:46Ryan Reynolds. See again if you can spot
110. 3:48what makes the story so freaking good. I
111. 3:51wanted to get an earring as a kid. I
112. 3:53thought that that would be a good idea.
113. 3:55My brother said, "You're you're going to
114. 3:56die. You're going to show up at dinner
115. 3:58tonight and and dad there will be a
116. 4:00messy stabbing death because dad will
117. 4:01take one of the utensils and stab you."
118. 4:03I went off with one of my friends and
119. 4:05his mom and we went to Sears or wherever
120. 4:07the hell you go and she signed the
121. 4:08consent form. I got an earring. I came
122. 4:11home and I remember my face being so
123. 4:14flush with blood and heat thinking about
124. 4:16this impending disaster that was about
125. 4:18to happen. And I get to the dinner
126. 4:20table. He mutters some swear word under
127. 4:23his breath or something like you [ __ ]
128. 4:25or something like that. And I kind of
129. 4:27look up and I look around and I see that
130. 4:31all three of my brothers had gotten an
131. 4:33earring
132. 4:34to to sort of save me. Ryan gives us
133. 4:38this peak in his mind before this big
134. 4:40moment. He tells us what he expects to
135. 4:43happen that dad is going to lose it,
136. 4:45right? And that prediction pulls us
137. 4:47right in. We're holding our breath
138. 4:48waiting. What will dad do to him? Right?
139. 4:51Is he going to kill him? That technique
140. 4:52is what I call foreshadow the future.
141. 4:55Give us a peak inside your mind. What
142. 4:57did you think would happen? What were
143. 4:59you expecting? What were you hoping for?
144. 5:00What were you afraid of? Even if those
145. 5:02thoughts are naive or over the top,
146. 5:04share them. That's what makes it human.
147. 5:06For example, I thought this is it. This
148. 5:10presentation is going to change
149. 5:12everything. They'll love it. Or I walked
150. 5:15into the room thinking this this is
151. 5:17going to be a disaster. I'll freeze.
152. 5:19I'll forget my words. [ __ ] Now your
153. 5:21listeners want to know, did it go
154. 5:23according to your prediction or did it
155. 5:25go completely the opposite? Now your
156. 5:27listeners aren't just hearing your
157. 5:29story. They're anticipating the ending
158. 5:31with you. I love this technique, but
159. 5:33there's one technique that is by far the
160. 5:35most common. Fourth technique, let's
161. 5:38look at a story from business owner and
162. 5:40investor Cody Sanchez. See if you can
163. 5:42spot what makes her story so memorable.
164. 5:45But what happens when you hang out in
165. 5:47rooms with other people who have way
166. 5:48more zeros than you do is your problems
167. 5:50are so small to them that like often
168. 5:52they can see into your future. It's a
169. 5:54really weird thing. And I remember back
170. 5:55in the day, one of my mentors, David
171. 5:57Osborne, who was like worth a hundred
172. 5:58million at the time. I thought that was
173. 6:00like the richest any human could be. We
174. 6:02were on a walk and he was like, "How
175. 6:04much money do you have right now?" And I
176. 6:05was like, "I don't know. Probably like
177. 6:06X." And let's I have 100K in the bank
178. 6:08right now. He's like, "No, no. How much
179. 6:10money exactly do you have in the bank?"
180. 6:11And I was like, "Well, I don't know. I'd
181. 6:12have to look." He goes, "You have to
182. 6:13look." He's like, "How much money do you
183. 6:14make a month?" And I was like, "Well,
184. 6:15about this." He's like, "You don't know
185. 6:16exactly." And I was like, "I also don't
186. 6:18know that." How much money do you spend?
187. 6:19I also don't know that. And he goes,
188. 6:20"Money is a cruel mistress. if you don't
189. 6:22pay attention to her, she will leave you
190. 6:23for somebody else. And then I said,
191. 6:25"Well, okay, let's take that one step
192. 6:26further. So, if all I have to do is
193. 6:28follow my money, look at her, pay
194. 6:30attention to her, and she'll grow." And
195. 6:32he said, "I can guarantee you if in one
196. 6:34year from now, if you look at your money
197. 6:35every single day and you look at your
198. 6:37spendings and you look at your savings,
199. 6:39and you think about an ability to grow
200. 6:40both, one year from now, you will be
201. 6:42richer." And I was like, "You
202. 6:43guarantee?" And he's like, "I
203. 6:44guarantee." And that conversation
204. 6:46changed my life because now I am at a
205. 6:48point where I realize she is a cruel
206. 6:49mistress and so give her attention or
207. 6:51she'll leave you.
208. 6:52>> Cody could have just said, "Well, my
209. 6:54mentor told me to track my finances, but
210. 6:57that would have been quite forgettable,
211. 6:58right? Super boring." Instead, she
212. 7:01replayed the exact words of that moment.
213. 7:04Money is a cruel mistress. If you don't
214. 7:07pay attention to her, she'll leave you.
215. 7:09Voom. Right? That's what makes it stick.
216. 7:12The technique, share the dialogue. Most
217. 7:14great stories involve another person, a
218. 7:16boss, a client, a friend, a mentor. One
219. 7:19of the easiest ways to make your story
220. 7:21come to life is to include what they
221. 7:23actually said in that key moment. What
222. 7:25were the exact words? So instead of
223. 7:27saying, my manager was disappointed,
224. 7:29say, my manager looked at me and said,
225. 7:33"Why didn't you ask for help?" Or
226. 7:35instead of saying, "My friend gave me
227. 7:37some great advice," say, "My friend
228. 7:40looked at me and said, Phillip, you
229. 7:42don't need a new plan. You just need to
230. 7:45follow your heart. Do you see the
231. 7:47difference? Dialogue adds life. It makes
232. 7:50the story feel like it's happening right
233. 7:52now. So the next time you tell a story,
234. 7:54don't just summarize the moment. Replay
235. 7:57it. Let your audience hear the words
236. 7:59that made it matter. And finally,
237. 8:02there's one last thing that all great
238. 8:04storytellers do. Technique number five.
239. 8:06Let's look at a story from one of the
240. 8:08greatest storytellers of all time, Steve
241. 8:10Jobs. Now, for this last one as well,
242. 8:12see if you can spot what makes it so
243. 8:15unforgettable.
244. 8:17>> Most people don't get those experiences
245. 8:19because they never ask. Uh I've never
246. 8:23found anybody that didn't want to help
247. 8:24me if I asked them for help. I always
248. 8:27call them up. I called up um this will
249. 8:29date me, but I called up Bill Hwlet when
250. 8:31I was 12 years old and he lived in
251. 8:33PaloAlto. His number was still in the
252. 8:34phone book and he answered the phone
253. 8:36himself. Did Yes. said, "Hi, I'm Steve
254. 8:38Jobs. I'm 12 years old. I I'm a a
255. 8:40student in high school and I want to
256. 8:42build a frequency counter and I was
257. 8:44wondering if you had any spare parts I
258. 8:46could have. And he laughed and he he
259. 8:48gave me the spare parts to build this
260. 8:50frequency counter and he gave me a job
261. 8:51that summer in Hillet Packard working on
262. 8:53the assembly line putting nuts and bolts
263. 8:55together on frequency counters. He got
264. 8:57me a job in the place that built them
265. 8:59and I was in heaven. And I've never
266. 9:02found anyone who said no or hung up the
267. 9:04phone when I called. I just asked. And
268. 9:07when people ask me, I try to be as
269. 9:09responsive, you know, to pay that that
270. 9:11debt of gratitude back. Um,
271. 9:15most people never pick up the phone and
272. 9:16call. Most people never ask. And that's
273. 9:18what separates sometimes the people that
274. 9:20do things from the people that just
275. 9:22dream about them. Steve used everything
276. 9:24we've talked about. He starts right into
277. 9:26the action. There is a clear goal and
278. 9:28there is wonderful, wonderful dialogue
279. 9:31throughout. But there's one more thing
280. 9:32that he does perfectly. He ends with a
281. 9:35lesson. He says something like, "That's
282. 9:38what separates the people who do things
283. 9:40from the people who just dream about
284. 9:41them." That line makes us reflect on our
285. 9:44own lives, and that's the secret of
286. 9:46great storytellers. They end with one
287. 9:49clear takeaway. They don't just share
288. 9:51stories to entertain. They tell them to
289. 9:53mean something, to leave the audience
290. 9:56with a thought that sticks. So, when you
291. 9:58finish your story, ask yourself, "What's
292. 10:00that one thing I want people to
293. 10:02remember?" Maybe it's that's when I
294. 10:04realized asking for help isn't a
295. 10:06weakness, it's wisdom. Or that moment
296. 10:09taught me success doesn't start with
297. 10:12confidence. It starts with courage. Do
298. 10:15you see? Keep it simple. One sentence,
299. 10:18one truth. Because when you end with a
300. 10:20single clear takeaway, your story
301. 10:22doesn't just end. It echoes. The best
302. 10:24storytellers don't rely on talent. They
303. 10:27rely on technique. Today, you've learned
304. 10:29five powerful storytelling techniques.
305. 10:31But to make them stick, well, you need
306. 10:33to practice a little bit. So, if you
307. 10:35want to train that storytelling muscle,
308. 10:37check out this next video where I share
309. 10:38how to become a better storyteller than
310. 10:4099% of people. See you there.