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Tell Stories So Good You Finally Fix Your Sh*tty Retention (Full Course) — Transcript

by Philipp Humm · 16,830 words · 2,408 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00Before we begin, this is the most work
0:02I've ever put into a single video. I
0:05spent over 600 hours creating it. And
0:07honestly, I was going to sell it for
0:10thousands. But then I thought, you know
0:12what? This is way too good to just share
0:15it with a few people. So, I decided to
0:17give it away all for free. I hope you
0:20enjoy. Module one, talking head
0:22storytelling. Before I share anything,
0:24let's look at an example.
0:25>> I used to live in an apartment building
0:27here in, you know, in LA. a lot of
0:29celebrities and billionaires. I was the
0:31poorest person there. But I uh was on a
0:34trip and I came back from a trip driving
0:35back into the the valet of my building
0:38and there was a tent in the valet and I
0:41kind of jokingly said to the valet
0:43attendant, "Someone didn't jump, did
0:44they?" Kind of like joking. And the guy
0:46looked at me with like a serious face
0:47like, "Yeah, it just happened like 30
0:49minutes ago." I was like, "This can't be
0:50real." It was like, "What? There's
0:52billionaires in here. There's
0:53millionaires in here. There's
0:54celebrities in here." I was like, and I
0:56was just thinking, why would someone
0:57worth so much money take their life? And
1:00I don't want to assume what really
1:02happened, but it doesn't mean having all
1:05the money in the world is going to solve
1:07all your problems, and you're going to
1:08feel like you can love and accept
1:09yourself. So, like you said, you may
1:11learn how to make a lot of money, but if
1:13you haven't learned how to heal your
1:14relationship with you, then all the
1:15money in the world can't save your life.
1:18>> Did you notice something? The video
1:19didn't have any fancy edits, no fleshy
1:21effects. It was just a real personal
1:24moment. and what do you learn from it?
1:26Now, that's the magic of talking head
1:28storytelling. It's simple, it's human,
1:31and it works. You can use that kind of
1:33story in a YouTube video, on a podcast,
1:35or even at a dinner with friends to make
1:37your point more memorable. In this
1:39module, you'll learn how to structure
1:41these kinds of stories, how to enhance
1:43them, how to find them, and then lastly,
1:46the biggest mistakes you need to avoid
1:48to tell those viral stories. But let's
1:51start with structure stories. Now, you
1:53may have seen a few story structures
1:55before, like the hero's journey, or the
1:57Pixar formula. Now, those structures,
1:59yeah, sure, they're great for books, TED
2:01talks, and Hollywood movies, but hey,
2:03we're not making here a Hollywood movie
2:05on social media. You don't have the time
2:07to take your viewers to through the 17
2:09steps of the hero's journey. You need
2:11something that works for short, punchy
2:13stories that are about 30 to 90 seconds
2:16long. To do exactly that, I've developed
2:19a structure I call cat or cat. CAT
2:22stands for context, adversity, and
2:25takeaway. But let's break it down. Step
2:26one, context. Start your story by
2:29setting the scene. Where and when does
2:31it take place? Who's the main character?
2:33And what is that main character up to?
2:35In his story, Louis House shares with us
2:37that he's in his car driving to the
2:39valet of his apartment complex. That's
2:41it. Just one or two lines. Now, why does
2:44it matter to state those things? Because
2:47time, location, and a clear character,
2:49they make your story feel real. It
2:52builds trust from the start. If you say
2:54something like, "Oh, well, once upon a
2:56time I was walking through the street."
2:58Well, people will think that, "Wait, is
3:00this even true?" So, state the time,
3:03location, and character. But hey, that
3:05part, keep that part short. The easiest
3:08way to lose your viewers's attention is
3:10to give too much context. You want to go
3:12to the good part as fast as possible.
3:15Step two, adversity. This is the heart
3:18of your story. Now, what went wrong?
3:20What problem showed up? What was so
3:22difficult about it? In Louis house
3:24story, the adversity is that this rich
3:26guy jumps off this building killing
3:28himself making Lewis question the
3:30meaning of money. Right? Describe what
3:32is at stake. Let us feel the pressure,
3:35the panic, the voice that is going
3:37crazy. But once you share that, your
3:40story isn't done yet because your
3:41listeners might still be thinking, okay,
3:43this this is cool, right? But why are
3:45you telling me that? That's when you go
3:48into the last step. Step three,
3:50takeaway. This is where you share what
3:52you learned. And what's the insight that
3:55you got from that moment? The takeaway
3:57in Louis story was simple, right? If you
3:59haven't worked on yourself, then all the
4:01money in the world won't make you happy.
4:03That's a pretty simple insight, right?
4:05One takeaway. That's all you need. Not
4:08three, not five, not 10. When you share
4:10too many lessons, your viewers, they
4:12won't remember anything. And also when
4:14you share that lesson, don't say the
4:17morale of the story is or you should
4:19take away and why not? Because you just
4:21come across as this preacher and no one
4:23likes a preacher. Instead, say what I
4:26learned from that experience is X, Y,
4:28and Z. It's a little bit softer, more
4:30human, and is much more inviting your
4:33audience to reflect with you. C works
4:36beautifully for talking head videos. But
4:38now that you know the three steps, let's
4:40look at another example. Here's an
4:42example from Den Martell. I had heard
4:44that my barber had won the lottery, like
4:46a million plus dollars, but he was still
4:48cut my hair. He's cut my hair. I said,
4:50Phil, can I ask you a question? He said,
4:51yeah. I said, did you win the lottery?
4:53Yep, Dan. I won the lottery. I said, is
4:55it I don't want to be rude. Is it rude
4:57for me to ask you like then why like why
4:59you cut my hair? Like like we don't I
5:01don't think you like me that much. And
5:02he's like he goes, you know, Dan, if I
5:04would have known better, I would have
5:06done something different. I said, what'd
5:07you do? He said, "Well, I got the money,
5:09bought myself, my wife, my kids new
5:11cars, I paid off the mortgage, I brought
5:14the whole extended family on this big
5:16cruise, and when it was all said and
5:17done, a million bucks doesn't go that
5:19far." And I remember hearing that and
5:21realizing that it wasn't even the money,
5:24it was his mindset around the money. He
5:26didn't believe he deserved that million
5:28dollars. And when you don't believe you
5:30deserve something, you work really hard
5:32to get rid of it. Notice how Dan drops
5:34us into the moment and delivers this
5:37simple insight. Beautiful, right? But
5:39you might be wondering, Phillip, what
5:41about the resolution? Like, shouldn't
5:43every story have like a happy ending
5:45where the problem is overcome? Well,
5:47that's a great question. Sure, in real
5:49life, we often tell stories like this.
5:51Well, I had a problem. I solved it.
5:53Everyone was happy. And here's what I
5:55learned. But in social media, the best
5:57performing stories are often quite
6:00different. They usually go like this.
6:01They say, "I had this big problem or
6:04surprising moment and here's what I
6:06learned from it." That's it. No
6:08resolution. So, why is that? Well,
6:10because social media favors speed and
6:13punch. The faster you get to the inside,
6:16the better. Also, resolution can
6:18sometimes feel a little bit flat or
6:19cheesy, right? If you say, "Oh, well,
6:22then everything worked out perfectly."
6:24Well, that can come across a little bit
6:26fake, right? Like too much of a fairy
6:28tale where everything is like beautiful.
6:30But that doesn't mean that you should
6:31never include a resolution. So when
6:34should you include resolution? First,
6:36when the action you took is actually
6:37pretty interesting or unexpected.
6:39Second, when the outcome is meaningful
6:42or inspiring. Or third, when the story
6:44just feels incomplete without it. Sure,
6:46if that's the case, simply add a
6:48resolution after the adversity so that
6:51cat becomes card like a shopping cart
6:54that holds together all the awesome
6:55ingredients of your story. And then you
6:57just share what you did to overcome that
6:59adversity and how the story turned out
7:01at the end. Did you double your sales?
7:03Did you turn around this difficult
7:04relationship? Or maybe did you quit the
7:07job that you hated for all this time?
7:09Show the result. Now, here's a great
7:12example from Alex Heroszi using the full
7:15card structure. There was a guy on my
7:17team who uh he we were getting
7:20complaints that he was acting like a
7:21dick. And so he had talked to three of
7:23the leaders in my company who had had
7:25one-on- ones within him and said, "Hey
7:26man, stop being a dick." He continued to
7:27be a dick. And so, uh, they said, "Alex,
7:30can you talk to him?" And I said,
7:31"Sure." And so when I sat down with him,
7:33I said, "Hey, um, to be clear, I don't
7:35really care what you do. My goal here is
7:38to decrease the likelihood that people
7:40complain about you. They keep saying
7:42that you're acting like a dick." He's
7:43like, "Yeah, I know. I'm working." I was
7:44like, "No, it's fine. I don't care."
7:46What are the actions that you take that
7:48increase the likelihood they call you a
7:49dick? Number one is that you interrupt
7:51them on meetings. Number two is that you
7:53say that you know their department
7:54better than them.
7:55>> And number whatever I had I had my list
7:57of things. I like so don't do those four
7:59things and do this instead. So when this
8:03circumstance occurs, do this action
8:05instead of this action. And in the next
8:07week, everyone's like, oh my god, it was
8:09like night and day. And the thing is is
8:10that you have to tell them granularly
8:12what to do instead. You see, both cat
8:15and card, they work. But I'd recommend
8:17playing a little bit more with cat when
8:19you want to record those first videos
8:22because that structure is usually the
8:24structure that lands the best on talking
8:26head type of videos. All right, now that
8:28we've got the structure down, let's move
8:29to the next and most fun part. Enhance
8:32stories. This is my favorite part. In
8:35this section, you'll learn how to take
8:36any average moment, even the most boring
8:39one, and turn it into an unforgettable
8:41story. Let me show you how to do that
8:43with a quick example. Now, imagine
8:45you're watching a war movie. Not sure if
8:47you like this. I actually don't like it,
8:49but stick with me. It opens with this
8:51big helicopter shot from above. You see
8:53the battlefield from above. You see the
8:55tanks rolling in. You see the soldiers
8:57lining up, smoke in the distance. Now,
8:59it looks cool for about 3 seconds, and
9:02then you're like, "Cool. Okay, it's
9:04nice, but bring me down there. I want to
9:06be part of the action." And that's when
9:08the camera zooms in. Now, you're in the
9:10trenches. bombs exploding, mud flying
9:12around, you see the fear in the
9:14soldier's eyes. Now, in case you're
9:16wondering like, how does that even
9:18relate to storytelling? Well, most
9:20people, they tell their story stuck in
9:22that helicopter view. They say something
9:24like, "Well, I had a problem and yeah,
9:26then I overcame the problem and
9:28everything was good." That's helicopter
9:29view and it's a terrible story. Great
9:31storytellers, they don't do that. They
9:34zoom into the moment. They take us into
9:36one specific moment. They share the
9:39exact words of that frustrated client.
9:41They share the look of your face at like
9:432:00 a.m. and they share the doubts that
9:46were running through your head in that
9:47one moment. But the good news is like
9:50you don't need to be a poet to do that.
9:52You just need a simple framework. I call
9:54it P A S T or past. It stands for place,
9:59action, speech, and thoughts. You can
10:02think of it like zooming into the past.
10:05That's maybe how you can remember it.
10:06But let's start with the first one.
10:08Place. In the CAT structure, we already
10:10talked about the context where we say
10:12the time and the place. But let's go one
10:14level deeper. Don't just say the country
10:16or the city. Tell us where you are
10:18exactly. Examples. Two weeks ago, I'm
10:21sitting on my couch in my living room in
10:23Chicago or I'm outside the conference
10:25room taking a deep breath. When you tell
10:28your audience where you are, a picture
10:30starts forming in their heads. They hear
10:32living room or conference room and they
10:34instantly start imagining. It doesn't
10:36matter if it's their living room or
10:38their conference room as long as they
10:40can picture something. Sometimes people
10:42think that they have to describe the
10:44location in great detail. Like
10:47the conference room had a big wooden
10:50table, a shiny whiteboard, and a very
10:53modern screen. Like, please don't do
10:56that. Those details can make your story
10:58feel staged or fake, and it just wastes
11:01time on details that aren't important.
11:04Second, actions. Next, share what is
11:07actually happening. What are you or
11:09someone else doing in that one specific
11:11moment? Are you walking, biking,
11:14yelling, screaming? Whatever it is,
11:16describe it. Examples: I'm staring at my
11:20laptop, hovering over the scent button.
11:22I'm putting my bags into the security
11:24belt at the airport. These actions make
11:26your story feel as if it was unfolding
11:28in real time. They give your audience a
11:31mental movie to follow along and they
11:33add this momentum to your story. But the
11:36next technique is actually the one that
11:38I use the most. Third, speech. Now, many
11:41of your stories will involve more than
11:43one character. Maybe a co-orker, a
11:46client, a family member, a friend,
11:48whoever it is, right? You can make your
11:49story instantly more interesting by
11:52sharing what you or what that character
11:54said in that crucial moment of the
11:56story. Now, what were the exact words of
11:58that moment, quote that person?
12:01Examples, instead of saying, "Oh, my
12:03manager was very frustrated." Say, "He
12:06called me and said, "I don't want
12:08another update. I want results." Or
12:10instead of saying, "Oh, my mom really
12:12loved the idea." Say, "She smiled at me
12:14and said, "Wow, this is exactly what I
12:17needed. Thank you so much." See the
12:19difference? Dialogue pulls your listener
12:22into the scene. It makes the story feel
12:24as if it was unfolding in real time. But
12:26don't worry if you can't remember the
12:28exact words from back in the days. Don't
12:30worry, you can use the words that could
12:33have been used in that moment. And last
12:35techniques, thoughts. Now, we have
12:38thousands and thousands of thoughts
12:39every day. Our brains, they constantly
12:41bounce between fears, hopes, dreams,
12:44plans, crazy thoughts. Now, to make your
12:46story a little bit more interesting,
12:48share some of those thoughts. Ask
12:50yourself, what were you or that other
12:52character thinking in that crucial
12:54moment of that story? Examples, instead
12:56of saying, I was nervous about the
12:58meeting, say, I thought, oh, please
13:01don't ask me any questions, right? I
13:02don't know the answer to those. Or
13:04instead of saying, I was excited, say, I
13:07thought, this is my moment. Like, this
13:10video will blow up my channel. It might
13:13seem like a slight difference, but it
13:15makes a huge impact to your story. A
13:17common mistake is that people share a
13:19version of their thoughts that just
13:21sounds too professional. They say
13:23something like, "I thought this
13:26represents a supreme opportunity." Do
13:28you actually think like that? I don't
13:30know about you, but my thoughts, they
13:32don't sound like that. Right? Most of
13:34our thoughts, they sound quite different
13:35to that. They're a little bit chaotic,
13:37irrational, and sometimes downright
13:40neurotic. But those are the exact
13:42thoughts that will make your story much
13:44more interesting. So, when you share
13:46your thoughts, give your audience that
13:48raw, messy, or unpolished version of
13:50that. But now that we've covered the
13:52four elements of a great story, let's
13:54look at a real life example to see them
13:56in action. Here's a story from Cody
13:59Sanchez. See if you can spot the four
14:01elements of past. So, place, actions,
14:04speech, and thoughts.
14:06>> I went to a coal mine where I went uh
14:08let's see, 650 ft down, four miles
14:11underground. And going in, I had all
14:12these ideas, you guys, you know, like,
14:15God, these poor guys. This looks like
14:18such hard work. Then the weirdest thing
14:20happened. One of the miners when I was
14:22down there, when I asked him, I said,
14:24um, why do you do that? He said, well,
14:25my dad did it. I said, "All right, that
14:28makes sense. You followed in your
14:29father's footsteps." And he goes, "Yeah,
14:30but it's more than that. Let me tell you
14:31why." Do you know why I work in the coal
14:33mines? He goes, "Go stand over there."
14:35So I walk over 5t where the machine had
14:37just been. He said, "That ground that
14:39you're standing on right now, no man has
14:41ever stood there before." You know who
14:43else can say that? Astronauts. He goes,
14:45"Some people go to the sky, some people
14:47go underground." Two different types of
14:49explorers.
14:49>> Now, let's break down why this story
14:51works so well. First place. Right away,
14:55she gives us a vivid place. We're
14:57actually in a coal mine 600 ft below the
15:00ground. Pretty visual, right? That
15:02instantly creates an image in our heads.
15:04Second action. She doesn't stay vague.
15:06She describes exactly what's happening.
15:08She's walking through the mine,
15:10approaching the minor, and asking him
15:12some questions. Now, that level of
15:14detail makes the moment feel much more
15:16real. And then third, speech. Then comes
15:19the minor's voice. She could have easily
15:21summarized it, but instead she gave us
15:23the exact words of that moment. Now go
15:26stand over there. That ground you're
15:28standing on, no man has ever stood
15:30there. You know who else can say that?
15:33Astronauts.
15:35Boom. that line hits, right? And then
15:38last technique, thoughts. She also
15:40shares her exact thoughts. She says
15:42something like, "God, these poor guys.
15:44This looks like such hard work. Those
15:46thoughts make the story relatable."
15:49There you go. This is the past framework
15:51in action. But maybe you're thinking,
15:53"Okay, structure and elements, yeah,
15:56great, but I don't even know what
15:58stories to tell." I'm glad that you
16:00brought this up. That's exactly what
16:02we'll cover next. Find stories. This is
16:05where most creators get stuck. They get
16:07a feeling about how to tell a good
16:08story, but they're not sure what story
16:11to tell or when to tell it. The good
16:13news is that you actually don't need 20
16:15different story types to tell a great
16:17story on social media. In fact, you only
16:20need three. I call them the three C's of
16:23storytelling. Coaching stories,
16:25conversion stories, and catalyst
16:26stories. Once you master these, you'll
16:28always know what story to tell in which
16:31moment. But let's break it down. First
16:32story type, coaching story. If you're a
16:35business owner or a creator in the
16:36educational space, this is the story
16:38type that you'll use the most. It's
16:40called coaching story. A coaching story
16:43is a personal moment that brings your
16:45lesson to life. Every second video
16:47you'll find on YouTube sounds a little
16:48bit like this. Here are my five tips to
16:51be more productive or here are my three
16:53hacks to become a millionaire or here
16:55are three signs that he's cheating on
16:57you. Now, that stuff might have worked
16:59back in the days, but today, especially
17:00with AI, it's just everywhere, and it's
17:03so easy to put out content like that.
17:05People hear your tips, maybe even like
17:07them, but they just forget about them
17:09the moment the video ends. If you want
17:11your insight to stick, wrap it into a
17:14story, a real moment that makes the
17:16lesson click. Let me show you an
17:17example. In one of my videos, I shared a
17:19tip to put yourself in embarrassing
17:21situations to feel more confident. But
17:23instead of just saying that, I told a
17:25story. I'm on this crowded train
17:27thinking I don't want to do this. But I
17:30stand up and say, "Uh, excuse me. C can
17:33I have your attention, please?" People
17:35look like confused. What does he want?
17:36Uh, I want to sing a song for you. You
17:39should know I cannot sing. I'm a
17:41terrible singer. But I go for it anyway.
17:52It's awful. People look away thinking,
17:53"What is this craziness?" One guy puts
17:56his headphones on mid song. 3 minutes of
18:00pure pain for them and for me. After
18:02that, I finish, sit down, and take a
18:04deep breath. Later that day, I'm walking
18:06onto the red carpet to give my first
18:08ever TED talk. And you know what? I'm
18:10surprisingly calm. And why? Because I
18:14just sang Regaton in a freaking train.
18:16That's way worse than speaking in front
18:18of people who actually want to hear me.
18:20So, I guess if you've got something
18:22scary coming up, maybe meeting an
18:24interview or speech, embarrass yourself
18:27on purpose beforehand. Now, imagine I
18:30just shared that tip without the story.
18:31Maybe you would find it interesting, but
18:33you'd forget about it tomorrow. But
18:35because I tied it into that story, you
18:37probably remember that story for the
18:39rest of your life. That's the power of
18:41coaching stories. So, how do you find
18:43yours? It's actually pretty simple. Just
18:45ask yourself, what's the one lesson you
18:48want to teach? And then when did you
18:50learn that lesson? Did you mess it up
18:52and you had to learn it the hard way? Or
18:54maybe did someone else mess it up or
18:56struggle and you saw this and you
18:58learned from that. Find this one moment.
19:01That's your coaching story. But let's
19:03now move to the second story type,
19:05conversion stories. Those stories aren't
19:07always the stories that go viral, but
19:09they are the ones that convert. They
19:12turn cold viewers into fans, newsletter
19:15subscribers, and at the end also paying
19:17customers. So, what is a conversion
19:19story? It's a story how you helped
19:20someone else succeed. It's not just
19:22testimonials. It's not this bullet list
19:24of results, but it's an actual story.
19:27Someone had a problem and then they ask
19:28you for help and as a result of that,
19:30their life got 10 times better. But let
19:33me give you a quick example from a
19:34friend of mine who's a coach. So, Len
19:37came to me around 3 months ago with a
19:39problem that I hear from most highly
19:42talented, skillful coaches. I remember
19:45him saying to me, "Joel, I know I'm good
19:48at what I do. I get my clients insane
19:50results. I get word of mouth, but my
19:52business is on a knife edge. One month
19:56clients are rolling in, $10,000 a month,
19:59the next nothing. 1 2 3,000 if I'm
20:03lucky." And he was relying solely on
20:06word of mouth and what I call the post
20:09and praise strategy. He was jumping from
20:12one tactic to the next. And what he
20:16forgot really was who he was. And that's
20:20what I helped him with. I got him back
20:22to his essence and helped him trust his
20:25intuition and helped him remember that
20:29he was the scarce resource, not his
20:31clients, him. And when he embodied this
20:35conviction, this belief and acted from
20:38the end, clients naturally came to him
20:41because they wanted to be around him.
20:43And this is something I say to my
20:45clients often. The most profitable thing
20:47you can do is become energetically
20:50attractive. And that's exactly what we
20:52did with Len. And he saw backtoback 20K
20:54months in his first 2K two months with
20:57me.
20:57>> Did you see this is obviously much
20:59better than just sharing a quick
21:01testimonial. So, how do you find your
21:03conversion story? Well, think of someone
21:05you helped. Someone who gave you great
21:07feedback, someone who said, "Ah, thank
21:09you so much. This changed my life." And
21:11then just rebuild their journey. Now,
21:13what were they struggling before meeting
21:15you? How did you help? And then what
21:17changed after? How was their life
21:20transformed? That's your conversion
21:22story. But just to be clear, you don't
21:24need hundreds of those. If you just have
21:26a few solid ones, that's usually enough.
21:29Those stories are perfect for landing
21:31pages, sales calls, webinars, or email
21:34sequences. But there's one final story
21:37that you can't miss. Third story type,
21:39catalyst stories. Every creator or
21:42business owner I know, they have this.
21:44The one moment that changed everything.
21:46They were living their normal life, but
21:48then boom, something happened. Something
21:51clicked. Something opened. Something
21:53made them see the world in a completely
21:55different way. That's a catalyst story.
21:57But let me give you an example. when I
21:59shared a catalyst story in a podcast.
22:01>> For me, it started mostly when I um when
22:04I lost my previous job. Back then, I was
22:06a product manager at Uber. I lost my job
22:08during co and still remember actually on
22:10the same day that I had lost my job. I
22:12was in my living room scrolling like
22:14through random animal videos just trying
22:16to distract myself. And at this one
22:19point, I this ad pops up and usually
22:22like I hate those ads, right? I just
22:23click them away. I never look them. But
22:25somehow this time I continue watching
22:27the ad. I'm like, "Oh, this is
22:29fascinating." And I watched through the
22:31entire ad, but it was a 27 minute ad.
22:34After that, I thought like, "How how on
22:36earth did that happen?" So, I rewatched
22:38it. The ad was by a guy called Scott
22:41Harrison, who's the founder of Charity
22:44Water, this nonprofit in the US. And
22:46that guy was just an incredible
22:48storyteller. Just story, story, story.
22:51When I saw this, I thought, "Wow, this
22:54is a superpower. like I I need to learn
22:57this and that's when I really got
22:59excited in that topic.
23:01>> See, I could have just said, "Oh, I got
23:03laid off and then I started my
23:04business." But instead, I had zoomed
23:06into one specific moment. So, how do you
23:09find your catalyst story? Now, think
23:11back to the big turning points in your
23:13life. The moment where everything
23:15shifted, when you quit something, when
23:17you started something new, or when you
23:19took that big leap and then just ask
23:21yourself, what was life before that
23:24moment? what happened in that moment and
23:26then what shifted after. That is your
23:29catalyst story. Now you can share those
23:31stories on social media or when you have
23:32a little bit more time on a podcast,
23:34during a keynote or also in a longer
23:37YouTube video. So these are the three
23:39C's every creator should master.
23:41Coaching stories, conversion stories,
23:44and catalyst stories. Master these and
23:46you'll have the perfect story for every
23:49situation. But now that you know how to
23:51structure, enhance, and find powerful
23:53stories, let me give you a few final
23:55tips when it comes to talking head
23:57videos, and let's talk about the most
23:59common mistakes. By now, I've studied
24:02thousands of talking head videos, and
24:04there are four mistakes that keep
24:05showing up way too often. I'm going to
24:08show you what they are and how to fix
24:09them. First mistake, starting too slow.
24:12This summer, I was running a
24:13storytelling workshop for this big tech
24:15company. And at this one point, this guy
24:17stood up and shared a story. And I
24:19started to glance at the timer. 10
24:21seconds in, he was talking about his job
24:23title. 30 seconds in, where he grew up.
24:2660 seconds in, listing all the past
24:28responsibilities.
24:29At 93 seconds, he finally got into the
24:33story. I looked around the room. Every
24:36single person had completely checked
24:38out. And the wild thing was that once he
24:40actually got into his story, it was
24:42actually not even that bad. But by then,
24:44it was just too late. Afterwards, I
24:46pulled him aside and I said, "Hey, um, I
24:48really liked your story. Such a shame
24:51that you lost everyone before you even
24:53started." He laughed and he asked,
24:55"Okay, yeah, yeah, I get this, but how
24:57should I start?" Now, here's what I told
25:00him. Remove most of the context and
25:02start as close to the challenge as
25:04possible. Drop us right into the moment
25:07before something goes wrong, near the
25:10chaos. That's what keeps people
25:12listening. Second mistake, making it too
25:14complex. If you're writing a novel,
25:16sure, go wild. Multiple characters,
25:19complex arcs, plot twists, but for sure
25:21talking at stories, don't do that. It's
25:24too much. No one's following a story
25:26with six characters, three timelines,
25:28and multiple twists in a 60-second
25:31story. So, instead, keep it simple. One
25:34problem, one or two characters, one
25:36clear moment, and then one lesson.
25:39That's more than enough. Third mistake,
25:41filming in a safe spot. Now, I ran a
25:44bunch of tests on TikTok. Same script,
25:47same delivery, but one version was
25:48filmed in a studio and the other one was
25:51me walking down the street. Which one do
25:53you think got more views? The walking
25:55down the street got 3,000 more views
25:57than the other one. Now, why is that?
25:59Because it broke the pattern. People are
26:02used to the standard setup. That's the
26:04recording studio like this one here,
26:05your living room, and your office. But
26:07when something moves or looks different,
26:10people get curious. So try to change
26:12your environment once in a while. Maybe
26:14shoot from your balcony or in a park or
26:16on a walk or even in your car. Car
26:19videos work weirdly well. Just look at
26:21the lawyer Jefferson Fischer. His entire
26:23channel is filmed in his car and it has
26:26blown up. And last mistake, wasting too
26:29much time on editing. Now way too many
26:31creators spend hours and hours adding
26:34flashy edits to talking head videos.
26:37Crazy animations, B-roll, sound effects.
26:40But here's the truth. None of this
26:41matters if the story is not woow. In
26:44fact, I tested it a couple of times.
26:46Same video but two different versions.
26:49One was packed with edits. The other one
26:52just few basic cuts and captions. Now,
26:54there was zero difference in
26:56performance. And if you look at some of
26:57the best creators out there like Dan
26:59Martell or Alex Hermosi, some of their
27:01best performing talking head stories,
27:03they have absolutely minimal editing.
27:05So, what I would recommend is to do the
27:08same. Sure, cut the dead space and the
27:10filler words, maybe add subtitles, and
27:13maybe add some light music if you want
27:14to. All right, that's it for talking
27:16head storytelling. If you're just
27:18starting out, I'd suggest to begin with
27:20those types of stories. These stories,
27:22they take very little work and they can
27:24help you really stand out on social
27:26media. But I'm also mindful that those
27:28types of stories, they are not
27:29necessarily the ones that will help you
27:31immediately go viral. If that's your
27:33goal, you may want to master the next
27:35style of storytelling. That one takes a
27:38bit more effort but also has this huge
27:41potential. Module two, immersive short
27:44form storytelling. Now, we're talking
27:45about short form stories where you bring
27:47people along on a life journey. You
27:49don't just say, "Oh, look. Here's what
27:51happened." Instead, you say, "Hey,
27:53here's what I'm trying to do. Come along
27:55on this journey." But let's look at an
27:57example from Ryan Trean. His video got
28:00more than 180 million views on YouTube.
28:02I've always wondered if I could draw a
28:04random person and then find them in real
28:06life. This is the guy I drew. This looks
28:08like a sketch you'd see on the news of a
28:10criminal, but I'm going to go find this
28:11man. Have you guys seen this guy? I just
28:12drew him. I'm trying to find him.
28:14>> Right up the road. He's there.
28:15>> He's there.
28:16>> He's there.
28:16>> There's no way he actually saw this guy.
28:19>> No. No, that's not him. Hey, have y'all
28:21seen this guy walking around here?
28:23>> No.
28:24>> Just as I was losing hope, I found this
28:26dude. Wait, is this him? Hey, excuse me.
28:28>> Are that's not you, is it?
28:31>> No. He had the beard. He had the hat. He
28:33had the good looks. But he had on
28:35sunglasses. And then a few minutes
28:37later, this happened. Dude, that is him.
28:40That is 100% him. Excuse me. Is this
28:43you? What?
28:46>> Now, did you notice the difference
28:47versus talking head? These stories use
28:49voice over, sharp edits, and reactions.
28:51But more importantly, they pull the
28:54viewer into the moment. They make us
28:56feel as if we were part of the story. In
28:58this module, I'll show you how to master
29:00immersive short form storytelling. And
29:03just like before, we'll cover how to
29:05structure them, how to enhance them, and
29:07how to find your story. Let's start with
29:09structure stories. I spent two, four
29:12weeks analyzing the most viral short
29:14form stories on YouTube, Tik Tok, or
29:16Instagram. I watched hundreds of videos
29:18from creators like Jenny Hoyers, Ryan
29:20Trey, or Eric. And here's what I
29:22realized. Almost every single viral
29:25story followed the same three-step
29:28structure. Mission, progression, and
29:30payoff. And once you see it, you can't
29:33unsee it. And once you start using it,
29:35your stories will be 10 times more
29:37captivating. But let me break it down so
29:39that you can start using it right away.
29:42Step one, mission. Now, the first few
29:44seconds are fundamental. If you don't
29:47hook people fast, they scroll. That's
29:50why the most viral short form stories,
29:52they start with a clear mission, a
29:54challenge, a goal, or a problem that
29:56you're trying to solve. Something that
29:58makes your viewers think, h, wait a
30:00second, will this actually work? Do you
30:02remember Ryan Tran's video? His mission
30:04was pretty clear. He said, "Hey, I'm
30:06going to draw a picture of a random guy
30:08and then I'm going to find that person
30:09in real life." Pretty simple, right? But
30:11also so, so real, so intriguing. So
30:13yeah, maybe your mission might be I
30:15tried David Gogggin's morning routine
30:16for just a day or I signed up for a
30:20stand-up comedy course with zero
30:22experience or I spent 24 hours making
30:25the perfect cheesecake. Do you see those
30:28missions? They spark curiosity. They
30:30make you want to see what happens next.
30:32But then once you've set that mission,
30:33it's time to take us on the full
30:35journey. Step two, progression. This is
30:38the middle of your story where you see
30:40how the story unfolds as you chase
30:42towards that mission. But here's the
30:44key. It's not just a random list of
30:46things that you did. It's a back and
30:48forth between progress and setback.
30:51Maybe at one point you have a small win,
30:52but then again something goes wrong.
30:54Then you adjust. Something good happens.
30:56But then again, another challenge comes
30:57in. That rhythm, that tension, this is
31:00what keeps your viewers hooked. But
31:01here's how the creators of South Park
31:03explain it. We can take these beats
31:05which are basically the beats of your
31:07outline and if the words and then belong
31:11between those beats you're basically you
31:15got you got something pretty boring.
31:16What should happen between every beat
31:18that you've written down is either the
31:20word therefore or but right so so what
31:24I'm saying is that you come up with an
31:26idea and it's like okay this happens
31:27right and then this happens. No, no, no.
31:30It should be this happens and therefore
31:33this happens. But this happens,
31:36therefore this happens.
31:37>> In Ryan Train's video, the back and
31:39forth looks like this. At first, he
31:40shows this drawing to a stranger who
31:42said, "Oh, yeah. I think this person
31:43might be over there." Wow, there's hope,
31:45right? He wants to find, but then he
31:47realized, "No, that's not the person."
31:49Then he keeps searching. He spots
31:51someone that looks very close to that
31:52person. Again, but again, it's not that
31:55guy. Do you see how this dance between
31:57progress and setback pulls you in? Now,
32:00what kind of setbacks or problems work
32:02the best? Honestly, it can be any sort
32:04of problem. Can be physical problems
32:06like you got tired, sick, or injured or
32:08maybe emotional problems where you felt
32:11scared, embarrassed, or bored or time
32:14where you just had way too little time
32:16to complete this big task or even
32:18people, right? Maybe there was someone
32:20that criticized you or someone that
32:22started a fight with you. Those problems
32:24will make the story much more
32:26interesting. So, you've shared the
32:28mission. You've taken us through the ups
32:29and downs of the story. Well, now it's
32:32time to land the plane. Step three,
32:35payoff. The viewer stuck around for one
32:37reason. They want to know how it ends.
32:40Did you succeed? Did you fail? What
32:42happened? This is where you close the
32:44loop. But your job isn't just to wrap it
32:46up. It's to make the story feel worth
32:49it. Now, how did Ryan Train do it? At
32:51the end, he found this stranger that he
32:53drew. Yay. Big happy ending, right? But
32:56just to be clear, not every single story
32:58needs to have a happy ending. Sometimes
33:01the most powerful endings are
33:02surprising, emotional, or even a little
33:05messy. What matters is that you give
33:07your audience this sense of closure,
33:10like show the result. Share maybe what
33:13you learned or reflect on how it changed
33:15you. That's what leaves people satisfied
33:18and also wanting to come back for more.
33:21Now that you've learned the three-step,
33:23let's watch another example. This time
33:25from Jenny Hoyos, who's a master of
33:27immersive short form storytelling. This
33:30video alone got over 180 million views
33:32on YouTube.
33:33>> I'm building a secret room with $0.
33:36>> There's a whole room in here.
33:37>> What are you doing? You're destroying
33:39the house.
33:40>> What?
33:40>> She can't know I'm turning this hole in
33:42the wall into a secret hideout to watch
33:44YouTube. And I'm using wrapping paper
33:45for the walls because my budget's $0 and
33:48we don't have paint. But at least now
33:49the wall's fully covered.
33:50>> I'm out of wrapping paper.
33:51>> It's not a secret if I'm yelling. And I
33:53found items around the house to decorate
33:55the room, like a rug, table, pillows,
33:57blanket, and my iPad to watch YouTube.
33:59>> We got RGB. I think I just broke it.
34:02>> And even though I might have stolen them
34:03from my parents, they're perfect for my
34:05room. But my secret room has a big
34:07problem.
34:07>> This is very obvious. This is not a
34:09secret.
34:10>> So, I added a secret entrance made from
34:12a trash bag so no one can find it. Then
34:14I got popcorn to enjoy watching YouTube
34:16in secret. It looks so nice, right?
34:18>> Did you catch it? Just three simple
34:21steps. Mission, progression, and payoff.
34:24That's it. That's how you build a
34:26powerful immersive short form story. But
34:28now that you know the structure, it's
34:30time to explore how we can take those
34:32stories to the next level. So, let's
34:34talk about enhanced stories. Sure,
34:36structure gets you started, but if you
34:38want your story to stick, if you want
34:40people to care, if you want your video
34:42to go viral, well, you need to spice it
34:44up. And after analyzing hundreds of
34:46short form stories, I realized that the
34:49most viral stories, they have four
34:51distinct elements. I call them the four
34:53S's of short form storytelling.
34:56Surprise, stakes, show, and simplicity.
34:59Let's start with the first S. Surprise.
35:02This summer, I interviewed Adley for my
35:04YouTube channel. Now, Adley has
35:05generated billions of views with her
35:08short form content. Very shortly into
35:10the interview, I asked her, "So, Adne,
35:12what's your secret to going viral?" She
35:15said, "Well, I aim for 90% retention in
35:19the first 6 seconds." Just so that you
35:21know, this number, this is wild. Like
35:23most creators, they end up with a 30%
35:25retention. That means that only 30% of
35:27the people are still around after the
35:29first 6 seconds. So, I followed up with
35:31her and I asked, "Okay, so how do you
35:34actually keep people watching in those
35:36first six seconds?" Her answer simple
35:39break expectations. Now what does she do
35:42with that? She means like do something
35:44strange, confusing or unexpected.
35:47Something that makes them stop scrolling
35:49and think, "Oh, wait. What's happening
35:51there? I need to find out." Now, here
35:53are a few ways to create that surprise
35:54in your story. Well, one option is you
35:56can just use a weird prop. Like, let's
35:58say you're holding up a banana as a
36:00microphone. Or you can start your story
36:01in this very unusual place. Maybe you
36:04film it under your blanket, maybe in a
36:06shopping cart, or maybe going down the
36:07elevator, or you break the logic in any
36:10way. Maybe you tape shoes to your hands,
36:13or you drill a hole to through this
36:15perfectly fine table. The goal is
36:17simple. Create a moment that takes
36:19people out of autopilot. But then once
36:22you've got their initial attention, you
36:24need to make them care about the outcome
36:26of your story. Here's where the next
36:27element comes in. Second S, stakes.
36:30Stakes are what makes a story matter.
36:33They answer the question, what's on the
36:35line? What could you gain or lose in
36:37that specific situation? And without
36:39stakes, your stories feel pretty flat.
36:42But once something is at risk, well,
36:44people lean in. They want to see what
36:46happens next. Now, here are a few simple
36:48ways on how to raise stakes in your
36:51stories. One is time pressure. Set a
36:53ticking clock. Show us that you have way
36:56too little time to complete this big
36:58task. Say things like, "Hey, I've only
37:00got 10 minutes to pull this off." Or,
37:02"Fuck, it closes in one hour. I need to
37:05make it." And you see, time adds
37:08urgency, and urgency keeps people
37:10watching. Now, another way to raise
37:12stakes is to share the opportunity. What
37:14will happen if things go right? You can
37:16say things like, "If I pull this off, I
37:18might land my dream client." Or, "If I
37:22succeed, she might say yes." Big rewards
37:25make your audience root for you. And
37:27another way to raise stakes is to share
37:29the risk. Now, what could go wrong? What
37:32could you mess up? You can say things
37:33like, "If I fail, like I will lose all
37:36of my savings." Or, "If that flops, I'll
37:39look like a complete idiot in front of
37:41200 people." That fear of failure pulls
37:44people in much more than the hope of
37:46success. But you don't have to say the
37:48stakes out loud. You can sometimes even
37:50just show them through your tone, your
37:53pace, your expression, or even the
37:55music. That brings me to the next
37:57element, the third S. Show don't tell.
38:00One of the biggest mistakes in short
38:02form stories is overexplaining. Hey
38:05everyone, today I'm going to try out the
38:08David Gogggins morning routine. And you
38:10say that while you're sitting here at
38:12your desk, don't do this. You'll lose
38:14people within a second. Instead, just
38:17show it. Maybe open with a shot where
38:19you're crawling over the floor drenched
38:22in sweat. Then overlay a title that
38:23says, "Trying Gogggin's painful morning
38:25routine." In one second, we are pulled
38:27in. No need to explain. We feel it. And
38:30the same goes for emotions. Don't just
38:32say, "Oh, I was very nervous." Show your
38:34hands shaking in that one moment. Maybe
38:37your voice is crackling a little bit or
38:38your eyes just pacing around the room
38:40very nervously. Here's a simple check.
38:42If your viewer muted your video, would
38:44they still understand what's happening?
38:46If yes, you're showing. If no, well,
38:49then you're just telling great short
38:51form stories. they often don't need any
38:53sound at all because the visuals do the
38:55heavy lifting. And when the visuals and
38:57the voice work together, wow, that's
39:00when your story becomes unforgettable.
39:02And then the last S, simplicity. Hey,
39:05because you watched this video, you're
39:07probably smarter than the average. Maybe
39:09you know how to speak very
39:10sophisticated. But here's the truth.
39:12Complexity kills any story. Your goal
39:15isn't to sound clever. It's to be
39:17understood by as many people as
39:19possible. Think about your audience.
39:21Many people don't speak English as their
39:23first language. Some are watching this
39:25maybe half asleep at home at midnight.
39:28And most of them are scrolling through
39:30it very fast with very low attention. If
39:32your language is in any way confusing,
39:34well, they just scroll right past it. So
39:37simplify. Every word should be easy to
39:39understand, crafted so that it can be
39:41understood by someone who's in fifth
39:43grade. Yes, someone that is 10 years old
39:46or even lower than that. Now, there are
39:48tons of free readability tools out
39:50there. What I usually do is once I've
39:52written my first draft, I then paste it
39:54into one of those readability tools or
39:56AI and then I ask it what grade level is
39:58that? If it tells me this is grade level
40:01seven or nine, I know that I need
40:03to simplify it a lot. If it tells me
40:05it's grade level four or five, now we're
40:08talking. Now I know it has the right
40:10language for any audience because when
40:13more people get it, well, more people
40:15will watch it and more people will share
40:17it. So, now that you know the four
40:19elements of great short form
40:20storytelling, let's look at another
40:22example. As you watch, see if you can
40:25spot the four S's. So, how the
40:27storyteller surprises you, how he raises
40:30the stakes, how he shows and doesn't
40:32tell, and how simple his language is.
40:34>> Today, I'm running a marathon in illegal
40:36shoes. Shoes so fast that you could get
40:39disqualified from a race. Today, I'm
40:41going to see if they actually work. My
40:43goal is to run an average pace of 6
40:44minutes and 50 seconds, which less than
40:465% of men can actually run, putting me
40:49in the elite category. My first mile was
40:52freaky fast. These shoes are like rocket
40:54ships on my feet. By mile 5, I was
40:56running faster than I could imagine,
40:58which makes me think that I might set a
40:59new world record. By mile 20, every
41:02single muscle in my body was screaming
41:04for me to stop. These shoes just
41:06wouldn't let me quit. And before I knew
41:08it, I was approaching the finish line.
41:09To see what my final time was, go watch
41:11the full video. Now, did you catch them?
41:13First surprise, he's running a marathon
41:16in illegal shoes. Now, that instantly
41:18grabs our attention. Now, I have never
41:20heard of that before, and I want to see
41:22how this turns out. Second, stakes. If
41:25he get caught, well, he could be
41:26disqualified from the race. There is
41:28some real tension. And then third, show
41:31don't tell. No, he doesn't just talk
41:33about, oh, this is what I'm about to do.
41:35Instead, he shows us we actually run the
41:38marathon with him. And last, simplicity.
41:41I actually ran the transcript through a
41:42readability tool. It's written so that a
41:45fifth grader could understand. Super
41:48easy. So, now that you know how a great
41:50short form story looks like, let's talk
41:52about how to know which stories to tell.
41:54So, let's go into fine stories. That is
41:57the part that I struggled with the most.
42:00When I started looking into this type of
42:01storytelling, I'd look at creators like
42:03Mr. Beast, Ryan Tan, or Jenny Hoyos, and
42:05I'd think, right? Do I need to
42:08rent now a private island to have a good
42:10video? How the hell am I supposed to
42:12come up with ideas like that? It just
42:13felt so overwhelming. But now, after
42:15analyzing hundreds of short form
42:17stories, something clicked. It's
42:19actually much simpler than it looks. Let
42:21me show you three simple ways to come up
42:23with viral short form stories. Let's
42:26start with the first one. Say yes to
42:28fear. Here's what happened to me this
42:30week. I hopped on a call with a friend
42:31from Brazil and he said like, "Oh,
42:33Philippe to the I have a millionaire
42:35mastermind coming up. do you want to
42:37give a workshop for them? I said, uh,
42:40yeah, sure. I can do that. But then he
42:42said, well, there there's one thing.
42:43It's in Portuguese. And I thought,
42:46Portuguese? Right. I haven't spoke
42:49Portuguese in years. But I said, yes.
42:51And I thought, if that thing scares me,
42:53well, that's going to be a great story.
42:55So, I documented the whole thing, the
42:57nerves, the doubts, the outcome at the
42:59end. And it became a video. And you can
43:01do the same. Every week, something
43:03awkward or scary pops up. Maybe a task
43:06you've been putting off, a conversation
43:07you've been avoiding, or that one post
43:10that you know it's the right decision,
43:12but you haven't put it out there yet. If
43:14that thing makes you nervous, it's
43:16probably a very relatable story, and
43:18that's exactly what makes it super
43:20powerful. But there's another way to
43:22come up with these types of stories.
43:24Second, start a challenge. If you're
43:26watching this course, I can already tell
43:28like you care about improving yourself.
43:31Right now it might be storytelling, but
43:33I bet that's not the only thing. You
43:34probably read books, you try new habits,
43:37you experiment with new routines, and
43:38usually we we do that stuff just for
43:40ourselves, which is good, right? But
43:42here's the shift. Next time you try
43:44something new, document it. For example,
43:46a month ago, a friend told me that
43:48apparently it's healthy to fast for 3
43:50days every quarter. And when I heard
43:52about that, I thought, hm, that sounds
43:54interesting, pretty intense, but I'd be
43:58keen to try it out. But instead of
43:59keeping it private, I then turn it into
44:01a story. So I said, I tried going
44:04without food for 3 days. Boom. Simple
44:06but real. And it's actually way more
44:08inspiring than just journaling about it.
44:10So if you ever think, hey, I want to try
44:13this routine or I want to push myself a
44:16little or, oh yeah, I want to test this
44:19new idea. Turn it into a challenge.
44:21Another way is to use the fame of
44:23someone that people are familiar with
44:25like a celebrity, a pop star or an
44:27influencer. You can say, for example, I
44:29pretended to be Tony Robbins in my next
44:31meeting or I tried Gordon Ramsay's three
44:34Michelin star restaurant. Now, anyone
44:36that is a fan of Tony Robbins or Gordon
44:37Ramsey, well, they are more likely to
44:40click on your video. But to make it even
44:41easier for you, here's some storytelling
44:44related challenges you can try today.
44:46Maybe your challenge can be, "I started
44:48every conversation today with this
44:50story." Or, "I shared my most
44:52embarrassing story with a stranger." Or,
44:54"I asked a stranger to rate my story."
44:56Or, "I filmed a story in my bathroom."
44:59Now, those are just some ideas to get
45:01you started. That's how your personal
45:03growth becomes your content. But there's
45:05one last way to find those types of
45:07stories, and that is break the rules.
45:10Now in every society, industry or niche,
45:13there are certain spoken or unspoken
45:15rules. They're clear guideline on what's
45:18normal, what's professional, or what
45:21you're supposed to do. Now, you can use
45:23those in your favor to create content.
45:25Some of the best short form stories,
45:27they intentionally break the rules. They
45:30do the complete opposite of what is
45:32expected or accepted. Here's some
45:34examples. Now, a common guideline is to
45:36always film in a quiet, professional
45:38setting. Well, then your story could be,
45:41"I recorded my webinar while riding a
45:44scooter." Or another norm is, "Oh, you
45:46shall never talk to strangers in the
45:48street." Well, your story could be, I
45:50said hi to every stranger I passed
45:52today. Or let's say everyone tells you,
45:54well, keep it professional on LinkedIn.
45:56Well, your story could be, I posted the
45:58most vulnerable story of my life on
46:01LinkedIn. No, these stories work because
46:03they break expectations. They make
46:06people think, "Wait a second, you did
46:08what?" And that curiosity that pulls
46:12people in. So the next time you hear
46:14advice that starts with, "You should
46:15always ask yourself, hm, what if I tried
46:19the opposite?" That's where great
46:22stories are hiding. Now, I hope this
46:24makes things a little bit clearer. But
46:25in case you're feeling overwhelmed,
46:27here's one last reminder. You don't need
46:29to reinvent the wheel. You don't need to
46:31be original in order to be successful.
46:34If you see a video or challenge that
46:36performs well for others, well, just
46:38copy it, right? Sure, not word for word,
46:41but just take that core idea and make it
46:43your own. If someone shares, for
46:45example, a story with I stayed in the
46:47cheapest hotel in my city, and you
46:49think, "Oh, wow. This this sounds like a
46:51fun challenge." Great. Try it yourself
46:53because your experience will be
46:55different. Your reactions will be
46:56different. Great creators, they don't
46:59wait for inspiration. They study what
47:01works and then they put their own spin
47:03on that. But now that you know how to
47:06craft such stories, let me give you some
47:08final tips when it comes to immersive
47:11short form storytelling. Let's talk
47:13about the most common mistakes. Now,
47:16there are four common mistakes I see all
47:18the time in those types of stories and
47:20they're so painful to watch because you
47:22can see that a lot of those creators,
47:24they put so much time and effort into
47:26creating those. So, let's break them
47:28down. First mistake, the challenge is
47:30too big. If your story is about a 30-day
47:33transformation, well, don't try to
47:35squeeze it into a 60-second video. A
47:3730-day challenge is not a short form
47:39video. It's a full long- form YouTube
47:41video. So, instead of saying, "Huh,
47:43here's everything I've learned from the
47:45past 30 days of meditation." Try,
47:48"Today, I meditated for 3 hours
47:50straight, and this is the weird thing
47:52that happened." Pick something that fits
47:54the format. Something you can do in just
47:56a few minutes, maybe an hour or max a
47:59day. That's all you need. Second
48:01mistake, too much context up front. This
48:04one killed stories faster than anything
48:06else. So last week I was talking to a
48:09friend and he invited me to this thing
48:12and I wasn't sure, but then
48:16dude, stop. Your viewers decide within
48:19the first few seconds if they want to
48:21stick around. So instead of giving the
48:22full backstory, start right into the
48:25action. Start with an unexpected
48:27situation where there's movement, where
48:29something is happening that grabs
48:31attention. Lead with the moment, not the
48:34plan. Third mistake, writing the script
48:36too early. A lot of creators make that
48:38mistake. They write down every single
48:41detail of the story before they've
48:43actually lived that story. But here's
48:45the problem. Real life rarely follows an
48:48outline. Well, and when you press
48:50everything, you risk missing the actual
48:53magic of the story. You won't be open
48:56anymore to all those surprising things
48:58that might come up. So, the better way
48:59is to live the story first and then
49:02write the full script after. So, do the
49:05challenge. Sure, capture the raw moments
49:08and then turn it into a story. And last
49:10mistake, slow pacing. Now, the number
49:13one reason why so many short form
49:15stories fail is because the pacing is
49:18too slow. Creators hold the same shot
49:20for like 10 to 20 seconds. But in short
49:22form storytelling, pacing is everything.
49:25If you don't keep surprising your
49:26viewers with new challenges and new
49:28visuals every few seconds, well, you'll
49:31just lose them. So, my rule of thumb is
49:33to change the shot every 1 to 3 seconds.
49:36And I know this is crazy because for a
49:3960-second story, that's maybe 20 to 30
49:42different shots. And I know it sounds
49:44insane, but that will decide if people
49:47continue watching or not. All right,
49:49that's it for short form storytelling.
49:51If you want a quick win and this real
49:54shot at going viral, short form
49:56storytelling is your best bet. But now,
49:58let's talk about the next level. There
50:00are a couple of creators that just
50:02posted a few of those stories and they
50:05exploded. Hundreds and thousands of
50:07subscribers, millions of views just from
50:10a few powerful stories. Module three,
50:13immersive long- form storytelling.
50:15Welcome to the big leagues. Now, this
50:18isn't just content. This is cinema.
50:20These 10, 20, 30 minute stories, they
50:24take their viewers on a journey. Think
50:26of them as mini documentaries. Some of
50:28them are even better than what you find
50:30right now on Netflix. And yes, they do
50:32take quite some time and effort to
50:34produce. Weeks, sometimes months, but if
50:36you do them well, the payoff can be
50:39massive. Nothing is more powerful to
50:41build a huge base of loyal fans than
50:43that. Just like for the other story
50:45types, we'll cover how to structure
50:47them, how to enhance them, how to find
50:49them, and the biggest mistakes to avoid.
50:51Let's start with structure stories. Now,
50:53here's the good news. The core structure
50:56is similar to the structure of short
50:58form storytelling. So there's a mission,
51:00progression, and a payoff. But now you
51:02want to go a little bit deeper. So
51:04here's the six-step story structure that
51:06some of the smartest creators use to
51:09keep you hooked from start to finish.
51:11Step one, mission. Every great story
51:13starts with this mission or goal. Not,
51:16hey, here's a video, but instead, hey, I
51:19have this big goal. Come along for a
51:22ride. Now that's your mission. which
51:24helmet devela does it.
51:25>> I'm going to quit caffeine for 30 days.
51:29Yeah.
51:31[Music]
51:34>> Or check out how I started my video. One
51:37month ago, I decided to start the
51:39scariest challenge of my life. Speaking
51:42on camera without a script for 30 days.
51:45I wanted to see if I could go from
51:47feeling awkward to feeling totally
51:49confident on camera in just 1 month.
51:52That moment makes you curious. You
51:54immediately think, hm, what's gonna
51:56happen? I need to find out like, did he
51:59succeed? What was the result? So ask
52:01yourself, what's the big goal that
52:02you're chasing or the problem that
52:04you're trying to solve? And then say it
52:06early in your video, but once your
52:08listeners know your mission, well then
52:10give them a reason to care. Step two,
52:13context. Now, this is where you answer
52:16why that goal matters so much to you.
52:18Let your audience know your why. Make it
52:21personal. Here's how Metavella does it.
52:23>> I love the ritual of making a cup every
52:24morning. It grounds me, no pun intended.
52:27It fuels my work and it just tastes
52:29really good. So, why on earth would I
52:31give it up? That's a good question.
52:34While I don't think caffeine is
52:36inherently dangerous, I do suspect that
52:38after years of consuming it every day, I
52:40may have built up a strong dependency by
52:42quitting coffee and all caffeine,
52:44including energy drinks, soda, and even
52:46chocolate. Yes, there are about 70 mg of
52:49caffeine in a chocolate bar. I wanted to
52:51see if there would be any impact on my
52:53sleep, anxiety, overall mood, and most
52:55important on my energy levels.
52:58>> He's not just quitting caffeine. He's
52:59exploring how it affects his energy,
53:02mood, and even his identity. Or check
53:04out what I said in my video on camera
53:06confidence. Quick backstory. I've been
53:08making videos for 2 years. For every
53:11single one, I'd write out the exact
53:13script and then read it off a
53:15teleprompter. Sure, my channel was
53:17growing, but the videos, they felt kind
53:20of stiff, forced, just not so natural.
53:25But then this morning, I saw a video
53:27from this Australian YouTuber, Jack
53:29Pigot, and it completely changed my
53:31perspective. In the video, he's walking
53:34through a shopping mall, talking to
53:36camera, totally unscripted, as if it was
53:39the most normal thing in the world. And
53:41that video, it got 1.3 million views.
53:46Dude, this is a superpower. I want to
53:49learn this. Like, can I get as
53:51comfortable on camera as that guy? Or I
53:55guess, can I even get so good that I
53:57beat Jack? The context raises the
54:00stakes. It makes people care. One
54:02sentence that I love to say at that part
54:04is, I was the type of person who, and
54:07then you add this very specific but a
54:10little bit odd detail. Let me give you
54:12some example. I was the type of person
54:13who rehearsed saying hi to the cashier
54:16before walking into the supermarket or I
54:18was the type of person who locked
54:20himself out for like five times in one
54:23week. those tiny details. They make
54:25your story feel more real, more
54:27relatable. So now we know what you want
54:29and why it matters to you. But then it's
54:31time to move to the next step. Step
54:33three, plan. Tell us how you plan to
54:35reach your goal. Lay out the exact steps
54:38that will help you get there. Check out
54:39how Leon Hendris lays out his plan of
54:41cutting down distractions for 30 days.
54:44Starting the day with no snoozing,
54:46putting the phone away, meditating, a
54:47cold shower, no social media
54:48distraction, eat from 1 to 6:00 p.m., no
54:50cheat meals, 1 hour of podcast a day,
54:52tell my grandma I love her, that was a
54:53joke.
54:54Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha,
54:54although I should work out three times a
54:56week, no flippy floppy bing bong, if you
54:58know what I mean. And at 9:00 p.m., wind
54:59down.
55:00>> It's clear, it's funny, and it's easy to
55:02picture. Or check out the plan that I
55:04laid out in my video.
55:05>> So, here's my plan. I'll record one
55:07video per day for 30 days. Each video
55:10will be completely unscripted. I'll give
55:13myself max 30 seconds to gather my
55:16thoughts. Then I post every video on Tik
55:19Tok. But here's the twist. One take
55:21only. No doovers, no editing. If it's
55:24messy, I'll still upload it. Now, why is
55:26that? Because I don't want to be the
55:29person who needs 20 takes for one video.
55:32I want to build this raw, unshakable
55:34camera confidence. And those types of
55:37plans, they make you think, "Hey, will
55:39this actually work?" And you'll continue
55:41watching until you know the answer. But
55:43once you've then shared the plan, you
55:45want to go into the heart of the story.
55:47Step four, progression. Now, here's
55:49where your story really begins. This is
55:51where you take us on this journey
55:53towards reaching that goal. But here's
55:55the key. It's not just this list of
55:57random things that you did on the way.
55:59It's this roller coaster of wins and
56:02setbacks. So sure you move a little bit
56:04forward but then something goes wrong.
56:06Then you move a little bit further
56:08forward but again again a challenge
56:10comes in. That rhythm is what keeps
56:12people watching. So watch how Metavella
56:14does it.
56:15>> So the first 31 hours of my caffeine
56:17fast went by without incident. I braced
56:19for the pain that was headed my way and
56:21it didn't happen until hour 32.
56:27I struggled through my work for 3 hours.
56:30It was impossible to concentrate. My
56:32head was pulsing. I felt my veins in my
56:34head throbbing.
56:35>> See that? Everything goes well, but then
56:37things go wrong. We can feel his pain
56:39and we want to find out how it
56:41continues. Look how I did it in my
56:43video. So, I was just watching Jack
56:45Pigot's video again and I realized like
56:47that dude, he's he's in a freaking mall
56:52talking in front of strangers and
56:55realized like I'm here on my couch in
56:57the living room. Like, obviously, I'm
56:59not going to grow like this.
57:01I got to get out there.
57:05But at first, I felt so self-conscious.
57:08I've always judged those people for
57:10doing exactly this, like those Gen Z
57:13kids filming their boring lives. And
57:15now, I was that guy. But deep down, I
57:18knew that there was no way around this.
57:21If I wanted to grow, I had to get
57:23uncomfortable. That step is about
57:25showing this dance between progress and
57:28struggle. So, in case you're wondering
57:30like what kind of struggles, well, that
57:32could be pretty much anything. Can be a
57:34physical challenge like an injury,
57:36burnout, or illness. It can be an
57:38internal struggle like fear, doubt, or
57:40imposter syndrome. Or an external
57:43problem like maybe a job loss, a
57:45rejection, or things falling through.
57:48And lastly, even tension with other
57:50people like someone doubting you,
57:52blocking you, or not supporting you. The
57:54more we feel the tension rise, the more
57:57invested we will be to watch until the
57:59end. So don't just summarize it. Take us
58:02on that roller coaster of emotions. And
58:04that roller coaster goes on until you
58:06reach that final peak. Step five,
58:09climax. This is the moment your viewers
58:12have been waiting for. The goal, the
58:14happy moments, the struggle. Everything
58:15has been building up to this one moment.
58:18Now we want to know, hey, did you make
58:19it? Did you finish that race? Did you
58:21land that client? or did you speak on
58:23stage? Here's how I did it in my video.
58:26>> All right, we're in the city center of
58:28Amsterdam. People everywhere, but yeah,
58:32we're going for this. So,
58:38I don't know whether I want to do this
58:43[Music]
58:43[Applause]
58:45[Music]
58:50for what felt like hours. As I walked
58:52through the crowded city center in
58:54Amsterdam, no script, no prep, just me
58:58speaking off the cuff.
59:00[Music]
59:02I just did it. I walked through packed
59:04Amsterdam city center speaking on camera
59:06for longer than 5 minutes. Now that
59:09stuff just would have never been
59:11possible 30 days ago. This is crazy like
59:15how much you can advance just in 30
59:17days.
59:18>> This is the moment of transformation. If
59:20at the beginning you were afraid of
59:22speaking in public, now you love being
59:24on stage. If let's say you were
59:26hopeless, now you're excited. Or if you
59:29felt like this outsider, well, now you
59:31belong to this super cool group of
59:33friends. Let your audience see the
59:35transformation. This is usually the most
59:37emotional moment of the story. But hey,
59:40the story is not over yet. Last step,
59:42reflection. So far, the story has been
59:45pretty much about yourself, right? But
59:46in that final step, make it relevant for
59:49your audience. So, what did you learn
59:52from that experience? What should people
59:54take away? What advice would you give to
59:55your maybe past self? See how Mattella
59:58ends his coffee experiment?
59:59>> As this 30-day experiment comes to a
1:00:01close, would I do it again? Absolutely
1:00:04not. Definitely not. While I learned
1:00:07that I don't need coffee, I learned that
1:00:09I really want it. I love it as a part of
1:00:11my day, as a part of my routine. Though,
1:00:13I will say that doing this 30-day detox
1:00:16did allow me to gain a greater
1:00:18appreciation for the beverage that we
1:00:20love so much.
1:00:21>> In short, it's honest and grounded. And
1:00:24that's what you want. Again, your goal
1:00:26isn't here to teach the five things that
1:00:28people should take away. It's to leave
1:00:29them with this one final takeaway. You
1:00:32might say something like, "Hey, what I
1:00:34learned from that experience is X, Y,
1:00:35and Z." Or, "Looking back, I would tell
1:00:39myself X, Y, and Z. That's it." So,
1:00:42there you have it. The six steps of
1:00:44immersive long- form storytelling.
1:00:46Mission, context, plan, progression,
1:00:49climax, and reflection. Those steps work
1:00:52incredibly well. But sure, there will be
1:00:53some stories that may not have all of
1:00:55the six steps. Sometimes you may not
1:00:57have a clear plan. That's okay. Or
1:00:59sometimes maybe you don't have the
1:01:01perfect reflection. That's also okay.
1:01:03Then skip that step. But make sure that
1:01:05there's a clear mission, progression,
1:01:07and payoff. Those ones are
1:01:09non-negotiable. Now that we've covered
1:01:11the structure, it's time to explore how
1:01:13can we make these stories even juicier.
1:01:15So, let's talk about enhanced stories.
1:01:18Have you ever clicked on a video and
1:01:20before you knew it, you were like 5
1:01:21minutes in and you didn't even plan to
1:01:23watch the video, but somehow it hooked
1:01:25you. I've had that moment a few times.
1:01:27And every time I thought, wow, how did
1:01:30they do that? And so, what I do in those
1:01:32moments, I usually I rewatch the entire
1:01:34video to understand what did they do
1:01:36again and again. And eventually I
1:01:38started to see a pattern. What I
1:01:40realized is that the best long form
1:01:42stories, they do two things incredibly
1:01:45well. One, they raise questions and two,
1:01:48they make you care. That's the combo
1:01:51that keeps people watching. Now, let me
1:01:53show you what they mean and how you can
1:01:55use them in your stories. First
1:01:57ingredient, raise questions. We are
1:01:59wired to like to solve mysteries. The
1:02:02moment that a question comes in, we're
1:02:03like, I want to know the answer. It's
1:02:06like an itch that you need to scratch.
1:02:08This is why crime shows are so freaking
1:02:10popular. And this is why questions are
1:02:12your secret weapon in storytelling. Most
1:02:15long form stories start with one big
1:02:17mission. Say something like, "I tried
1:02:19learning Italian in 30 days." Boom. That
1:02:22instantly raises the big question. Hey,
1:02:24well, you had to learn it in 30 days.
1:02:26Now, it's a strong hook, but you need
1:02:27more than that to hold someone's
1:02:29attention for 10, 20, or even 30
1:02:32minutes. So, what do the smartest
1:02:34creators do? They sprinkle in those many
1:02:36questions or many challenges throughout
1:02:39their story. Little cliffhers that make
1:02:41you think, "Wait, how's that going to
1:02:43turn out?" Now, here's how that might
1:02:45look. Let's say you start your story
1:02:46with, "I tried learning Italian in 30
1:02:49days." Then early on, you share that I
1:02:51don't know, your tutor sucks. Now, the
1:02:53big question becomes, oo, will you
1:02:55actually find someone better? Later, you
1:02:57show how you try speaking Italian in
1:02:59this public space, completely bombed.
1:03:02Now the question becomes, can you
1:03:04overcome that fear of speaking in
1:03:06public? Then maybe you miss your flight
1:03:08to Italy. Now the viewers are wondering,
1:03:10hey, will you still make it to into the
1:03:13country? And so once you answer one
1:03:14question, boom, immediately go into the
1:03:16next one. That's what keeps people glued
1:03:18to the screen. But how do you actually
1:03:20raise questions in your story? Here are
1:03:22five simple ways. First, introduce new
1:03:25conflict. So once you solve one problem,
1:03:28throw in another one. Don't let things
1:03:30go too smoothly. Tension comes from the
1:03:32struggle, not from the success. Second,
1:03:35add time pressure. A ticking clock
1:03:37creates instant urgency. I've got 3
1:03:39hours left to pull this off or the
1:03:41deadline is a midnight and I'm nowhere
1:03:43close. Now the viewer is thinking, will
1:03:46you finish in time? And third, show the
1:03:49risk. Now, tell us what could actually
1:03:52go wrong. What's on the line? What could
1:03:54you lose? If I fail, I'll lose $5,000.
1:03:57or have I bombed this? I'll embarrass
1:04:00myself in front of 200 people. Now we're
1:04:02wondering, can you avoid that disaster?
1:04:05And then fourth, show the opportunity.
1:04:08Now tell us what happens if you succeed.
1:04:10If I nail this, I will land my dream job
1:04:14or if I succeed, I get to perform on one
1:04:16of the biggest stages of my life and
1:04:19finally show the impact on others. That
1:04:22one adds emotional stakes. If I beat my
1:04:24brother's cheesecake, he's got to clean
1:04:26the apartment. If I win that bat, my
1:04:28friend has to post this super
1:04:30embarrassing video. Now, we're curious
1:04:32about how the situation is going to turn
1:04:33out. The key is simple. Keep your
1:04:36audience asking, "Hey, what's going to
1:04:38happen?" And once they know the answer,
1:04:40hey, raise a new question. Raising
1:04:42questions is essential in long form
1:04:44storytelling, but there's another
1:04:47ingredient that keeps people hooked.
1:04:49Second ingredient, make people care. No
1:04:52one is going to watch you for 20 minutes
1:04:54unless they care about you. They're not
1:04:56just watching a challenge. They're
1:04:57watching you go through this. So, how
1:04:59can you make them care? By sharing those
1:05:01raw, vulnerable, and human moments. Were
1:05:04you scared? Were you frustrated? Were
1:05:06you embarrassed? Were you proud? Were
1:05:07you on the verge of breakdown? Whatever
1:05:10it is, let us in. So, when something
1:05:12real happens, well, turn on the camera
1:05:14and speak from your heart. Share how you
1:05:17feel. Let's look at an example. See how
1:05:19Nicholas Crystal does it in his video
1:05:21about running a marathon.
1:05:23>> My right leg is just starting to hurt a
1:05:26lot. Just this lower part here and the
1:05:29calves. I don't know why I'm feeling
1:05:31very weak today. And even like 5 km I'm
1:05:35struggling. This sucks, man. It's all
1:05:38kind of crumbling down at the moment.
1:05:40Now, those emotional check-ins, they
1:05:42create this bond between you and the
1:05:43viewer, and they actually turn those
1:05:45viewers into some of the most loyal
1:05:48fans. Okay, with the structure and the
1:05:50elements clear, what are the types of
1:05:52stories you can tell? Let's look into
1:05:54fine stories. Short form stories,
1:05:56they're quick. You can often record and
1:05:58script them in a couple of hours. But
1:06:00long form stories, they're pretty
1:06:02different. They take their listeners on
1:06:04a full journey, something bigger,
1:06:07something that unfolds over days, weeks,
1:06:09or even months. And that means, yes,
1:06:12they do require much more effort, much
1:06:14more time, and obviously also much more
1:06:16money. The best stories come from
1:06:17something personal like a curiosity, a
1:06:20struggle, or that one big goal you've
1:06:23been thinking about for a while. If, for
1:06:25example, you've always wanted to run a
1:06:27marathon, well, maybe that becomes your
1:06:30story. Or if you've struggled with
1:06:32social anxiety for years and years, well
1:06:34then maybe your story is about talking
1:06:36to a stranger every single day. Or I
1:06:39guess if you're fascinated to become the
1:06:40most disciplined person on this planet,
1:06:42well then share a story about you trying
1:06:44to wake up every day at 4:00 a.m. even
1:06:47though it's very miserable. The best
1:06:49stories start from a place of struggle.
1:06:51If you're already great at that and you
1:06:53improve a little bit, well, sure, it's
1:06:55it's cool. But it's not the most
1:06:56interesting story. But if you suck at
1:06:58something and you commit to improving,
1:07:01that's much more interesting. So ask
1:07:03yourself, what's something I've always
1:07:06wanted to try, but I just never got
1:07:08started? What fear or insecurity do I
1:07:10want to face? What challenge excites me,
1:07:12even I guess if no one else cares? And
1:07:14what's something that I know it would
1:07:16help me, but I've just been avoiding it
1:07:18for years and years? If you just answer
1:07:20one of those, you've got your next long-
1:07:23form story. But having been in that
1:07:24situation, I know that there are a few
1:07:26things that could go wrong. So, let's
1:07:28talk about the most common mistakes. So,
1:07:31let's say you got a cool story, what
1:07:32could get in the way of that story to
1:07:34perform really well. Here are the four
1:07:36biggest mistake that can ruin the best
1:07:38ideas. First mistake, choosing a story
1:07:40you don't care about. If you pick a
1:07:42challenge that you think will go viral,
1:07:44but you actually don't really care about
1:07:46it, it's going to fall apart. You'll
1:07:49lose motivation halfway through. You
1:07:51rush through the script and the final
1:07:53video will just fall flat. Long- form
1:07:55stories take so much effort. So, choose
1:07:58something you're genuinely curious
1:07:59about, even if no one watches it. That
1:08:02will show in the final video. Second
1:08:04mistake, not enough contrast. Too many
1:08:07stories are just one long of this. I did
1:08:09this and that was great. And then I did
1:08:12this and that was also great. And I did
1:08:14this and that was also incredible.
1:08:16That's a lousy story. Great stories.
1:08:19They need those ups and downs. Moments
1:08:21where you almost gave up. Moments where
1:08:23something clicked. Show the full range.
1:08:26Day three, I hate this. I want to quit.
1:08:28Day seven, oh wait, that thing might
1:08:31actually work. Day 10, holy that
1:08:34stuff works. The more honest contrast
1:08:37you can include, the more people will
1:08:39care. Third mistake, the editing feels
1:08:42too slow. Long form storytelling is not
1:08:44like talking head. You can't just speak
1:08:46into the camera for minutes and minutes
1:08:48and expect people to stick around.
1:08:50Instead, you need to take people on this
1:08:52cinematic journey, a new visual, a new
1:08:55shot every few seconds. Yes, this means
1:08:58hundreds and hundreds of shots for like
1:09:00a 10-minute video. But that's what it
1:09:02takes to produce something great. So,
1:09:04how do you know if your editing is
1:09:06actually interesting enough? Well, easy.
1:09:08Just watch your video without the sound
1:09:10on. If it still feels exciting without
1:09:12the sound, well, then you're good. But
1:09:14let's now talk about the last and
1:09:15biggest mistakes that creators make.
1:09:18Last mistake, trying to do it all
1:09:20yourself. Talking head, sure, you can do
1:09:22it all by yourself, right? Short form,
1:09:24yeah, it takes a little bit more work,
1:09:25but you can also do it by yourself. But
1:09:27immersive long form stories, there just
1:09:30so much to do by yourself. So, what I'd
1:09:32suggest, get some help. Hire a filmmaker
1:09:35to spend a day with you, and on that
1:09:37day, you can then shoot most of the
1:09:38B-roll. Or if you're short on budget,
1:09:40get a film student to record you. And
1:09:42also find a great editor, ideally
1:09:44someone that doesn't need constant input
1:09:46and maybe even ask someone to coach you
1:09:48on your script. Yes, that stuff costs
1:09:49money, but it will save you so much time
1:09:52and frustration. Nothing feels worse
1:09:54than spending 2 or 3 months in a story
1:09:56and then just to get couple hundreds of
1:09:59views. I'd much rather invest one to 5K
1:10:02and be really proud about that final
1:10:04result. Now that we've covered what this
1:10:06type of storytelling is really about,
1:10:08let me make this clear. You don't have
1:10:11to make those type of stories in order
1:10:13to succeed on YouTube. There are so many
1:10:15different path on YouTube to grow. You
1:10:17can build a powerful brand just through
1:10:19talking head videos. You can go viral
1:10:21with short form storytelling. But yeah,
1:10:23if you feel drawn to this kind of
1:10:25immersive storytelling if you love to go
1:10:27deeper into film making, then go ahead
1:10:29and try it out. See how it feels. See if
1:10:31the process excites you because yes, the
1:10:34potential of those types of stories is
1:10:36just massive. So far, we went deep into
1:10:39the technical details of how to craft
1:10:41that perfect story. But if you don't
1:10:42know how to deliver them, well, nothing
1:10:45of that matters, right? So, let's make
1:10:47sure that the story sounds as good as it
1:10:49reads. Module four, delivery. This is me
1:10:524 years ago. Welcome everyone. My name
1:10:55is Philip Hum and I'm the founder of
1:10:57Power of Storytelling. Now, high chances
1:11:00you are right now browsing for books,
1:11:03courses, trainers on storytelling.
1:11:07It's overwhelming, right? There's just
1:11:10so many options out there. And I know I
1:11:13had a bit more hair back then. Actually,
1:11:14a man bun. I know. Very questionable. Do
1:11:17you know what is even more questionable?
1:11:18That I was actually wearing a bottom-up
1:11:20shirt. I know, disgusting. But the real
1:11:22issue wasn't even that. It was that I
1:11:24felt so awkward on camera. And the video
1:11:27that you just saw, that's the result of
1:11:29rehearsing a 3minute video for a full
1:11:32day. Like I spent 7 hours rehearsing for
1:11:34that. And still I looked so fake. I
1:11:37looked so uncomfortable. Sure I was
1:11:39smiling but I was panicking from the
1:11:41inside. That only changed once I started
1:11:43learning a few techniques. In this
1:11:45module you'll learn what has helped me
1:11:47the most to improve my delivery. First
1:11:49we'll speak about camera confidence then
1:11:52speaking excellence and lastly delivery
1:11:54styles. But let's start with the first
1:11:55one camera confidence. Last year a
1:11:58friend called me and said Phillip this
1:11:59is my year. I'm going all in on YouTube.
1:12:02I'm going to post every single week one
1:12:04of those bangers, one of those 20, 30
1:12:06minute YouTube videos. He was fired up.
1:12:08And then he said, "Hey, you got any tips
1:12:10for me?" And I said, "Yeah, sure. Send
1:12:12me one of your videos. I want to check
1:12:14out your style." Okay. Now, he did. And
1:12:16I watched it. And I told him, "Man, if I
1:12:19were you, I wouldn't record a single
1:12:21long form video right now." He looked
1:12:23confused like, "Dude, why not, right? I
1:12:25want to go big." And I said, "Because
1:12:27your delivery still looks so robotic."
1:12:30And look, hey, I mean this in the
1:12:32kindest way possible, but if you jump
1:12:34now into long form, you'll just spend
1:12:35hours filming and editing and still at
1:12:38the end the video will still feel super
1:12:40awkward and stiff. So I gave him a
1:12:43different challenge and I said, "Hey,
1:12:44forget the perfect setup. Forget
1:12:45perfection. Just post one short
1:12:47unscripted story every day for 30 days.
1:12:51Just focus on showing up and try to
1:12:53speak as naturally as possible." And he
1:12:55did. Within 30 days, he started to sound
1:12:57more natural, look more comfortable, I
1:13:00guess, even enjoy the process. If you
1:13:02see some of his videos today, they feel
1:13:04completely effortless. So, if you're
1:13:05starting out or you still feel a little
1:13:07stiff on camera, I'd recommend to do the
1:13:10same. Record one short story every day
1:13:12for 30 days. No script, no editing, just
1:13:15one real improvised story every single
1:13:18day. Maybe about a lesson you learned.
1:13:20Now, where should you post it? It can be
1:13:22anywhere. Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube,
1:13:24doesn't matter. In case you're worried
1:13:25that other people see that and think
1:13:27it's a terrible video, well then just
1:13:29post it somewhere under a different
1:13:30account, create a new account on, I
1:13:32don't know, Tik Tok, and then no one who
1:13:35knows you will actually find this video.
1:13:37And either way, if it's a terrible
1:13:39video, well, then the algorithm won't
1:13:42push it anywhere. So, it will just be
1:13:43buried like all the other videos out
1:13:45there. So, yeah, zero pressure. But then
1:13:48once you start to feel more comfortable,
1:13:49well, try filming outside, right at the
1:13:52park, on the street, in front of a cafe.
1:13:54Yes, it is much more awkward. There will
1:13:56be some people that will be staring at
1:13:58you. But once you get more comfortable
1:14:00filming in public, well, everything else
1:14:02will feel so easy. Like talking to lens
1:14:04at home, piece of cake. Jumping on this
1:14:07podcast, no problem. So, I would say go
1:14:10for it. Try to commit to that for 30
1:14:12days. Oh, and if you post on Instagram,
1:14:14well, feel free to tag me. Each week,
1:14:16I'll reshare some of my favorite
1:14:18stories. Now that you know how to become
1:14:20more confident on camera, let me give
1:14:21you also some tips on how to become,
1:14:23let's say, the most captivating speaker.
1:14:26So, let's talk about speaking
1:14:27excellence. When I started on my
1:14:29speaking journey, I did what most people
1:14:31do. I followed the advice of the gurus.
1:14:34I tried to cut all my filler words like
1:14:35no no more M's. I then practiced where
1:14:38to place my hand in this one specific
1:14:40moment and also tried to speak with a
1:14:42lower voice to sound more masculine. But
1:14:44even after doing all of that, obviously,
1:14:46I was still a lousy speaker. In fact, I
1:14:49was even worse than before. I just
1:14:50looked so freaking fake, like a total
1:14:53douchebag. And why? Because those tips
1:14:55that you often hear like, "Raise your
1:14:57arm in this one moment or pause for
1:14:59dramatic effect." Well, those things are
1:15:01cool if you're already an advanced
1:15:03speaker. But if you're just starting out
1:15:05or if you're just an average
1:15:06communicator, it's too much. There's
1:15:09actually something that is much more
1:15:11important. So, what should you focus on
1:15:13instead? The number one speaking skill
1:15:15is to feel comfortable when speaking in
1:15:18public. That's it. I know sounds a
1:15:20little bit too easy, but when you feel
1:15:21relaxed and grounded, well, everything
1:15:23will flow naturally. Think about it.
1:15:24When you're talking to your best friend
1:15:26about something that you love, well, you
1:15:28probably smile, you gesture well, and
1:15:30your voice also becomes alive. You don't
1:15:33try to do those things. They just
1:15:35happen. It's already within you. So the
1:15:37real challenge is bringing that version
1:15:39of yourself, that relaxed, that
1:15:41expressive one into your public
1:15:44speaking. And the good news is it can be
1:15:46learned. And there is one tool that has
1:15:48helped me more than anything else in
1:15:50this world. Improv. Improv means giving
1:15:52a short speech or telling a story on the
1:15:54spot. No script, no prep, no outline,
1:15:57just you figuring it out as you go. Now,
1:16:00here's how it works. First, you want to
1:16:02pick some random topic. something like,
1:16:04"Should pineapple be on pizza?" or
1:16:06"Should
1:16:08school uniforms be mandatory?" or
1:16:10"What's the best way to spend a Sunday?"
1:16:13Then you just set the timer, take your
1:16:15phone, set it on 1 to 2 minutes, and
1:16:17then just start talking out loud. Sure,
1:16:20at first you will mess up, you will lose
1:16:22your words, you'll say something
1:16:24slightly weird, but that's the whole
1:16:25point because improv teaches your
1:16:27nervous system something powerful. Hey,
1:16:30it's okay when things go wrong. You
1:16:32realize that, hey, even if I mess up,
1:16:35I'm okay. I can handle that. The more
1:16:38you improvise, the more relaxed you
1:16:40become on camera. And then everything
1:16:42else just flows. Your gestures will feel
1:16:44more natural. Your voice will have more
1:16:46variety, and you become the most
1:16:48magnetic version without trying so hard.
1:16:51Oh, and by the way, I created 12 improv
1:16:53games that make it super easy and fun if
1:16:55you want to get started. They're
1:16:57completely for free, and I'll include
1:16:58the link in the description below. Look,
1:17:00improv will turn you into this most
1:17:02magnetic speaker, no doubt. But I guess
1:17:05it takes a little bit of time, right?
1:17:07You need to put in some reps to see
1:17:09results. So, what if you want to have a
1:17:10quick confidence boost in the meantime?
1:17:12Let's say you're recording tomorrow.
1:17:14What can you do in order to show up with
1:17:16your most confident version? But first,
1:17:18think about the last time you recorded a
1:17:20video. Now, what did you do in those,
1:17:22let's say, 5 minutes before you hit
1:17:24record? I asked this question to a lot
1:17:26of people that I coach, and most of the
1:17:28people answer in the same way. They say
1:17:29something like, "Oh yeah, I was still
1:17:31reviewing my notes." Or, "Um, well, I
1:17:33was just setting up the microphone in
1:17:35the in the camera." Or, "Oh, yeah, I was
1:17:37still trying to remember what I wanted
1:17:39to say." No, this might sound
1:17:41productive, but that's actually a
1:17:43terrible idea. Now, why is that? Because
1:17:45if your mind is still in that prep mode,
1:17:47well, you're likely starting your video
1:17:49with lower energy. Now, I know low
1:17:51energy that sounds a little bit woowoo,
1:17:53but what does it mean? Well, in those
1:17:55moments, you're distracted, a little bit
1:17:57nervous, and thinking usually about
1:17:59yourself, and we want to avoid this. So,
1:18:01the better approach is to show up with
1:18:03the highest energy possible with the
1:18:06energy where you're like present, where
1:18:08you're having fun, and where you just
1:18:10want to give. And so, how can you get
1:18:12into that state of high energy? Do a
1:18:14quick warm-up routine before your
1:18:16recording. Let me show you what I do
1:18:18usually before those sessions. First, I
1:18:21shake out my body, right? I shake out my
1:18:23arms. I rotate my shoulders. I kick my
1:18:26legs. I just get as physical as
1:18:28possible. Now, I do this usually for
1:18:30like 60 seconds, maybe two minutes, but
1:18:32it just lets go of the stress. It just
1:18:35resets a little bit the day. That's the
1:18:37first thing I do. The second one is deep
1:18:40belly breath. So, what I do is usually I
1:18:41take very deep inhales through my belly
1:18:44and exhales through my belly. So it's
1:18:45like
1:18:50I almost feel like the the roots coming
1:18:52through the feet and that just helps me
1:18:54ground myself and also relax myself a
1:18:57little bit more in the moment. And third
1:18:58one I do some vocal exercises. So I
1:19:00usually start with some lip trots. So
1:19:05I then often go into some vocal sirens
1:19:07like
1:19:11or even some weird stuff where I just
1:19:13move my face like
1:19:16All that stuff helps you let go of the
1:19:19stress and the tension that is
1:19:21accumulated everywhere and it gets your
1:19:23voice warmed up. Now, I know this is my
1:19:26warm-up routine. It works incredibly
1:19:28well for me. And so, maybe for you it's
1:19:30singing, maybe for you it's dancing,
1:19:32maybe for you it's meditating. Pick
1:19:34whatever is your warm-up routine, but
1:19:36just the key is do something before the
1:19:39recording to get into the right state.
1:19:41Now, so far we've talked about how to
1:19:43feel more comfortable on camera, but
1:19:44there are actually quite a few different
1:19:46ways how you can show up on video. Let's
1:19:48look at them. Delivery styles. Now,
1:19:51after years and years on YouTube, I
1:19:52realized that there is not just one way
1:19:54to speak on camera. For some creators,
1:19:57they're super calm. Some are super loud
1:20:00and dramatic, and some are just raw. But
1:20:02at the end, all of them can work. The
1:20:04key is to choose a delivery style that
1:20:06works for you. So, in this video, I'll
1:20:08walk you through six powerful delivery
1:20:10styles. So, let's find your style.
1:20:12First, the conversational friend. This
1:20:14is the talking to a friend on FaceTime
1:20:16vibe. It's casual, calm, and it's often
1:20:19filled with little pauses, some side
1:20:21comments. It's a little bit random.
1:20:22>> So, that first insecurity I had with my
1:20:24red face, my main one, which always has
1:20:26haunted me, was never mine.
1:20:28>> You You almost feel like this person
1:20:30just hit record and just started
1:20:31chatting out of nowhere, right? Second,
1:20:33the performer. Now, that one is more
1:20:35theatrical. Every word is intentional.
1:20:38Every gesture has weight. And wow, did
1:20:40he do just that with probably some of
1:20:42the most amazing retention hacks I have
1:20:45ever seen.
1:20:46>> No, it's almost like they're on stage,
1:20:48right? It's more energy, more edits, and
1:20:50also much more punch. Third, the raw
1:20:52truth teller. This one is in your face.
1:20:55>> I'm going to compress 13 years of brutal
1:20:58business truths and lessons into this
1:21:00one video.
1:21:00>> The pace is fast, the cuts are sharp,
1:21:02and the delivery pretty bold, right? It
1:21:05feels like someone is just shaking you
1:21:07by your shoulder and saying, "Hey, wake
1:21:08up. Stop being such a And then
1:21:10fourth, the charismatic flirt. I like
1:21:13that one. I actually want to do this
1:21:15more. This one is a bit playful.
1:21:17>> It's simple. It's tactical. It's fast.
1:21:20It's kind of fun. And if you want, you
1:21:22don't even need a sales team. You can
1:21:23just have people look and buy just like
1:21:26that.
1:21:27>> That creator feels like they're just
1:21:28having so much fun on camera. They're
1:21:31smiling, joking, and teasing, even
1:21:33flirting a little bit with the audience.
1:21:35Fifth, the quirky storyteller. No, that
1:21:37one leans quite into that uniqueness.
1:21:39>> Greetings from the basic bathroom.
1:21:41Pretty pretty basic. Yeah, we've got a
1:21:43sink. The tile is nice. Oh, it's not
1:21:45actually tile. The toilet is it's
1:21:46definitely a toilet. The flush buttons
1:21:48got some use, but that's that's a good
1:21:50thing. It's doing its job well. Overall,
1:21:51pretty fun in here.
1:21:52>> Sure, it is quite weird. It's often a
1:21:54little bit fun, and often times they
1:21:56bring in some, I don't know, weird
1:21:57metaphors or some weird props, but very
1:22:00entertaining to watch. And lastly, The
1:22:02Guide. Now, that one is calm, warm, and
1:22:05inviting. if I only had one piece of
1:22:07advice for someone in their 20s and it
1:22:09had to be as broad as possible to
1:22:11encompass almost any possible goal,
1:22:13what's like the one piece of advice that
1:22:14I could give? And I found myself
1:22:15thinking for about 5 seconds and then
1:22:17what I said was you should listen to one
1:22:19audio book every week for the next year.
1:22:22And if you do that, I guarantee your
1:22:23life will completely change.
1:22:24>> You can think of them almost like your
1:22:26favorite teacher or mentor. They're not
1:22:28there to lecture you or to tell you what
1:22:30to do, but they're there to guide you
1:22:31through your journey. So, out of all of
1:22:33them, how do you know which one is the
1:22:35right one for you? Well, pretty simple.
1:22:37Try them all. Actually, try them right
1:22:40now. I want you to think of one simple
1:22:42tip that you want to share right now
1:22:43with the world. One tip that, let's say,
1:22:45has made your life a little bit better.
1:22:47Now, pause the video and film that exact
1:22:50tip, but in six different styles. Maybe
1:22:52first you tell this as the
1:22:54conversational friend, then you go into
1:22:56that performer, and then lastly, you
1:22:57tell this as this raw truth teller. And
1:23:00after that, just watch back the video.
1:23:02Which style felt most like you? Which
1:23:04one did you enjoy the most? Which one
1:23:06felt the most fun? Then I guess just
1:23:08pick the one that resonated the most.
1:23:10That's the style where you want to
1:23:11double down on. And I know there will be
1:23:13some haters saying now, well, that's not
1:23:16your style. That's not authentic.
1:23:18Anytime that someone tells me, oh,
1:23:20Philillip, this is not who you are. This
1:23:22not authentic. I just shake my head and
1:23:23I tell them, hey, if I'm speaking the
1:23:26same way as I do today in a year from
1:23:28now, I know that I have failed. The only
1:23:31thing that shows is that I have not
1:23:32grown. Look, the way that I speak today,
1:23:35it's not some deep eternal truth that
1:23:38has to be with me for the rest of my
1:23:39life. No, it's just this set of learned
1:23:42behaviors. Maybe you speak with a soft
1:23:44voice. Maybe it's because when you were
1:23:46a teenager, you saw your dad speak like
1:23:49that and you copied it and over time it
1:23:51became you. But that doesn't mean that
1:23:54it's the real you. It's just familiar.
1:23:56So when something feels strange at
1:23:58first, don't call it inauthentic. Call
1:24:00it what it is, unfamiliar. Because
1:24:03authenticity isn't something that is
1:24:05fixed. It's something that can be built
1:24:07over time. So I guess if there's a style
1:24:09that excites you, well, try it out.
1:24:11Maybe you love it. But hey, when it
1:24:13comes to delivery, there are few things
1:24:15that I see creators messing up all the
1:24:17time. So let's talk about the most
1:24:20common mistakes. Here are three big
1:24:22mistakes that can ruin any video. The
1:24:25first one is actually the one that I
1:24:26struggled with the most. First mistake,
1:24:29using a storytelling voice. For years, I
1:24:31made this mistake. I'd speak just in my
1:24:33normal voice, but the moment I started
1:24:35to share a story, it completely changed
1:24:38how I spoke. Suddenly, I sounded more
1:24:40like a fairy tale uncle. I was like, it
1:24:43was a dark and stormy night. And I, a
1:24:46humble traveler, found myself in an
1:24:48unusual cell. It was weird. It was
1:24:51theatrical. And worst of all, it created
1:24:54a distance between me and my audience.
1:24:56Now, don't get me wrong, there's nothing
1:24:58inherently wrong with a more
1:25:00performative style. But if that's your
1:25:02choice, well, own that style from the
1:25:04start of the video until the end. What I
1:25:06now do is I try to tell my story the
1:25:09same way as I do the entire
1:25:11conversation. And I actually tell it as
1:25:12if I was talking to my best friend. So
1:25:14really, I picture my best friend in
1:25:17front of me. And I'm just thinking, how
1:25:18would I tell that story to him? Now,
1:25:20would I say there on that fateful
1:25:23evening, destiny knocked on my door? Of
1:25:26course not, right? That my friend would
1:25:28be like, "What the hell?" Instead, I'd
1:25:30say something like, "Dude, wait till you
1:25:32hear what happened yesterday." That's
1:25:34much more me. That's much more authentic
1:25:36to me. Second mistake, no variety. The
1:25:38number one reason people click away is
1:25:40because everything is predictable. Huh,
1:25:44I get where this is going. And people
1:25:47click away. They're like, "I have no
1:25:48reason to stay. I already know where
1:25:50this is going. The best speakers, they
1:25:52don't do that. They keep you on your
1:25:53edge throughout the entire video. They
1:25:56constantly change the way they speak to
1:25:58keep things interesting. At one point,
1:26:00maybe they speak super fast, full of
1:26:01energy, but then they slow down to let
1:26:04it point sink. Sometimes they get super
1:26:07loud or other times they get soft and
1:26:10reflective. And it's not just the way
1:26:12how they speak. They mix up what they
1:26:14say too. Maybe they start with the
1:26:16story, then they go into metaphor, then
1:26:18maybe punchy tip, then maybe some
1:26:20surprising twist. So, keep your audience
1:26:22guessing, change up your rhythm, use
1:26:25contrast, and add moments that feel a
1:26:27little bit different because variety is
1:26:29what keeps people watching. And third
1:26:31mistake, trying to impress. A lot of
1:26:34creators, they try to sound impressive.
1:26:36They use big words. They speak polished,
1:26:38perfect, almost like in an academic
1:26:41tone. They want their audience to think,
1:26:43"Oh, wow. this this is a very smart
1:26:45person. But here's the problem. The
1:26:47audience feels that you're trying to
1:26:49impress them. And when they feel that,
1:26:51well, they disconnect. So, what should
1:26:53you do instead? Shift from, how can I
1:26:55impress? To how can I help? Speak with a
1:26:59givers mindset. Not like, hey, look at
1:27:01me. I'm so cool. But rather, hey, I'm
1:27:04here to help you. This is for you. I
1:27:06want to help you. But here's a trick
1:27:07that has helped me. Before I speak,
1:27:09before I record, I just picture one
1:27:11specific person who really, really needs
1:27:14to hear this message in this one moment.
1:27:16And it can be completely made up person,
1:27:18someone I could help today. And then I
1:27:20just speak to them. I forget the crowds.
1:27:23I forget the likes. And I just speak to
1:27:25that one person. Because when you focus
1:27:27on helping, you automatically become
1:27:29more relatable, more real, and at the
1:27:32end, way more impactful. All right,
1:27:34that's everything I've got for you. Now,
1:27:37if you're still watching, can I ask you
1:27:38a quick favor? Is there anyone you feel
1:27:40could really benefit from that video?
1:27:43Maybe it's this one friend who just got
1:27:45started creating, or maybe this teammate
1:27:47who needs to tell better stories, or
1:27:49maybe this one person who wants to be
1:27:51more confident on camera, whoever it is,
1:27:53and then send them this video right now.
1:27:55That small action will help them
1:27:57tremendously, and it will help me
1:27:59produce much more highquality content
1:28:01that I'll put out for free. Thanks for
1:28:03being here, and I'll see you in the next
1:28:05one. Bye-bye.

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