The Power of Storytelling

What's great about funemployment, my term for unemployment on your own terms, is the fact that you have all the time in the world to pursue things that make you happy. I've stated to many people that one of my goals during my year off of travelling is to see what I can do with creative writing. Can I write a book, a play, a short story? It's a scary feeling of entering into a world I have had little training in, especially since I've been focused on business for the last nine years of my life.

With all of this time that I've had, I've been occupying my time with activities that allow me to just listen. Sitting in a busy food court observing people's interactions and conversations (it's not that creepy, I swear). Or watching cool educational videos online (thank God for Youtube). Today, I watched two videos which has had a profound impact on my view of storytelling and how I'm going to delve into the world of creative writing.

TED.com has always been a playground for inspirational talks - at the most recent TED conference, Andrew Stanton, director of Wall-E and the new movie John Carter, talks about the clues to a great story. I've always loved telling stories, mainly because I like to talk a lot. But I've never taken the time to investigate and to think about what it takes to tell a great story. When watching his video, all of his key points made me reflect on the stories I've told, both successful and not so great, and his points proved correct! For those that want the Coles notes, here are the major points, but I highly suggest that you watch the full video:

- Make the audience care. If they don't care, they won't pay attention.

- Make a promise - this is a promise that their attention is worthwhile and that they will get something out of the story.

- Make them work for their meal without letting them know that they are working for the story at all.

- Identify your character's motivations - every good character has one.

- Change is fundamental.

- Create anticipation and tension - this uncertainty will keep the audience wanting to know the resolution.

- Have a theme.

- Invoke wonder.

- And most importantly, use what you know, capture your experiences and values as it will be authentic.

The second video I watched today was the Kony 2012 campaign, which launched not 48 hours ago on Youtube and Facebook, has more than 175K views and is honestly one of the best short films I've seen in a while. This campaign (putting my advertiser hat back on here) has the essence of good storytelling. If there was a tick box beside each of the points I listed from Andrew's TED talk, it's checked every one of them. I encourage each of you to watch the video, which is why I won't summarize it for you (yes, it's 30 minutes, but honestly, you spend more time doing other useless things, you might as well watch).

What got me is how incredible the story was, but the guy who created the video was able to succinctly distill it down into a piece which motivated me to sit, watch the whole thing and take action afterwards. The action steps are simple and I can't wait to see what happens with this movement over the next couple of weeks, especially the event on April 20th. I encourage all of you to get involved.

In any case, I hope that these two videos help to inspire and motivate me to do great work. As I sit in the food court of Taipei 101 after eating delicious xiao long bao dumplings at Ding Tai Fung, I am starting on my first chapter of a book that I hope people will enjoy when I'm done.