SUPPLEMENTARY READING AND EXERCISE TO FOLLOW LECTURES 1 AND 2

!
Welcome to the Supplementary Material for the Intro to Storytelling video course created

by TheStoryStudio.org.

The instructions here will guide you through the brainstorming and honing of a story.

Your goal, as you work your way through this Supplementary Material, should be to workshop at

least one story that you can tell to a group of people at a stage show, on an audio program or any

number of other contexts. I recommend that once you feel you have your first story or two in

presentable condition, you contact me at kevin@risk-show.com to arrange a Skype session where

I can coach you on making it even better. Then return to the exercises here to begin

workshopping another, and another. Nothing can replace practice and human feedback. The more

stories you develop and the more contexts in which you share them, the more at ease you will

feel with taking listeners on vicarious journeys. The Story Studio also offers in-person group

workshops in New York and Los Angeles where you get real-time feedback from peers who are

just as focused on improving at storytelling. That’s a great way to polish your stories even

further.

To get the most out of this course, I recommend you make every effort not to skimp on

the exercises you will find directions for doing in these Supplementary Materials. The real way

to improve at storytelling is to go through the legwork of crafting stories and then sharing them.

Thatʼs what this ʻworkbookʼ part of the course is here to help you do.

Letʼs get back to the idea presented in video Lecture 1; that there are two essential

elements to any story.

 The first is a Human Being. Or maybe two or more, but most stories do zero in mostly on

one person. It’s important that the listener “gets” a thing or two about that person. We want

someone to identify with, someone to tag along with and maybe empathize or sympathize with.

So what is that person’s greatest hope or most dreaded fear, if that hope or fear relates to

what happens in the incidents you plan to describe? What was this person’s condition in life or

biggest problem they were facing, if that condition or problem relates to what happens in the

incidents you plan to describe? You might also consider what makes the hero of this story just a

little different than the hero of most stories. Distinguishing characteristics that truly capture the

essence of this guy or gal. An often-stated philosophy. A telling trait about the way the person

presents him or herself to others. An influential tidbit about this person’s past.

The second essential element of all stories is an Emotional Through-line. That is, an

emotionally-charged mood or attitude or belief that we, the listeners, can follow through an arc

of change over the course of the incidents described.

See if you can identify the emotional change in this (fictional) story:

!
The simple elegance of Chanel always reminds me of my mother. She was a single

mom reduced to wearing thrift store dresses to make ends meet. But with her sewing

talents and shopping savvy, she managed to dress impeccably anyway! I was 8-years-old

the week she was laid off from a job she loved. I watched her fasten a string of faux

pearls around her neck one morning before going off to hunt for new work. From the

redness in her eyes, I could tell she'd been crying. But she said, "Amy. Coco Chanel used

to say you make the best impression when you make the most of what you have." All
 these years later, my mother brings that same modest elegance and perseverance to her

position as the CEO of Chanel. I had breakfast with her the morning of her first day in

her new position and I marveled at her stunning new necklace of real pearls. "A little

pricey, I know," she said. Then she leaned in, gave me a wink and said, "But I'm worth

it!" I remember that moment every morning when I dress for work. My mother taught me

that dressing for success makes succeeding possible.

!
Did you notice that the story moved from a poignant mood to a triumphant one? That’s

the Emotional Through-line. In the beginning, we see thrift store clothes, fake pearls and eyes

red from crying. Thereʼs a feeling of scarcity and worry in those details. When the mother is

quoted about “making the most of what you have,” we have the feeling that she is struggling, but

she is weathering her way through the struggle. In the end, we see a necklace of real pearls. This

gives us the feeling that the mother is now enjoying success. We see her wink and say, “Iʼm

worth it!” and from those details, we feel that proud confidence is the mood weʼve shifted to.

The shifting mood is like the waves we’ve been surfing on.

Of course, the person telling this story might have just said, “Dressing for success makes

succeeding possible,” and left it at that, not bothering to share such an intimate story from her

private life. But that point she is trying to make is brought to life in an emotional way by the

story. As a sentence, “Dressing for success makes succeeding possible,” merely makes sense to

us intellectually. But as the Controlling Idea of a story explicitly stated in the conclusion, it

makes sense to us emotionally. Weʼre much more convinced that the statement is true because we

feel like we’ve lived through an affecting experience that proved it.
 If someone high up at Chanel was trying to communicate that same idea, they might

come up with a block of text like this one:

!
Our philosophy at Chanel is that dressing for success makes succeeding possible.

Our intention is not to alienate women who cannot afford our inventory. On the contrary,

our intention is to project an image to women of all socio- economic backgrounds that

Chanel represents the excellence all women might rightfully strive for.

!
Itʼs a nice thought, but itʼs not really a story or even story-ish, because it lacks a Human

Being (or human-like thing, like a talking dog) for us to relate to as he, she or it goes through a

gradually shifting emotional experience.

!
See if you can identify the emotional change in this story:

!
“Guys! I’ve got an idea! I learned something from watching a movie last night

and now, I could hypnotize one of us!” I was a little surprised to hear myself suggesting

it, but it was just the kind of thing my friends and I liked to do after school when we were

in the 6th grade. We were at Carolyn Schwartzkoff’s house and she said, “I’ll do it.” I

had Carolyn sit in a chair while I stood behind her and everyone gathered round to

stare. I slowly started rubbing her temples in a circular motion and said, “Start by

taking a loooong, deeep breath, and as you let it out, feel your eyelids getting

heavier….” Carolyn was calm and seemed to take to it easily. “Feel how you’re
breathing more and more slowly, and let that relaxed feeling seep down into all your

muscles.” For about 10 minutes we continued. Then we counted down from 100 and by

88, Carolyn’s voice had faded away entirely. I lifted her arm, which felt weirdly heavy

and loose and let it drop back onto her leg. I said, “See that? Dead weight!” to

everyone. My friends jaws and eyes were wide open now.

!
Carolyn and I created a sort of guided meditation together. She was on a

pleasantly warm beach at sunset and everything was lovely. Then, after several minutes

exploring that world, I said, “And on the count of three, I want you to come back to

complete consciousness, alert and refreshed and happy. 1, 2, 3!” With that, Carolyn

started to rouse. Her eyes slowly fluttered back to life. She looked a bit disoriented for a

second. But she shook her head and started to stretch and smiled. She laughed and then

we all laughed and cheered.

!
I said, “How was it?!” She blinked a bit. “It was amazing. I was really

somewhere else!” Everyone was buzzing. But then Carolyn looked down at her lap,

perplexed. She squeezed her left leg. “Wait a minute….” she said. “I can’t feel my

leg….?” Her eyes grew wide. She began hitting her leg with her hand. “I can’t feel my

leg!!!” My friend Danny said, “Are you bluffing? Come on Carolyn, walk it off!” He

motioned to me to help her stand and the two of us pulled her by both of her hands. She

went crashing to the ground like a falling tree. Carolyn started sobbing and shrieking on

the floor. The tears were real. The horror in her eyes and the panic in her voice were
 horrible to see. “Oh my God, oh my god, oh my god am I paralyzed?!!” She kept

wailing. Everyone was whisper-yelling, “Oh my God, we’ve got to call an ambulance!”

“Hold on, we could get into serious trouble.” “Wait a minute, we’ll make it worse if

we’re not calm.” We tried moving her leg for her which only freaked her out more. It was

like she’d lost her mind and I was wondering if I’d caused someone to have to live in a

wheelchair now.

!
But I had an idea. Take her back into trance. “So I can lose my other leg?!” she

said. “No, so I can make sure we bring this one back.” The whole thing was so bizarre

and so unlike anything any of us had ever dealt with before that we all figured, what the

hell. Carolyn wiped her tears away and agreed to try. I knelt down to her on the floor

and began rubbing the temples again. We went through it much quicker this time and

with a sort of urgency, of course. But once she seemed relatively relaxed, I talked about

the blood and nerves and life flowing back into her leg. When I counted to three, she

opened her eyes quickly this time, took a deep breath, squeezed her leg, bent her knee

back and forth, sniffled a little, and nodded to signal it was back. Carolyn swore she

hadn’t been acting. And I told everyone I’d never do hypnosis again.

!
I shared those two stories with you to reinforce what we learned in the video of Lecture

1; that the most essential element of a story is that it resonates with an emotional charge that

changes from the beginning to the end.

 Thatʼs why the best question to ask yourself when doing general brainstorming on stories

you might tell for various occasions in life is, “What were the incidents in my life that I was most

emotionally invested in at the time, or that Iʼm most emotionally invested in now when I look

back?”

!
EXERCISE

So go to a quiet place where you can jot things down or type without distractions. Set a

timer to go off in 20 minutes. Review the questions below and jot down the incidents that come

to mind.

Donʼt tell the whole story!

Just summarize each story in one sentence or fragment, like “The time I broke down

crying when I got a promotion I didnʼt want.” Or, “When dad made me tell the piano teacher I

quit.”

Spend at least 20 minutes answering these questions now:

!
1) What were the incidents in your life when you felt especially happy or hopeful? Maybe

your first kiss or best revenge? Maybe a time you felt you finally understood something

important in your career or personal growth? Maybe you discovered a hobby or a new friend?

2) What were the incidents in your life when you felt especially worried or frightened?

Maybe your worst injury, or fight, or a time you got fired? Maybe you were just nervous you

might drop the ball on a high stakes project. Maybe you made a mistake that could have gotten

you in a lot of trouble.

 3) What were the incidents in your life when you felt especially inspired or excited?

Maybe your first time away from home or a time you accomplished something you didnʼt think

you had in you? Maybe a moment of surprise or discovery in the midst of an effort you really

cared about? Maybe you leapt into the unknown or crossed the line in some way that gave you a

thrill.

4) What were the incidents in your life when you felt especially angry or frustrated?

Maybe a moment of failure or misfortune? Maybe a time you felt the situation you were in was

unjust? Maybe you found yourself at odds with a person or a group.

5) What were the incidents in your life when you felt especially embarrassed or ashamed?

Maybe something that wasnʼt funny at the time but is now? Maybe a time you were in the wrong

and someone helped you see that? Maybe you let your worst intentions get the best of you.

6) What were the incidents in your life when you felt especially sad or sympathetic?

Maybe you suffered a great loss? Maybe a time someone you loved was in pain? Maybe a time

someone showed mercy and compassion to you.

!
Now that you have done some brainstorming on possible stories you can tell, feel free to

move on to the next video.