The best storytellers always define a clear purpose prior to crafting their story.
What is the story trying to achieve? What does success look like with this story?
Commit to answering these key questions before doing anything else.
Storytelling is a superpower.
A key to unlocking growth in your writing, startups, marketing, business, or career.
THREAD: 10+ principles of effective storytelling (that you can start using today):
The best storytellers always define a clear purpose prior to crafting their story.
What is the story trying to achieve? What does success look like with this story?
Commit to answering these key questions before doing anything else.
Every great story begins with a well-defined audience.
Who is the audience? What do they consciously (or subconsciously) want from the story?
Be deliberate with this exercise.
Be honest with yourself. The audience may look different than you expect.
“People have forgotten how to tell a story. Stories don’t have a middle or an end any more. They usually have a beginning that never stops beginning.” – Steven Spielberg
Stories need structure.
Clear narrative arcs (like Pixar’s “hero’s journey”) work well.
Playwright Kenn Adams created a neat framework - “the story spine” - for establishing structure:
Once upon a time there was [blank]. Every day, [blank]. One day [blank]. Because of that, [blank]. Until finally [bank].
Fill it in and watch your story take shape.
Emotion is what makes great stories stick with you.
Think about your favorite stories. How did they make you feel?
It’s a safe bet that they elicited a strong emotional response.
Learn from this. Weave emotion into the foundational fabric of every story.
Every great story is infused with novelty.
Novelty comes in many different forms:
Fresh, new perspectives. Surprising insights. Shock-and-awe moments. Unexpected twists.
The goal is to make your audience say: “Oh, wow!”
If you’re falling short, dig deeper.
Storytelling expert @nancyduarte coined the “what is vs. what could be” framework.
First, describe the reality (“what is”).
Next, describe the potential future (“what could be”).
This framework forces you to create contrasts to craft a captivating narrative.
Disney is the greatest storytelling empire of all time.
Walt Disney was famous for his focus on suspending reality for his audiences - allowing them to experience his new reality while still being in their reality.
Take a lesson from the best. Suspend reality.
“Make it simple, but significant.” - Don Draper
A good story may be complex, but a great story is always simple.
Try to elevator pitch the story to an uninformed party. Are they able to understand it? If not, you still have work to do.
When in doubt, simplify!
Shared community is an insanely powerful force.
The best stories (and the best storytellers) foster community - they elicit a sense of shared purpose, shared membership in a group, or shared experience.
Stories that build communities last forever.
Stories are meant to be shared.
The story “K-factor” - a viral marketing metric for growth - should be high.
This requires high shareability.
To enhance it: Keep it simple and make it easy to “take down” into shorter, alternative versions.
Most great writers and storytellers agree on one thing: starting is the hardest part.
There is nothing more daunting than a blank page.
So start fast - get a draft down (and don’t worry about how bad it is).
Then slow down - write & rewrite as necessary.
If you start using them, I guarantee you’ll unlock growth across the diverse realms of your life.
Enjoy this post? Follow me @SahilBloom for more writing on writing, business, and mental models.
The piece will be released in the coming days.
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More from Sahil Bloom
THREAD: With #silversqueeze trending on Twitter, it appears that this week's market spectacle may well be in the silver market.
A perfect moment for a thread on the Hunt Brothers and their alleged attempt to corner the silver market...
1/ First, let's set the stage.
The Hunt Brothers - Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt, and Lamar Hunt - were the sons of Texas tycoon H.L. Hunt.
H.L. Hunt had amassed a billion-dollar fortune in the oil industry.
He died in 1974 and left that fortune to his family.
2/ After H.L.'s passing, the Hunt Brothers had taken over the family holdings and successfully managed to expand the Hunt empire.
By the late 1970s, the family's fortune was estimated to be ~$5 billion.
In the financial world, the Hunt name was as good as gold (or silver!).
3/ But the 1970s were a turbulent time in America.
Following the oil crisis of the early 1970s, the U.S. had entered a period of stagflation - a dire macroeconomic condition characterized by high inflation, low growth, and high unemployment.
4/ The Hunt Brothers - particularly Nelson Bunker and William Herbert - believed that the inflationary environment would persist and destroy the value of their family's holdings.
To hedge this risk, they turned to silver.
They began buying the metal at ~$3 per ounce in 1973.
A perfect moment for a thread on the Hunt Brothers and their alleged attempt to corner the silver market...
1/ First, let's set the stage.
The Hunt Brothers - Nelson Bunker Hunt, William Herbert Hunt, and Lamar Hunt - were the sons of Texas tycoon H.L. Hunt.
H.L. Hunt had amassed a billion-dollar fortune in the oil industry.
He died in 1974 and left that fortune to his family.
2/ After H.L.'s passing, the Hunt Brothers had taken over the family holdings and successfully managed to expand the Hunt empire.
By the late 1970s, the family's fortune was estimated to be ~$5 billion.
In the financial world, the Hunt name was as good as gold (or silver!).
3/ But the 1970s were a turbulent time in America.
Following the oil crisis of the early 1970s, the U.S. had entered a period of stagflation - a dire macroeconomic condition characterized by high inflation, low growth, and high unemployment.
Stagflation 101
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) September 2, 2020
The term "stagflation" is used frequently in discussions of monetary policy and risks in the post-COVID world.
But what is stagflation and how does it work?
Here's Stagflation 101!
\U0001f447\U0001f447\U0001f447 pic.twitter.com/at4FmaCmkM
4/ The Hunt Brothers - particularly Nelson Bunker and William Herbert - believed that the inflationary environment would persist and destroy the value of their family's holdings.
To hedge this risk, they turned to silver.
They began buying the metal at ~$3 per ounce in 1973.
Short Squeeze 101
If you follow financial markets (or if you watch Billions), you've heard the phrase "short squeeze" used quite frequently.
But what is a "short squeeze" and how does it work?
Here's Short Squeeze 101!
👇👇👇
1/ First, the basics.
The "short" in "short squeeze" refers to the concept of short selling.
The basics are covered in my thread below.
https://t.co/xecJYNCxMs
TL;DR - short selling is a way of betting against a stock - i.e. betting that its price will decline.
2/ "Short interest" is a measure of how heavily an asset is shorted by the market.
It is the total number of shares that have been sold short (borrowed and sold), but have not yet been covered (bought and returned).
It is usually measured as a % of the # of shares outstanding.
3/ A "short squeeze" occurs when a heavily-shorted asset experiences a rapid upward price movement.
When this happens, short sellers may be forced to close their short positions (i.e. buy the stock and return it to the broker), further accelerating the upward price movement.
4/ Let's look at a simple example to show this in action.
We will use Tesla, one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the world.
Imagine the stock price is $1,000 per share. This seems crazy. Ricky Rational decides to short the stock at this level.
If you follow financial markets (or if you watch Billions), you've heard the phrase "short squeeze" used quite frequently.
But what is a "short squeeze" and how does it work?
Here's Short Squeeze 101!
👇👇👇
1/ First, the basics.
The "short" in "short squeeze" refers to the concept of short selling.
The basics are covered in my thread below.
https://t.co/xecJYNCxMs
TL;DR - short selling is a way of betting against a stock - i.e. betting that its price will decline.
1/ Short Selling 101
— Sahil Bloom (@SahilBloom) July 6, 2020
With the markets continuing to rally, there has been more talk of \u201cshorting\u201d or \u201cshort selling\u201d stocks.
But what does that mean and how does it work?
Here\u2019s a quick educational primer: Short Selling 101 pic.twitter.com/JTrJmuY7fI
2/ "Short interest" is a measure of how heavily an asset is shorted by the market.
It is the total number of shares that have been sold short (borrowed and sold), but have not yet been covered (bought and returned).
It is usually measured as a % of the # of shares outstanding.
3/ A "short squeeze" occurs when a heavily-shorted asset experiences a rapid upward price movement.
When this happens, short sellers may be forced to close their short positions (i.e. buy the stock and return it to the broker), further accelerating the upward price movement.
4/ Let's look at a simple example to show this in action.
We will use Tesla, one of the most heavily-shorted stocks in the world.
Imagine the stock price is $1,000 per share. This seems crazy. Ricky Rational decides to short the stock at this level.
More from Marketing
The emergence of many new hypocrisies typically heralds an emerging new cultural synthesis.
Are you disturbed that you agree with one of those viewpoints? Or perhaps that other people you respect do?
1/x
Let me offer a framework for thinking about things like this, something called an “Omega Event.”
It was first described to me by Erik Martin, one of Reddit's first community managers:
In governance, Omega Events exist due to the fact that no system of beliefs, no worldview, no set of rules, can account for everything that will ever happen.
Eventually someone (or some group) will do something that lies outside the scope of all existing rules, and you will have to make decisions again from first principles.
Sometimes the Omega Event emerges from the confluence of many unrelated factors. When it does, it is wholly different from anything you’ve encountered.
Are you disturbed that you agree with one of those viewpoints? Or perhaps that other people you respect do?
1/x
\u2014 HYPOCRISY \u2014
— emily (@emnode) January 9, 2021
\U0001f4cdFree market conservatives outraged that a private social media company can decide who has access to its service.
\U0001f4cdSo called liberals overjoyed at the prospect of powerful corporations taking control of the content and information we're allowed to see.
Let me offer a framework for thinking about things like this, something called an “Omega Event.”
It was first described to me by Erik Martin, one of Reddit's first community managers:
In governance, Omega Events exist due to the fact that no system of beliefs, no worldview, no set of rules, can account for everything that will ever happen.
Eventually someone (or some group) will do something that lies outside the scope of all existing rules, and you will have to make decisions again from first principles.
Sometimes the Omega Event emerges from the confluence of many unrelated factors. When it does, it is wholly different from anything you’ve encountered.
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his name might sound familiar because the new cortellucci vaughan hospital at mackenzie health, the one doug ford has been touting lately as a covid-centric facility, is named after him and his family
but his name also pops up in a LOT of other ford projects. for instance - he controls the long term lease on big parts of toronto's portlands... where doug ford once proposed building an nfl stadium and monorail... https://t.co/weOMJ51bVF
cortellucci, who is a developer, also owns a large chunk of the greenbelt. doug ford's desire to develop the greenbelt has been
and late last year he rolled back the mandate of conservation authorities there, prompting the resignations of several members of the greenbelt advisory
his name might sound familiar because the new cortellucci vaughan hospital at mackenzie health, the one doug ford has been touting lately as a covid-centric facility, is named after him and his family
but his name also pops up in a LOT of other ford projects. for instance - he controls the long term lease on big parts of toronto's portlands... where doug ford once proposed building an nfl stadium and monorail... https://t.co/weOMJ51bVF
cortellucci, who is a developer, also owns a large chunk of the greenbelt. doug ford's desire to develop the greenbelt has been
and late last year he rolled back the mandate of conservation authorities there, prompting the resignations of several members of the greenbelt advisory