Two Misconceptions About Storytelling (Free Storytelling Workshop Tonight)
I recently bought Mike Sacks' "And Here is the Kicker," and when I added it to my humor writing collection on Kindle, I saw that this collection has become quite sizable.
I have been reading on writing and humor writing for over ten years. I especially like interviews with comedic writers because they give me insight into their mindset, and when they discuss their work, I find nuggets about their practice they might not consciously know they are using.
That is the beauty of the interview format.
I also like watching interviews like the ones on Jerry Seinfeld's "Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee."
There is a hunting episode I replay in my head often.
Well, actually, there are two.
The first one is when Bill Maher tells Seinfeld about how the US ranks globally on education and healthcare metrics, and Seinfeld abruptly asks Maher what underwear he is wearing.
Why? That was so weird!
The other one is Seinfeld's conversation with Steve Harvey, in which both were adamant that you are either born with it or not. "It" meaning the ability to be funny.
This is not an unusual view among top performers in almost every creative or knowledge work field.
It is the result of seeing our intelligence as fixed.
However, this ignores the extreme work ethic that top-performing comedians adhere to for years, maybe decades, where they develop their material and their voices by performing in front of crowds almost every night.
When it comes to storytelling, there is another belief sitting on the opposite extreme of the spectrum; that we are all born storytellers.
Maybe.
There may be an unconscious proficiency we all have in storytelling for several reasons, the way that we are wired to acquire language, information, and develop connections. Also, the way most stories unfold is how they would be told again, making it easy to replicate the story through storytelling.
This is definitely a less perverse, more empowering view of storytelling.
But it is not the whole picture.
To consistently show up on the page or the stage, there are basic elements we have to learn about storytelling.
Does this mean knowing a handful of tricks will make me the next Jerry Seinfeld? Or Nora Ephron? Or David Sedaris?
No.
These individuals were born with certain dispositions and skills, surrounded by people who helped them develop their craft, and then went on to work thousands of hours polishing it.
It does mean that anything is learnable, and you, too, can learn how to tell a story, even if it's just one story.
More likely, once you have this structure down, it becomes a filter for your reality, and stories will "happen" to you, making you look like a "natural" storyteller.
Tonight, I'll be hosting a free storytelling workshop. You can join on Zoom, or watch it live on Facebook, Instagram, or LinkedIn. Below, you will find links to all four platforms.
Come and learn a simple structure to tell stories and walk out of the workshop with one new story.
- I will quickly show how I use my storytelling cheat sheet to draft interesting stories in minutes,
- I will guide you through the guide in a writing exercise,
- Finally, I will open the floor to questions or for anyone who wants to share the story they wrote.
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