Whether told through a hundred-page long book or a single picture worth a thousand of those carefully chosen words — stories are relayed to one another in many ways. One of those unique means is audibly through “audio storytelling” which is the subject of today’s blog post. When you hear “audio storytelling” you may think of podcasts or audiobooks (which are all well and good, and we’ll touch on those in a bit). But, as we know, long before we figured out how to use a stone and chisel or ink and quill, we relied on oral tradition to pass down stories through the generations. So, although we may not necessarily be playing a thousand-year-long game of telephone anymore, the way stories are told using sound, both in the past and present, are worth discussing.
Origins Of Oral Tradition
As a quick refresher….
Radio, Hoaxes, & Aliens – Oh My!
In 1938…
The Modern Day Podcast
Podcast…
What I Learned From Ira Glass
Ira Glass, a radio and television personality famous for his weekly “This American Life” show, has been around the block. As part of this unit, we were tasked with watching clips from a 2009 interview he did discussing storytelling. I recommend watching some clips yourself (and don’t worry, the high quality of his insight makes up for the low quality of the video itself). Whether you’re telling your family how your day was or hosting an acclaimed radio show, the advice he shares is honestly timeless and beneficial to any and all storytellers — regardless of medium.
Key Points & Main Principles
The Importance Of “The Anecdote”
“A sequence of actions… A story in its purest form” — Glass stresses how, when used intentionally, anecdotes can harness a momentum that turns boring events into engaging stories that leaves the audience asking, “what happened next?” In his example, he describes a man getting out of bed in the morning, noticing how eerily quiet everything is, and walking downstairs. The application of this first basic building block of storytelling adds wonderful tension to an otherwise bland happening.
Elaborating on the power of the anecdote, Glass stresses the importance of constantly posing question after question with answer after answer — “You want bait… You’re throwing out questions to keep people watching or listening and then answering them along the way.”
Moment Of Reflection
“At some point, somebody’s got to say why the hell you’re listening to this story… Here’s why I’m wasting your time with all this…” is how Glass introduces the second basic building block of storytelling — The “moment of reflection.” A kick-ass story, incredible characters, and an epic climax mean nothing if it’s predictable and doesn’t tell the audience anything new. A good story flips back and forth between “a little bit of action and then someone will say something about it and then there will be a little more action and then someone will say something.”
A thoughtful combination of “the anecdote” and “moment of reflection” will synergize to create something larger than the sum of its parts.
The section above only covers the first part of the interview, but there are multiple parts which I will link here, here, and here in case you want to hear more. Similar to the Tedx talk by Jim Jorstad in my “Intro To Digital Storytelling” blog post, I find Ira Glass’s testimony to be both educational and inspiring.
-Blake 🙂