What Makes a Good Story?

http://blog.ted.com/2010/12/24/nine-stories-a-tedtalks-playlist/

TED talks have a reputation to be wonderfully inspiring presentations by phenomenal speakers who seem to just have a way with their words.  I watched three of the nine TED talks listed on this website, one from Becky Blanton on being homeless, one by Patsy Rodenburg on why she does theatre, and one by Mike Rowe on being incorrect.  All of these talks are very different in subject matter, but so painfully similar in underlying substance.

A few characteristics that are consistent in all of the TED talks that I watched were that they all showed credibility, they all had a powerful message to get across, they all had points in admitting their faults, and they all ended on a truly inspiring note.

Credibility is shown in the beginning through displaying life experience, and throughout the talk by admitting their mistakes and shortcomings as a mean for improvement.  What is a story without a moral? All of these beautifully put together stories all have a message to be sent.  This message is put across through giving random details throughout the story that all come together in the end on a inspirational note.  The speakers make themselves vulnerable to the audience by showcasing genuine emotion to help get the point across.

A particular story in substance could be very inspiring but unless it is told in a strategic manner a person may not be able to fully grasp all aspects of the story.  Of course subject matter is extremely important, but it is the execution that separates a story from being good or great to exceptional

Sucker for good storytelling

After listening to the full radio broadcast of the “War of Worlds” I can truly say I fell victim to getting suckered in to believing a story that was clearly false.  When listening to this broadcast the height of suspense, I failed to see all of the clear clues that the story was completely false.

At the beginning of the broadcast, I completely thought it was your typical daily broadcast stating the weather, and any other daily need-to-know info.  The transition from complete normalcy to complete and total chaos was very gradual, and slow pace, leaving the listener no reason to question it.

The broadcasters were very prompt in reiterating their location, and it was structured as though they themselves were finding the information out just as we were, drawing the audience in more.  All of the witnesses, yes, every witness that was interviewed just “happened” to be a highly respected person in society such as a professor, general of the army, or meteorologist. This gave the information credibility to the listeners. 

So the reporters gradually drew us in, structured the broadcast as though they were finding out information just as we were, and had well respected witnesses.  The only thing left to seal the deal was the emotion we heard in the broadcasters’ voices.

Statement of Intent

The blog that I have just created, is intended as a public form of my own expression and opinions combined with the reblogs of things I find interesting.  The goal is to be able to grow, thrive and learn the ropes throughout the semester on how to be able to maintain a blog the best possible way that I can.

Blogs?

With the world’s latest obsession with social media, it is almost impossible to have not had any interaction with some type of blog.  Blogs have been around ever since the Internet was created, and now they have transformed into changing the way people connect with one another in their daily lives.

I can make one, you can make one, your Aunt Sally from Idaho can make one, anybody can create a blog, and anybody can read them. Blogs are for the public, and meant for anyone’s eyes who are willing to read them. Blogging is an activity where we can freely exercise our right to freedom of speech. There are blogs about everything from fashion to robots to cookie recipes to simply a person’s everyday life. 

When people blog, it’s because they found something interesting or discovered something new, so most likely there are other people out there who feel the same way.  Their posts are simply stated, with their thoughts organized in a manner that is convenient for skimming.  There are short and to the point titles, and usually a simple photo to tie in with the article.

The wonderful thing that makes blogs so popular is the fact that there is no set structure that you must follow.  There are a few guidelines that may help make your blog successful, but at the end of the day you have the final say it what goes and what doesn’t.

Hello world!

Welcome to WordPress.com! This is your very first post. Click the Edit link to modify or delete it, or start a new post. If you like, use this post to tell readers why you started this blog and what you plan to do with it.

Happy blogging!