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Introduction
This week, we learned a thing or two about storytelling. It’s tempting to think about storytelling as something nebulous and without clear structure – the territory of creative talents or of con men. We’ve been schooled to the contrary by Matthew Dicks, a professional storyteller, author and teacher.
Matthew Dicks emerged in the world of storytelling out of The Moth, a New York City based non-profit group dedicated to the art and craft of storytelling. This group began in 1997 and hosts events around the country where attendees and the best of the best get on stage in a format reminiscent of stand-up comedy or TED talks. They tell true personal stories and compete against each other for the approval of the judges and audience.
What Makes a [Good] Story
According to the author, a story revolves around a moment of transformation or realization when something fundamentally changes in the teller’s life. They find faith and discover religion. They realize they’ve been selfish and needlessly alienating their loved ones. They go from hating kids to wanting to have their own.
Every true story, whether it’s told in five minutes or in five hundred, can be reduced to this one keystone. Dicks calls it the “five-second moment”. A story without such a five-second moment is not a story but rather an anecdote or just someone incoherently firing off a series of people, places and events. He even asserts that every good film has a five-second moment. In Jurassic Park it’s when the protagonist realizes he actually likes kids after all, which is fortunate given it’s the primary sticking point between him and his romantic partner. The rest of the action in the story is a hook or vehicle for the five-second moment.
The beginning of the story, in turn, must be the opposite of this five-second moment, resulting in a story arc. This change is essential to any story. No one who doesn’t love you is entertained by you bragging about going from strength to strength. Dicks laces these lessons in with more guidance on narrative structure, style, delivery and stories from his own eventful life – from being robbed at gunpoint as a McDonald’s manager, flying through a windshield in a traumatic car accident and many more incredible stories created from far less extreme circumstances. He also has an appealing system for ordinary people to recall and record stories that already exist in their lives. Matthew Dicks’ “Homework for Life” system instills daily recording of a five-second moment from that day, helping people to recognize meaning in their experiences and to become better storytellers.
The Value of Storytelling as a Skill
Dicks makes a compelling case for storytelling being more than just an instrument of persuasion or of entertainment. It is those things, but it is also a way to convey meaning and to connect with people. In his Homework for Life framework, it also becomes a tool for remembering the things that matter. We often lament how many pleasant or memorable stories get buried too deep in our memories to be readily recalled. It’s remarkable that we basically forsake these memories and leave it to chance that one day, an old acquaintance might remind us of them. We’re grateful for the simple and systematic approach to refining and then preserving our best stories.
Learning more about the technical and functional aspects of storytelling also has us wondering why there seems to be minimal emphasis on teaching this skill in schools. A handful of Matthew Dicks’ tips might show up in a high school acting or drama class. In a classical liberal education, some elements may have fallen into rhetoric lessons. These disciplines – which many students may not experience – are not the best substitutes. Furthermore, many American students leave K-12 institutions without being proficient in reading and math, let alone science, and so teaching them storytelling is unlikely to be a priority in American education in the near future. Hopefully, Matthew Dicks and other storytelling evangelists will succeed in getting the word out to younger pupils. There’s great value in being able to entertain an audience as you try to inform them, and for both parties to share the sense of meaning the story has to offer.
5 of our Favorite Quotes from the Book:
"You need not spend time in jail or crash through a windshield or have a gun jammed against the side of your head to tell a great story. The simplest stories about the smallest moments in our lives are often the most compelling."
“Your story must reflect change over time. A story cannot simply be a series of remarkable events. You must start out as one version of yourself and end as something new. The change can be infinitesimal. It need not reflect an improvement in yourself or your character, but change must happen. Even the worst movies in the world reflect some change in a character over time. So must your story. Stories that fail to reflect change over time are known as anecdotes. Romps. Drinking stories. Vacation stories. They recount humorous, harrowing, and even heartfelt moments from our lives that burned brightly but left no lasting mark on our souls.”
"Matt’s 3 Rules of Vacation Stories: (1) No one wants to hear about your vacation. (2) If someone asks to hear about your vacation, they are being polite. See rule #1…If you had a moment that was actually storyworthy while you were on vacation, that is a story that should be told. But it should not include the quality of the local cuisine or anything related to the beauty or charm of the destination."
"Don’t start by setting expectations. Listen to people in the world tell you stories. Often they start with a sentence like, “This is hilarious,” or “You need to hear this,” or “You’re not going to believe this.” This is always a mistake."
“Tell me the facts and I’ll learn. Tell me the truth and I’ll believe. But tell me a story and it will live in my heart forever.” – Ancient Proverb
All the best,
The Citizen Scholar Team
Discussion #19: Storyworthy: Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling, by Matthew Dicks