Author: stayintouchwiththelamb

“I went to the hospital to remove the knife that I had swallowed. When the surgeon found the five others in my stomach it turned into a much bigger ordeal than anticipated.”

Want to hear more? Yes you do. A person swallowing one knife, let alone five is shocking.

I paraphrased this from a webinar I took with Alex Bloomberg of Planet Money and Gimlet Media fame. Alex focused on the power of surprise to create an engaging story. The quote was from an interview he conducted with a person who had a compulsion to eat metal objects. Alex knew the person went into surgery to remove a knife, but the subsequent five was a complete surprise.

During the webinar Alex played the audio of the original broadcast. He was so surprised he exclaimed, ‘What the f*ck!” The radio version was beeped, so why did he choose to keep this strong reaction in? He explained moments of surprise give stories power. If the interviewer was surprised, they know their audience will be as well. The shock expressed by the interviewer helps to build the dramatic tension as they and the audience get to the bottom of this shocking statement together.

To tell a story with a hook or surprise might sound hard, but it is achievable. First you have to understand why the story you are telling is interesting before you can find the element of surprise.

Alex Bloomberg has a formula to achieve this. My story is about (X) and it is interesting because (Y). If I was to apply this formula to the story about the knives above it might go something like this –

“My story is about a person who can’t who can’t stop swallowing metal objects. They are so fearful of judgment they hide their condition from everyone. Even from doctors, including one who was operating to remove a knife they had swallowed and during the operation found five more knives inside their stomach.”

The theme of this story is people who suffer from mental health issues often find it difficult reaching out for help. This is a troubling situation, but without a unique angle it won’t necessarily create an engaging narrative.Delving into a uniquely personal story about mental health to find a unique twist makes it a sticky story.

I heard that story just once and I can recall it very easily. When creating a story for a blog post, an article or even a presentation, if it doesn’t contain a surprising insight, you haven’t dug deep enough.

What are you waiting for? Get digging!

 

If you are interested in learning to deliver you message like a pro, learn the fundamentals of narrative with my Storytelling Interactive Board Game at TheKnowledge Market! Hope to see you there!

What is Snap Chat?

Have you snapped anyone lately? This doesn’t mean participating a heated discussion or argument. Snapping is messaging via the app SnapChat. If you haven’t had time to explore this mystifying platform, read on!

Snap Chat is a video and photo-based messaging app. The reason why people and brands are flocking to it is because it is one of the only social media platforms that offer true storytelling capabilities. How is that you ask? Isn’t it just a private messaging app for teenagers and uni students. Technically yes and yes, but it is also so much more!

The gold of SnapChat the ‘Stories’ function. Stories give people the ability to publish live content to a story that can be viewed by anyone who has added you on SnapChat. The public nature of a ‘story’ means that it is a good way to ‘show’ people snippets of your life.

Keep it ‘Snappy’

When telling your story on SnapChat be snappy, consistent and fun! Add different people into the mix with interviews, as well as thoughts from yourself. One of the central tenets of storytelling is showing and not telling your audience what is going on.

You get 10 seconds per snap before the app stops your ability to record more. That is fine, just add your snap to your story and continue by recording your next snap. Each snap is only visible for 24 hours after publishing, but the beauty of the story function is the ability to continuously add content. This leads to continuity and higher engagement with people returning to see what happens next!

‘Show’ Don’t ‘Tell’

What is ‘Showing’ vs ‘Telling’? Telling is explaining or describing something that could be conveyed better visually or through action.

For example, you are enjoying an evening on the town. Filming a menu and various shots of food as it arrives at the table ‘shows’ people that you are having a meal out. ‘Telling’ would be a shot of just your face as you explain you are in a restaurant waiting to have dinner. Showing people what the restaurant actually looks like and the action of receiving food is more interesting than you explaining this in isolation.

That does not mean that there should never be elements of ‘telling’ in your snaps. There are times when it is important to add commentary so viewers understand what you are showing them. Say during our hypothetical dinner a dish arrives at the table only to be removed untouched a few moments later. This is where added commentary is important to ‘show’ your audience why that happened. It would be important to say to the camera, “We ordered the crab but received lobster accidentally, so we have sent it back to the kitchen. We can’t wait to try the crab here, this place is famous for it.”

The reason this isn’t ‘telling’ is because the comments explain something that you would not be able to understand otherwise. While ‘telling’ supports the action, it should never replace it.

Get Personal With Your Story

One of the most powerful aspects of storytelling with SnapChat is the ability to use it as a diary. Use it to share your thoughts or interview people who your audience might find interesting. For light-hearted interviews use a filter for a bit of fun. Personal thoughts can offer insight into ‘why’ you do what you do. It is a fun way to share what makes you tick and what your daily life is like.

Is It For Me?

The short answer is yes. Everyone from financial planners to entrepreneurs to health and wellness professionals are on SnapChat. The question is not, ‘Is SnapChat for me? The question is, “What can SnapChat do for me?” The answer to that will vary, but the apps ability to deliver engagement and followers does not.

More Information

If you are interested in learning more about SnapChat and live in Melbourne I run workshops, check out the next date Workshops here. All you need to bring is something to take notes on and your smartphone with SnapChat pre-downloaded.

Happy Snapping!

I hate writing; I love having written.

– Dorothy Parker

Stories are written behind locked doors in a room with windows drawn by a figure hunched over a desk. Their fingers flying over a keyboard, stopping only for food which is quickly eaten without even tasting it.

Sounds like fun right? Wrong! It doesn’t sound fun at all. In fact many writers describe the act of writing as a process of that extracts it’s pound of flesh.

However, all great writers have great readers. Every story comes into this world with a support system around them. Writers share their stories with treasured friends, editors, agents and publishers who help them shape their narratives as they come to life. That process of sharing is what keeps the writer from going insane and on track as they create their story.

Creating a story doesn’t have to be hard or lonely. I have created a way for people to come together in a collaborative way to tell a single story. I have developed an interactive board game to train teams of people the fundamentals of story structure. We then take the story structure and connect it to a narrative that connects to a theme and delivers a clear message.

Stories are what create and maintain cultures. They shape not only how we see ourselves, but how we see the world.

Storytelling is part of communicating effectively, as well as create cultures around our collective narrative.  Learning the fundamentals of storytelling in a fun and interactive way will facilitate change in your organisation through the power of story.

This is only the first chapter, stay tuned to hear what happens next!

Life is complicated. No doubt about that. No one likes unnecessary drama or problems. A nice steady dependable day is always a comfort.

Let’s compare that thought process to sourcing content for one of your social media channels. Then dependable and steady is almost a sin. Never underestimate the power of surprise. Aim instead to delight, inspire, surprise or teach someone something new.

The exploring the unexpected is part of what makes a story shareable. If it is interesting your audience will want to share this content with their friends. Give someone a way to look clever, funny or interesting and they will take you up on your offer.

There is a rule in live theatre, “Never bore your audience.” This is also the number one rule for content creation or storytelling. Your audience’s attention is precious. If you take it for granted they will leave you and your boring content for someone more stimulating.

How do you identify an interesting story? Ask yourself the following questions. Did you learn something? Did you feel like telling the story to someone else after hearing it? If that answer is yes to either of those questions then it is an interesting story.

Go out and tell your story! If you would like to join me next Friday at NAB Village for a free Storytelling Game Workshop please email me at megan @ Spendloveandlamb.com for more information!

 “Why would anyone care about me? Why would anyone be interested to hear what I have to say?”

A few weeks ago I shared the stage with Ray Milidoni at the  RC Coworking space as a guest speaker to The Entrepreneurs Social Club. We chatted about digital marketing to a packed room of almost 200 entrepreneurs. A young man leaned forward and asked, “What is the most popular question Australians ask in your social media training workshops?”

Essentially people are people. We all are living on this big blue ball together and many of our experiences are universal. But I did notice while training internationally, different countries had different themes.

In New York it was, “I don’t want to seem fake or unauthentic.”

In London it was, “How do I protect myself or not offend anyone online.”

In Berlin it was, “How do I know if I am secure online, how do I know that I am safe and my online identity is protected?”

What is the bigger statement here? We are all afraid of exposing our soft under bellies. We don’t want to be made vulnerable to judgment.

How do we protect ourselves online? For the most part we don’t need to, no one cares about ourselves as much as we do. It is a very rare occasion that someone is waiting for us to make a post so they can leave a negative comment. The truth is that we are our own worst critics.

The fears we have of being judged are really based on our own judgments of ourselves. Put your own judgments of yourself aside. Connect with the stories you have inside of you and put them out into the world. There is no need to worry, most feedback from your followers or readers is gentle in nature and well meaning.

If your story is important to you, it will be important to someone else. Don’t hesitate, put it out there and see what comes back to you.

(Featured in photo from left to right, Moderator Jessica Evans from The Media Institute, Ray Milidoni and myself Megan Davis. Image from tweet by Peter Reginald. A final big thank you to Jess Williams for all for your support and a lovely evening.)