4 ms·

I am capable of telling good stories when I have a warmed up audience that is receptive to listening. But in day to day life I get nervous and tend to condense

I am capable of telling good stories when I have a warmed up audience that is receptive to listening. But in day to day life I get nervous and tend to condense the story into one sentence because I don’t want to waste people’s time. For example: My coworker Fred had no sense of privacy and he loved gossip. Sitting next to him wasn’t that bad though because I always knew what was going on in the office. He even checked my screen and used to read my email. Once he read it before I did and told me “hey our boss wants to talk to you” and when I got back asked me “did you get in trouble?” with a kind of eager look on his face. (Usually gets a laugh if I do the fred voice right) Vs my normal hasty: Oh yeah Fred he always read my email as soon as I got it, once he even told me the boss wanted to see me before I knew it. - which doesn’t have enough buildup for any potential punchline or Fred characterisation. I think a lot of good storytelling is having the assertiveness to take up a significant amount of conversational bandwidth. Which can go wrong if you misjudge the audience or heirarchy (as I have many times).

ericmcer 4y ago
Yeah good point. I don’t think condensing the stories is bad at all though. It is way worse to attempt some long anecdote on someone who is trying to catch a train. The only thing that determines whether a story was “good” or not is how your audience responds to it. Reading them and the situation is way more important than having some amazing story ready to tell. Unfortunately that is a way harder skill to learn. I have a friend who definitely has it. He can tell a story about some inane daily event that will entertain everyone infinitely more than another person recounting their life altering traveling experience.
- porknubbins 4y ago
  Yeah with a conversation there is a kind of back and forth. It is not like the listener is a detached 3rd party judging the material like a standup comedy routine. Some people just have this ability to pull you in and make you laugh even if the story is mediocre. On the other hand I feel like I often deliver A+ material like the tax code.

ericmcer 4y ago

Yeah good point. I don’t think condensing the stories is bad at all though. It is way worse to attempt some long anecdote on someone who is trying to catch a train. The only thing that determines whether a story was “good” or not is how your audience responds to it. Reading them and the situation is way more important than having some amazing story ready to tell. Unfortunately that is a way harder skill to learn. I have a friend who definitely has it. He can tell a story about some inane daily event that will entertain everyone infinitely more than another person recounting their life altering traveling experience.

porknubbins 4y ago
Yeah with a conversation there is a kind of back and forth. It is not like the listener is a detached 3rd party judging the material like a standup comedy routine. Some people just have this ability to pull you in and make you laugh even if the story is mediocre. On the other hand I feel like I often deliver A+ material like the tax code.