**Give me 9min, and I'll improve your storytelling skills by 176% — Transcript & Summary | SozAI**
Source: https://sozai.app/transcript/improve-storytelling-skills-176-percent/

Learn 5 simple storytelling techniques to captivate your audience and improve your storytelling skills by 176% in just 9 minutes.

## Key Takeaways

- Focus on zooming into specific moments rather than summarizing events.
- Use simple but vivid descriptions of location and actions to engage listeners.
- Share genuine thoughts and emotions to create relatability.
- Incorporate dialogue to add life and interest to your stories.
- Keep storytelling concise and avoid unnecessary details for maximum impact.

## What the video covers

- Storytelling is a powerful yet simple tool when you focus on what really matters.
- The video introduces five key storytelling techniques: location, actions, thoughts, emotions, and dialogue.
- Effective stories zoom into the moment rather than summarizing events.
- Location sets the scene and helps the audience visualize the story.
- Actions provide momentum and bring listeners directly into the moment.
- Sharing raw, unfiltered thoughts makes stories relatable and engaging.
- Showing emotions through body language and behavior is more impactful than just naming feelings.
- Using juicy, concise dialogue makes stories more vivid and interesting.
- A real-life example by Sarah Willingham demonstrates these techniques in action.
- Avoid overloading stories with unnecessary details or overly formal language.

Answers

## Questions about this video

What are the five storytelling techniques mentioned in the video?

The five storytelling techniques are location, actions, thoughts, emotions, and dialogue. These elements help make stories more vivid, relatable, and engaging.

Why is it important to zoom into the moment in storytelling?

Zooming into the moment allows the audience to experience the story firsthand rather than just hearing a summary. It creates a more immersive and emotional connection.

How can sharing thoughts improve a story?

Sharing raw and unfiltered thoughts makes the story more relatable and interesting by revealing the storyteller's hopes, fears, and emotions during the crucial moment.

## Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown

00:00

Speaker A

Hey there. Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools to hook your listeners and keep them glued to every word you say. But hey, a lot of the advice that is out there makes it sound way too complicated. But the truth is, storytelling is actually pretty simple if you know what really matters. If you just give me 9 minutes, you'll discover the five storytelling techniques to tell insanely good stories. But before we do that, let me show you a quick example by John Kinski, whom you might know from The Office. It's a 20-second story, so really short, but it's so powerful. By the end of today, you'll know exactly how to tell stories just like him. And then I said, yeah, and he said, "Uh, who are you visiting here?" I said, "My wife." And he says, "Is she an actress?" I said, "Yeah." He said, "Would I know her?" I said, "I don't know, man. Her name's Emily Blunt." He goes, "He goes you?" And I went, "Yeah." And he goes, "You, you married Emily Blunt?" Now I go, "Yeah." And he goes, "This." Okay, go. Did you notice what he did there? He didn't just summarize the events. He didn't say, "Oh yeah, back then I was at customs and the agent asked me what I was doing, and I responded I was an actor, and he was very surprised." He doesn't do that. He doesn't summarize the events. Instead, he zoomed into the moment of the story. The best stories don't just summarize events. They don't stay at that helicopter level. They zoom into the moment. They take us into the trenches. They let us be part of that physical moment. The good thing is, it's not that difficult. I'm now going to show you five techniques that you can use in all of your stories. First technique: location. Say where you are. The best stories start by stating the location. Where are you physically? Examples: Two weeks ago, I'm sitting on my couch in my living room, taking a deep breath. Or September 2019, I'm standing in front of the conference room, ready to walk inside. Now, why does it matter to state the location? Because the moment you say conference room or living room, your audience will start to visualize it. They're like, "Oh yes, I know a conference room," and they start to visualize their version of that conference room. Now, beginner storytellers often make the mistake that they give too many details. They're like, "Oh, in that conference room there was a big table, a television, and a wooden floor." Don't do that. Don't do that. It doesn't matter. Just state the location. As long as they can visualize it, it doesn't matter. All the details, they have their own version of that location. Second technique: actions. What are you doing in that specific moment of the story? Instead of giving way too much context about all the random stuff that doesn't matter, just say what you are doing in that specific moment. That can be walking, biking, shouting, reading, waiting, whatever it is. Just state the actions. State the verbs. Examples: I'm in my office. I open my laptop and start reading a message by my manager. Or two weeks ago, I'm at the airport waiting in line at security. Now, why does it matter to state the actions? Because it brings in forward momentum. It takes the listener right into the moment. When you do that, your audience will immediately know that you won't waste their time. You're straight away taking them into the most important part of the story. Third technique: thoughts. What are you thinking? We as humans have thousands and thousands of thoughts every single day. A lot of those thoughts are hopes, dreams, plans, fears, worries, crazy thoughts. Now share some of those thoughts of that crucial moment of the story. Example: Instead of saying, "I was excited to meet my crush," say, "I thought, ah, this will be so cool, right? Finally, I can see her after all that time." Or instead of saying, "I was very disappointed about that presentation," say, "I thought, oh man, this is bad, right? Everyone will think now I'm stupid. I can never go back there." Do you see the difference? It's a tiny tweak, but it makes any story more interesting. But hey, a common mistake is that people share thoughts that sound too professional, too intellectual. They say something like, "I thought this represents a supreme opportunity." Now, would your thoughts actually sound like that? Probably not, right? And so what you want to do is when you share your thoughts, give us the raw, unfiltered thoughts. Give us those a little bit like raunchy, juicy, a little bit neurotic thoughts. Now that will make your story much more relatable. Fourth technique: emotions. What are you feeling? The best stories, they're emotional. They take the listeners on this emotional journey. And now with the thoughts, with the previous technique, you know one technique to make it more emotional. But there's another one. The simplest way is to just state an emotion. So you say something like, "I was disappointed. I was relieved. I was happy." Now that is pretty standard, right? That is what most people do. But it's not ideal because it is not really visual, right? When you hear someone saying, "I was disappointed," well, you cannot visualize it. And so the better way is to show the emotion. Show how it looks on the body, on the face when you experience that emotion. Let me give you some examples. Instead of saying, "I was relieved," say, "In that moment, I lean backward and let out this big sigh." Or instead of saying, "He was anxious," say, "He kept tapping his pen on the table, and he kept glancing up to the clock every few seconds." Do you see the difference? Showing the emotion makes it much more visual. It takes us into the specific moment of the story. Technique number five: dialogue. What are you hearing? Many of your stories will have more than one character. Maybe a manager, your friend, a coworker, your dog, whoever it is. Now, what did the character say in that crucial moment of the story? What were the exact words? Examples: Instead of saying, "My friend was very disappointed," say, "In that moment, my friend looked at me and said, 'Philip, what on Earth was that?'" Or instead of saying, "My manager was very happy with my work," say, "In that moment, my manager looked at me and said, 'Wow, that was really the best presentation you've ever given.'" Now, do you see the difference? Dialogue is such a simple tool to make any story much more interesting. It is actually the tool that I use the most. But I guess there's just one thing to keep in mind. Similar as with the thoughts, share the dialogue that is a little bit more interesting, a little bit more juicy. If you say something like, "In this moment, my manager said, 'Well, I'm very dissatisfied with the inadequate execution of that project,'" well, that would sound super boring, right? Instead, pick much more juicy, much more concise, and catchy dialogue. All right, now that you know the five most important elements in storytelling, let's watch a quick one-minute video to see those elements in action. That story is by Sarah Willingham, who's a British entrepreneur, investor, and CEO of Nightcap. Now, when you watch the story, see how she zooms into the moment. Can you spot when she shares the location, the actions, the thoughts, the dialogue, and the feelings? So, in my mid-20s, I was running acquisitions for Pizza Express and walked into a meeting room. I was two minutes late for the meeting, and the person on the opposite side of the table, the lawyer, looked up and said, "Oh, thank goodness for that. Mine's white with one sugar, please." So I thought, "Okay, this is a moment." Walked around to the coffee, made him his coffee, put the coffee in front of him, and said, "Would anybody else like a coffee?" And nobody said anything. Nobody wanted one. I made myself a coffee and then sat back down again opposite him. And as he looked up, I watched the color drain from his face as he realized this enormous assumption that he'd made. And it was such a beautiful moment in my career, really empowering when I sat there and realized that actually this moment where I'd had impostor syndrome anyway, running a meeting like this, but I'd been completely misjudged by the people on the opposite side of the table, was actually this incredible superpower. 'Cause guess who walked out with the deal? What an incredible storyteller, right? Today you learned th...

00:29

Speaker A

office it's a 20 second story so really short but it's so powerful by the end of today you'll know exactly how to tell stories just like him and then I said yeah and he said says uh who are you visiting here I said my wife and he says is she an actress I said yeah he said would I know her I I don't know man her name's Emily Blunt he goes he goes you and I went yeah and he goes you you married Emily Blunt now I go yeah and he goes this okay go did you notice what he did there he didn't just

01:00

Speaker A

summarize the events he didn't say oh yeah back then I was at customs and the agent asked me what I was doing and I responded I was an actor and he was very surprised he doesn't do that he doesn't summarize the events instead he zoomed into the moment of the story the best stories don't just summarize events they don't stay at that helicopter level they zoom into the moment they take us into the trenches they let us be part of that physical moment the good thing is it's

01:27

Speaker A

not that difficult I'm now going to show you five techniques that you you can use in all of your stories first technique location say where you are the best stories start by stating the location where are you physically examples 2 weeks ago I'm sitting on my couch in my living room taking a deep breath or September 2019 I'm standing in front of the conference room ready to walk inside now why does it matter to State the location because the moment you say conference room or living room your

01:57

Speaker A

audience will start to visualize it they're like o yes I I know a conference room and they start to visualize their version of that conference room now beginner storytellers they often do the mistake that they give too many details they're like oh in that conference room there was a big table a television and a wooden floor don't do that don't do that it doesn't matter just stay the location as long as they can visualize it it doesn't matter all the details they have

02:27

Speaker A

their own version of that location second technique actions what are you doing in that specific moment of the story instead of giving way too much context about all the random stuff that doesn't matter just say what are you doing in that specific moment that can be walking biking shouting reading waiting whatever it is just State the actions State the verbs examples I'm in my office I open my laptop and start reading a message by my manager or 2 weeks ago I'm at the airport waiting and

02:59

Speaker A

lineing at security now why does it matter to State the actions because it brings in forward momentum it takes the listener right into the moment when you do that your audience will immediately know that you won't waste their time you're straight away taking them into the most important part of the story third technique thoughts what are you thinking we as humans have thousands and thousands of thoughts every single day a lot of those thoughts are hopes dreams

03:26

Speaker A

plans fears worries crazy thoughts now share some of those thoughts of that crucial moment of the story example instead of saying I was excited to meet my crush say I thought ah this will be so cool right finally I can see her after all that time or instead of saying I was very disappointed about that presentation say I thought oh man this is bad right everyone will think now I'm stupid I can never go back there do you see the difference it's a tiny tweak but

03:57

Speaker A

it makes any story more interesting but hey a common mistake is that people share thoughts that sound too professional too intellectual they say something like I thought this represents a supreme opportunity now would your thoughts actually sound like that probably not right and so what you want to do is when you share your thoughts give us the raw unfiltered thoughts give us those a little bit like ranchy juicy a little bit neurotic thoughts now that will make your story much more relatable

04:29

Speaker A

fourth technique emotions what are you feeling the best stories they're emotional they take the listeners on this emotional journey and now with the thoughts with the previous technique you know now one technique to make it more emotional but there's another one the simplest way is to just stay an emotion so you say something like I was disappointed I was relieved I was happy now that is pretty standard right that is what most people do but it's not ideal because it is not really visual

04:58

Speaker A

right when you hear someone saying I was disappointed well you cannot visualize it and so the better way is to show the emotion show how it looks on the body on the face when you experience that emotion let me give you some examples instead of saying I was relieved say in that moment I lean backward and let out this big or instead of saying he was anxious say he kept tapping his pen on the on this table and he kept glancing up to the clock every few seconds do you see the difference showing the

05:33

Speaker A

emotion makes it much more visual it takes us into the specific moment of the story technique number five dialogue what are you hearing many of your stories will have more than one character maybe a manager your friend a coworker your dog whoever it is now what did the character say in that crucial moment of the story what were the exact words examples instead of saying my friend was very disappointed say in that moment my friend looked at me and said Phillip what on Earth was that or

06:07

Speaker A

instead of saying my manager was very happy with my work say in that moment my manager looked at me and said wow that was really the best presentation you've ever given now do you see the difference dialogue is such a simple tool to make any story much more interesting it is actually the tool that I use the most but I guess there's just one thing to keep in mind similar as with the thoughts share the dialogue that is a little bit more interesting a little bit

06:36

Speaker A

more juicy if you say something like in this moment my manager said well I'm very dissatisfied with the inadequate execution of that project well that would sound super boring right instead pick much more juicy much more concise and catchy doll all right now that you know the five most important elements in storytelling let's watch a quick one minute video to see those elements in action that story is by Sarah Willingham who's a British entrepreneur investor

07:07

Speaker A

and CEO of nightcap now when you watch the story see how she zooms into the moment can you spot when she shares the location the actions the thoughts the dialogue and the feelings so in my mid-20s I was running Acquisitions for pizzza Express and walked into a meeting room I was 2 minutes late for the meeting and the person on the opposite side of the table the lawyer looked up and said oh thank goodness for that mine's uh white with one sugar please so I thought okay this is a

07:41

Speaker A

moment walked around to the coffee made him his coffee but the coffee in front of him and said would anybody else like a coffee and um nobody said anything nobody wanted one I made myself a coffee and then sat back down again opposite him and as he looked up I watched the C drain from his face as he realized this enormous assumption that he' made and it was such a beautiful moment in my career really empowering when I sat there and realized that actually this moment where

08:16

Speaker A

I'd had impostor syndrome anyway running a meeting like this but I'd been completely misjudged by the people on the opposite side of the table was actually this incredible superpower cuz guess who walked out with the Dale what an incredible Storyteller right today you learned the foundations you learned how to tell insanely good stories but hey there are also a few more advanced storytelling techniques out there in case you want to go deeper on this journey I would suggest to check

08:45

Speaker A

out this next video in which you learn how to be a better Storyteller than 99% of the people see you there [Music]

Topics: storytelling communication skills public speaking storytelling techniques engagement narrative skills emotional storytelling dialogue in stories effective communication Philipp Humm

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