How to Master Storytelling | Shaan Puri | How I Write Podcast
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 มิ.ย. 2024
- Every year, 25 million people download Shaan’s podcast. Sure, he’s a brilliant entrepreneur, investor, and writer, but there’s one skill in particular that keeps Shaan’s audience coming back for more: storytelling.
And not the kind of storytelling that feels like an IQ contest. (I know you know what I mean.) Shaan tells stories that burst with aliveness, that make readers laugh out loud with joy or fall silent with understanding. And as a result, he’s built more than just a following; he’s built a fandom.
In this episode, Shaan reveals every framework he knows for telling stories so well they make your reader go, “Wait, how did they do that?”. And I mean, every framework. You won’t find this in the ole’ self-help aisle. Plus, he shows you exactly how to do it. We deconstruct everything from popular movies to business origin stories to viral Twitter threads.
Stories are the #1 way to grab readers’ attention, get them to like you, and ultimately, turn them into fans. And this episode is a masterclass on how to do it.
SPEAKER LINKS:
Website & Newsletter: www.shaanpuri.com/
Twitter: / shaanvp
Linkedin: / shaanpuri
WRITE OF PASSAGE:
Enroll in the Write of Passage Bootcamp:
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PODCAST LINKS:
Website: writeofpassage.com/how-i-write
Apple: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSbo...
TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:45 Binge bank
00:04:30 Storytelling
00:06:30 Best storytellers
00:06:40 Aaron Sorkin
00:07:00 Intention & Obstacle
00:12:30 Hasan Minhaj
00:13:00 Writing vs Speaking
00:16:30 Pacing
00:18:30 Hooks vs Frames
00:20:40 Viral tweets
00:24:30 Mr Beast
00:25:35 Storyworthy
00:27:20 5-second moment of change
00:27:45 Rom-Com
00:29:00 Batman
00:29:45 AirBnb
00:32:30 Origin Stories
00:40:10 Tony Robbins
00:41:45 Transformations
00:43:00 Steven Bartlett
00:44:20 Viral videos
00:47:15 Miss Excel
00:51:20 Change your state & focus
00:56:40 Paul Graham
00:59:00 Advice to writers
01:05:00 Writer's voice
01:09:40 Dave Chappelle vs Netflix
01:17:00 Distribution
01:20:00 Twitter / X
01:33:00 Theo Von
01:35:00 Writing with humor
01:43:10 Newsletters
ABOUT THE HOST:
I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.
25 million people, every single year, download Shaan Puri’s podcast. What has Shaan figured out about storytelling?
He spilled the beans in our new chat. Here's how he does it:
1. A story is a five second moment of change. A story is not a sequence of events; it's about transformation. Weave in U-turns and unexpected flips.
2. Write like you talk. Natural, conversational, led by stories.
3. A formula for a great story: Intention + Obstacle. At all moments, the listener should know what the hero wants and what's stopping them from getting there. This one's from Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network.
4. Work backwards from the emotion you're trying to create in the reader. Then let the structure follow.
5. Aim for strong reactions. If you can get the reader to widen their eyes, raise their eyebrows, and/or burst out laughing, they will share your work.
6. Don't write to the faceless masses. Write to one specific person. BuzzFeed writers used to write to "Debbie at her Desk," the bored woman at her desk who wanted a 5-minute distraction.
7. “Likeability” is downstream of vulnerability. The more honestly you share your challenges, the more invested your reader gets. Write your heart out.
8. Don't be the 9,000 IQ guy. Stop competing in imaginary intelligence contests and start telling stories. Big words alienate but tight narratives pull people in.
9. Forget resumes and portfolios. Create a “binge bank” instead. A binge bank is a set of videos or essays that people can binge on. Stack up material so that when people do go down your rabbit hole, they come out the other side a fan.
10. Mere practice gets you nowhere. But intentional practice leads to exponential progress. Always learn from your attempts and make intelligent tweaks on the next try.
11. Comedy is great, but definitely don't make every sentence a joke.
12. Comedy is a pretty easy way to improve your writing. The essence of all comedy is surprise. Study your favorite comedians. Read books like How to Write Funny and The Hidden Tools of Comedy.
13. For better storytelling, Shaan recommends two books: Storyworthy and Building a Storybrand.
14. How to make headlines juicy: use specific and odd numbers, focus on the first three words and the last three words, use "you" whenever possible, and know that longer is typically better than shorter.
15. Your writing should only be as long as it is interesting. An uninteresting 20 second reel will fail; an interesting 30-minute essay will win. But you must be honest while gauging how objectively interesting your piece is…in a world with infinite content.
16. Most people think writing is about transferring information but writing is just as much about transferring emotion. Emotion gets people to take action (like, share, buy…).
what'sup yall - Shaan here. Lemme know what part resonated the most!
Debbie!
Dave Chappelle and Netflix!
What resonated with me most the way you breakdown idea's and leave breadcrumbs for us to follow. Such as mentioning the name of the book storyworthy. And the book A technique for producing Ideas. And mentioning Paul Graham. All of these are bread crumbs that one can follow and feed on to become better at writing , ideas and Storytelling. All of which I will consume!! Thank you!!
It's hard to pick, you are full of gold nuggets! This is the kind of writing advice I'll be coming back to again and again. I will be checking out The Boron Letters asap.
Intention + obstacle / 5 second moment of change
A Simple Formula for Storytelling
Aaron Sorkin, the man behind The Social Network, has a tried-and-true method that you can try out next time you're trying to entertain your friends.
Intention + Obstacle = Good Stories
Whoever's listening to your story should always be able to answer two questions: What does the hero want? What's stopping them from getting it?
The combination of intention and obstacle gives stories the tension and conflict that lead to suspense and keep people invested in your story. Your characters shouldn't passively react to the events around them. No, they should be in active pursuit of something.
Sometimes, the obstacles are internal ones (like self-doubt or moral dilemmas). Sometimes, they're external ones (like villains or social pressure).
Two examples from Sorkin's movies:
1) The Social Network: Zuck wants to create a big-time social network, but he's stuck in legal disputes.
2) Moneyball: Billy Beane wants to build a championship baseball team, but resistance comes in the form of a tight budget and skepticism from the people around him.
These examples are why Sorkin says: "I worship at the altar of intention and obstacle."
When Shaan mentions only writing for his young grasshopper (01:07:00) it reminded me of two others who use a similar strategy.
1. Kurt Vonnegut - famously in his writing rules he instructs to only write for one person. If not, he warned, you could fall into the trap of “making love to the world and your story getting syphylus.”
2. Warren Buffet - when writing his annual shareholder letter he starts by writing “Dear Doris and Bertie” (his two sisters and holders of Berkshire stock). That way he knows he’s being direct and not over complicated.
The teaser alone: make them Lol, wtf, omg - that was gold!
The Binge Bank was gold. I also love that story is a change, not a chronology of something that happened.
Agree
Intention and obstacle. A great, succinct way to craft a story worth listening to.
This man told us stories to build a story on how to create a great story. Master🙏🏾
Just watched every second of this video. My biggest takeaway - I need to watch this 10 more times.
Shaan's approach to storytelling is genuinely captivating. Remember that the best stories often come from personal experience.
This is brilliant. My favorite episode yet. David, the way you distill ideas so quickly is great (have found the Shiny Dime challenge invaluable!). Looking forward to checking out Shaan's work.
The best podcast in the world 🌎 Thanks for another great one David
Thank you!
David's joy is real. ❣
Shaan Pure Gold Puri, as always! Perell is no slouch either, his Girard/Thiel essay was a pivot moment for me.
One of my favorites
58:37 I think part of the way they come together, is by putting the ideas on paper, then taking a break and later editing. By splitting that work up, I think it allows for both parts of the process to be maximized.
All i see are 2 GOATs
try refreshing the page :)
Excited for this - watching now!
I cant believe this is free so many golden nuggets here - Shaan is amazing!!
I hope people are paying attention to what Dave Perrow does in some of these interviews. In particular, this interview where he's kind of shadowing what Shan is saying.
So you hear him, you know, after Shaan has talked about an idea, he would go over it again. More like he's mirroring what Shaan is saying so that he can grasp the idea even better.
Because the more you say something, the more it sticks. And so Dave is trying to learn while interviewing. You can see him actively learning while interviewing his guest, Shaan.
It's a very powerful technique for printing things into the memory so that you can always record them later in the future.
Shaan is looking great!! Well done on the discipline dude
Brilliant, so many simple takeaways here that I can action in something I'm writing today.
Came here for Shaan but now a subscriber.
Boron Letters are game changing
This was just insanely valuable. so much good stuff. pure gold.
Writing with voice. I loved this hack. Never gave it a thought until I heard it today. Thanks. Was a good session.
My takeaway from this episode is more than three interesting things, way more.
Thank you Shaan Puri and David Perell.
He couldn’t remember your compliment meaning he doesn’t LISTEN. 😂
Best episode by far! Shaan is a G
Can´t wait to 1; Have Shaan on my podcast. 2: Take his writing course. Awesome podcast!
Really great! Huge fan of MFM pod and you got Shaan to pull back the curtain and explain why I think it's beyond "EPIC" :)
Thanks 🎉
Note to self. Girls may like ambition but don't tell her you're working on your enthusiasm.
This was fantastic..
I think I need to go back and take notes.
Know Your Audience: Understand who you're speaking to and tailor your story accordingly. Consider their interests, knowledge level, and what resonates with them.
Structure Matters: A compelling story typically has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Establish the setting and characters, build tension or conflict, and provide resolution.
Emotion and Authenticity: Connect with your audience on an emotional level by sharing personal experiences or tapping into universal human emotions. Authenticity builds trust and engagement.
Great question 16:30 skilled host
How did you mic this and get such great audio?
Boom Mic?? Maybe
@@JAY-NATAJbut we don’t see boom mics in the shots they’re both in together? But maybe they’re there
7:04 the jist
🔥🔥🔥
What the heck kind of ending was that? It was so abrupt. That aside, great interview on a super interesting topic.
👍
🎉
I am a bit lost at 57 minutes.if this episode is in chapters I will take good notes
I would have paid for what is being shared here
yall need to like and sub so this man can buy some end tables
The Big Brown Employee Handbook
Shaan is my spirit animal
Binge bank.
xxx
Weird to see Shaan with pants. I don't mean it in a weird way, but if you are here from MFM, it's easy to forget that he has legs.
Or maybe it's just me...
Not sure how long you have been podcasting for but you need to make it less about you and have more follow up questions for the guest.
Could you not relate to anything he said about his own writing? If not I would guess you don’t write anything, and are only thinking about wanting to write stuff.