Storytelling

I was introduced today to Ira Glass today via an online class, Twelve that I am taking at Big Picture Scrapbooking.   When I got done watching the video clip I knew I had to share it with my teaching friends right away.  Ira talks about storytelling whether it be via writing or video storytelling.

These are the highlights I walked away with; there are two powerful building blocks.  The anecdote which is the story in the purest form using a sequence of actions.  The anecdote needs a bait and it needs to raise a question. Then each story needs a moment of reflection explaining why did we just spent the time reading the story.  He also encourages the viewer to look for interesting stories and this takes time.  Not every story is worth telling and sometimes we can overdo the boring parts.  He is so soft spoken when he reminds us failure is part of success.  He encourages all storytellers to do a huge volume of work and to expect errors.  I think these highlights are important for us to remember as writers and great advice for our students to hear.  Enjoy this clip and I'm off to learn more about This American Life which Ira Glass is the host of.

                               

  Ira Glass on Storytelling from Neil Lee on Vimeo.