Mystery Gift Box #020 | How to Tell Better Stories than Most: One Simple Principle from 9-time Moth GrandSLAM Champion

Hey friends,

People remember stories.

It’s a way for us to understand and connect with one another; to empathise with others’ experiences and perspectives, and also to share our own. Stories serve as a way for us to connect with our past, to understand our present, and to imagine our future. They also allow us to pass down our values, beliefs, and cultural identity to future generations.

Ultimately, through stories, we are able to create a shared human experience.

But most people are bad storytellers…

They lack clear structure / direction, which makes the overall story feel disjointed and confusing. Without it, people will find it hard to understand the intended message and/or emotions of the storyteller, which can lead to misunderstanding and inability to express yourself authentically.

But it’s not our fault that we are bad storytellers… we were never taught how to tell a story properly…

So what can we learn from Matthew Dicks, a 9-time Moth GrandSLAM Champion, about the art of storytelling?

The most fundamental principle of storytelling is that a good story must reflect some kind of change.

The change is what makes a story engaging and satisfying.

The story about how a man went from 300lbs overweight to becoming the toughest man on earth is interesting.

The story about how a person went from growing up in a humble environment to becoming a billionaire is interesting.

The story about how a person becomes a world chess champion is interesting.

Essentially, good stories is about how X→Y, where X is where we were (the beginning) and Y is where we are now (the “ending”).

Knowing this, how should we begin structuring our stories?

You start with “the ending” (Y)…

These moments of change are what draws people in and remember you and your stories. And as such, they should be located as close to the end of your story as possible; sometimes it might even be the last thing you say.

Essentially, the moment (of change — Y) represents the end of your story.

So how can we find these changes in our lives to form our stories?

Well, there’s an exercise that Matthew Dicks do everyday. He calls it the Homework for Life. Essentially, at the end of your day, write down 3 - 5 words that best describe the most memorable experience / moment of the day.

The idea here is simple. By doing this exercise, you are a) training yourself to think about storyworthy moments, and b) have a collection of moments. Some of these collection of moments represent moments of change (big / small) in your life.

And these moments of change is exactly what you need to start forming your stories.

Once you know the ending, the beginning (X) is set…

Because we know the ending, we can start crafting the whole story to serve the end moment…

The first and most important thing to do is to set the beginning (X) because it will determine the narrative arc of the story, which will determine the overall impact the story has on others.

So how do we choose the right place to start the story?

Simple. Since we already know the ending, to create a story that has the most drastic change, we simply set the beginning of the story to be the OPPOSITE of the end moment.

The opposite of the ending is the start of your story.

📚 This week, I finished reading…

🎙 Podcasts you should check out…

Have interesting gems you want to share with me and others? Share it by replying to this email and I will include it in the next gift box :)

With love,

Ryan O. 🎮

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