Tip of the week: How to be a great storyteller
Four ways to engage your listeners
Use the present tense. The best raconteurs refer to events as if they were taking place right at that moment. It gives an anecdote a “sense of immediacy” and engages the crowd.
Play with the sequence. When sharing experiences with others, it’s not always necessary to “go from beginning to middle to end.” Far from causing confusion, starting in the middle and doubling back can keep an audience in suspense.
Get into character. Don’t be afraid to become “both narrator and performer” of your story. If it involves a conversation, act it out. Besides being “so much more entertaining,” this lets listeners know a little more about the characters involved.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Know when to close. Gauge your audience’s reaction. If you sense that the story’s not playing well, wrap it up quickly. “Get to the punch line,” and move on. There will always be other audiences.
Source: Allure
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Missionaries using tech to contact Amazon's Indigenous people
Wealthy US-backed evangelical groups are sending drones to reach remote and uncontacted tribes, despite legal prohibitions
-
August 3 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday’s political cartoons include a human data center, Donald Trump's enterprising spirit, and more
-
5 darkly funny cartoons about Israel blocking aid to Gaza
Cartoons Artists take on forcing famine, avoiding aid, and more