The Art of Story Telling - How to be a good Story Teller

One of the most important things to learn as a PUA is to be an engaging story teller. It is now what you say but how you say it. It is not how amazing your story really was but how you framed it to sound 'amazing', 'interesting' and 'exciting'.

Its all about the presentation of the matter:

A good example is wilders article on Story Telling.

http://www.bristollair.com/outergame/routines/storytheory/
Also a discussion about the same on EBSS (The SF Bay Area Lair)

Story Theory
by Wilder

Telling stories to a group of people is one of the best ways to generate attraction in pick-up when done correctly.

What follows are several things to consider when choosing and crafting stories for use in the field during attraction phases. They're more guidelines than hard and fast rules, as you can break most of them when you know what you're doing.

1. Story material This is close to a no-brainer. Choose stories that are interesting, fun and GIRL RELEVANT! Avoid stories about distasteful subjects, i.e. death, car accidents, bad breakups, etc. Usually these stories are funny. Use stories you tell often to friends and new people that get big laughs.
   
   [ CONVERSATION THEMES WITH CHICS:
   TRAVEL, MOVIES (TYPE OF MOVIES.. CHIC FLICS, SCARY MOVIES), TV SHOWS, POP CULTURE, SHOPPING, PERSONAL EXPERIENCES INVOLVING WOMEN, DRAMA/ DRAMATIC SITUATIONS, CLOTHES/ FASHION, SHOES, HOROSCOPES, PALMISTRY, TAROT READING, PSYCHIC, SPELLS, GHOSTS, SUPERNATURAL THINGS, RELATIONSHIPS, VARIOUS ASPECTS OF RELATIONSHIPS, CONCERTS, SHOWS, CARNIVALS, ART, FESTIVALS...]
   
   
2. Be succinct Write your story out word for word and then gut it. Get rid of everything the listener doesn't need to know and doesn't care about. It's essential that you're ruthless here. Better to cut too much than too little. State the boring but necessary details as succinctly as possible.
   
   
3. Lead in This is how you start the story. The lead in should be congruent with the story to follow. Communicate using words, tonality and energy the type of story to follow. Some examples are, "Oh my God, the funniest/craziest/weirdest thing happened to me the other day!" or "Did you guys ever notice XXX?" or "You'll never believe this, check it out."
   
   
4. Initial hook An initial hook is something that makes peoples' ears perk up. It should be as close to the beginning of the story as possible and should be specifically chosen to make people lean in and pay attention. If your story is about something that happened to you at an S & M party, put that part up front!
   
   Bad: My friend called me the other day and left me a message to call him back. So I called him and he went on and on about his Mother's operation before finally telling me about this party he wanted to go to. Turns out, it's an S & M party!
   
   Good: So the other day I went to this S & M party!
   
   
5. Unanswered questions Craft your story so that there will be unanswered questions in the listener's mind. You want them to ask you questions that give you the opportunity to further increase your value.
   
   Example: So I was picking up my new car the other day and the salesman wouldn't stop asking me about my watch. The girl I was with finally told him we had to go so she could pick up her instrument for a concert she was doing that night.
   
   Unanswered questions:
   - What kind of car did you just buy?
   - What kind of watch were you wearing?
   - Are you rich?
   - Who was the girl you were with?
   - What kind of performance did she have to get to?
   
   
6. Allude, don't state directly In the examples above you're alluding. You're alluding to the fact that you have money, as you just bought a new car and have a cool watch. You're alluding to the fact that you hang out with cool girls. Stated directly, any of this information would sound like bragging, so you allude to it. Make them ask you about it; don't volunteer it.
   
   
7. Subcommunication This has to do mostly with tonality. The same story can be told playfully, seductively or in a way that generates intrigue. Calibrate to your audience and know what you want to subcommunicate.
   
   
8. Convey personality traits In telling a story, you're telling someone a great deal about yourself. Know what personality traits want to convey. Craft your stories to subtly tell someone you're adventurous, rich, famous, creative, courageous, etc.
   
   
9. Tonality This is hard to put in print, but vary your tonality as widely as possible. Talk slow, then fast, then low, then high and then higher! Make transitions smoothly and tell the story in a way that sucks your listener right in. Along with this, act out parts of the story with your hands or your whole body.
   
   
10. Have a punch line A punch line is a line that sums up your story in a powerful way. It's a way of letting the listener know that the story is over. It doesn't have to be funny, though in many stories used in the field it will be.
    
    Examples:
    - "That's the last time I take THAT dog to the beach!"
    - "From now on I'm asking to see girls' ID's!"
    - "That was the day I learned the true meaning of courage."

Short Example Story:
The Girls at Burning Man are fucking CRAZY! So I met this girl at dinner and we really hit it off. We spent the whole evening together and she was great, but something seemed a little off. Anyway, she finally takes me back to her tent and it's really romantic and everything, then afterwards we fall asleep in each others' arms. In the morning I kissed her on her forehead, but she didn't wake up. So I left and went to my own tent, which was like 20 yards away, figuring I'd see her at breakfast. But she's not at breakfast. And she's not at lunch. And she's not at dinner. Finally after dinner, I see her across the space and she comes right over to me with this weird look on her face. She puts her hand on my chest, looks deep into my eyes and says, "Oh my God, you're so hot, I HAVE to meet you."
I looked at her and said, "Sarah, it's ME."
Then she gets this really weird look on her face and says, "How did you know my NAME?!"

1. Story material- Burning Man, Romance, Sex.
   
2. Be succinct.
   
3. Lead in- "The Girls at Burning Man are fucking CRAZY!." I'd say this animated and playfully, like there's a story coming.
   
4. Initial hook- Crazy girls at Burning Man.
   
5. Unanswered questions:
   - What is Burning Man?
   - What's Burning Man like?
   - Are chicks always so attracted to you?
   - What's wrong with this girl?
   - What happened next with this girl?
   
6. Allude, don't state directly. Much more effective than saying "Hey, chicks dig me."
   
7. Subcommunication- Audience dependant.
   
8. Convey personality traits:
   - I'm sexually open
   - I'm adventurous
   - I take things in stride
   - I'm cool with weird and unusual people and situations
   
9. Have a punch line: "How did you know my NAME?!"
   
10. Tonality: I use a wide range on tonality telling this story.
    

Game on-

- Wilder

I saw this blog post while searching through google. I am looking for more insights on this. If you happen to find some please do let me know.

nomadlife HOWTO - How to be a good story teller…

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

How to be a good story teller…
By far one of the hardest parts of reintegration is telling your story. Lets be honest: No one wants to hear about that amazing bike ride through the rice patty or the view from the top of the Eiffel Tower. You gotta give your audience what they want. Sex, danger or even coitus are the acrylics on your palette. As soon as you realize this, you are on your way to being a good story teller…

There are several tricks to getting at what the audience wants. Trick number one: Don’t get bogged down in minute details. Your goal is to get to the sauce as soon as possible, observe:

“So, I was in Thailand and there’s this guy who my friend that I was with met on the beach. So, we went over to his, like I think it was an apartment or a hotel, and we start trading our Asia stories. Anyway, he starts telling this story about his friend in Bangkok. So his friend goes out drinking, and he’s pretty drunk, and the next thing he knows he’s in a village out side of town. Naked, with his boxers turned inside out. It took him three days to get back to Bangkok.”

So now that’s an “okay story.” But observe the pains taken to describe relationship and setting. No one cares. Get to the sauce:

“So, I was in Thailand and there’s this dude I met. Anyway, this guy starts telling me about this time he went out drinking in Bangkok, and he’s pretty drunk, and the next thing he knows he’s in a village out side of town. Naked, with his boxers turned inside out. It took him three days to get back to Bangkok.”

Alright, now you’re talking. That 30 second story is starting to be 30 seconds long. Next, your going to want to emphasize the sexy bits, and throw some meat on that skeleton. The first is with adjectives and metaphor, observe:

“So, I was in Thailand and I meet this crazy Australian dude. Anyway, this guy starts telling me about this time he was drinking in Bangkok, and he’s piss drunk at some shady ass bar, and some one slips him something and the next thing he knows he’s in this farm village outside of town. With nothing on but his stained boxers turned inside out. It took him three days to get back to Bangkok.”

See, now that story is getting respectable. I’d take that one any day, but there’s still more work to do. Next is the embellished detail. I recommend the use of numbers pulled from your ass or colloquialisms to convey severity of the situation:

“So, I was in Thailand and I meet this crazy Australian dude. So, we just start shooting the shit on this porch. Anyway, this guy is telling me about this time he went out drinking in Bangkok. Apparently, he gets piss drunk at some shady ass bar and someone one slips him a roofy. The next thing he knows, its been 48 hours and he’s in this farm village 8 miles out of town. With nothing on but his stained boxers turned inside out. It took him three days to get back to Bangkok.”

Now all you need is to relate this to the reader/listener and your done son:

“So, I was in Thailand and I meet this crazy Australian dude. Anyway, this guy is telling me about this time he went out drinking in Bangkok, and if you know Bangkok you know there are some shaddy ass places downtown. Anyway, he gets piss drunk off of Mehkong whisky at some bar, and someone one slips him a roofy. The next thing he knows, its been 48 hours and he’s in this farm village 8 miles out of town. And he’s wearing nothing but his shit stained boxers. Turned. Inside-Out. Luckily, the people were really nice and gave him cloths and money to get back to Bangkok. He never wore underwear again”

See you got the danger, lesson learned and a happy ending. Anyone else have some good stories to tell?


posted by nomadlife community # 5:56 PM

So what are the themes and topics that you must talk about with women? Check some of the following DYD insights (quoted from here.. )

• There are really two very different (and important) aspects to the "conversations with women" topic:
  
  1. The HOW
  2. The WHAT
  
  THE HOW
  
  Most guys want to know "what to talk about" with women.
  It only makes sense that you should talk about things that women are interested in... right?
  Well... partially.
  It is actually FAR MORE IMPORTANT to talk about whatever topic you're talking about in the RIGHT WAY.
  In other words, if you don't understand HOW to carry on a conversation that creates ATTRACTION, then it really won't matter WHAT you talk about... because the woman you're talking to won't FEEL anything towards you.
  
  [Editor: Read our "Things You Should Never Say On A Date" for additional information"]
  
  The HOW of conversation includes (but is not limited to):
  
  -Your body language
  -Eye contact
  -The Cocky & Funny style of communicating
  -Flirting
  -Sending mixed messages
  -Directing the conversation
  -Dealing with common questions and topics
  
  ...and many other things.
  
  My point is that if you're running into a lot of "uncomfortable silences", nervousness, and other usual challenges, then you probably need to get the HOW handled before the WHAT.
  
  THE WHAT
  
  With that said, there are several topics that are GREAT to discuss with women.
  But instead of just giving them to you, I want you to do yourself a favor and THINK for a minute.
  
  What topics do women PAY to hear about?
  
  Hint: Cosmo magazine, romance novels, soap operas, nighttime dramas, the fashion channel... etc.
  
  If you think about it, the answer to this question is rather obvious.
  
  For whatever reason, WOMEN tend to LOVE:
  
  -Drama
  -Conflict
  -Romance
  -Famous people and their lives
  ...Looks, Fashion, Vacations, Affairs, etc..
  
  So... it's really quite easy to enjoy a conversation with a woman about these topics.
  
  Here are a few ideas:
  
  1. Play amateur psychologist to the stars.
  
  Talk about how someone famous is doing something really stupid, then psycho-analyze them.
  For instance... right now, Michael Jackson is something like two hundred million dollars in debt. Even though he makes about twenty million dollars a year, he somehow manages to blow it all and then some. He has spent an unimaginable amount of time and money on plastic surgery and skin bleaching... and he reportedly just spent around seven hundred grand digitally darkening his skin tone in a recent video.
  This situation is all kinds of BEGGING to be picked apart with a fine-toothed critical mind.
  It's also PREGNANT with humor opportunities.
  
  2. Find an interesting-looking group of people and guess what's going on.
  
  Look around you, and find a couple sitting at a table that looks like they're on their first date.
  Then start making fun of how the guy is acting, how he's dressed, his posture, or whatever. Talk about how the woman is thinking that he's a dork and how he's not getting any, no matter how many compliments he gives her.
  Analyzing what's going on with a close group of others is big fun, and women love it.
  
  3. Make fun of someone famous.
  
  Talk about how a super model is too skinny, or how Ozzy has killed all his brain cells and what a shame it is that he's on TV broadcasting it to millions of viewers.
  Make fun of Mariah Carey for gaining weight, being put in the loony bin, and putting out a sucky movie.
  All you have to do is read a few gossip magazines to get all kinds of great stuff to make fun of.
  It's fun, it's funny, and it's a great way to talk like you're all that.
  
  4. Talk about other people's love lives.
  
  Talk about the problems that others are going through when it comes to love and romance, then volunteer completely ridiculous theories about what's going on.
  Mention a friend you had who broke up with his girlfriend because she gained weight, then after you've told the story, make up a random theory about how women who gain weight are actually lesbians.
  But make sure it's funny, whatever you invent.
  ...I think you can "feel me".
  
  The point here is that women are NATURALLY fascinated and drawn to certain topics... so USE THEM.
  
  The REAL benefit of talking to women about topics that really interest them is that you can USE ALL THE OTHER IDEAS THAT YOU'RE LEARNING while you're talking!
  
  You can AMPLIFY THE ATTRACTION as the conversation goes on... as long as you know what else to do as you talk.
  
  Oh, by the way...
  
  Topics to avoid: Rape, kidnapping, stalking, death, chess, computers, comic books, Star Wars, monster trucks, and NSYNC. NEVER talk about topics that might really freak a woman out, or topics that make you look like the biggest loser alive in the beginning. You'll create BAD VIBES that will make any attraction that you've created INSTANTLY disappear. Others to really avoid include talking negatively about yourself, talking about how desperate you are or how long it's been since you've been on a date, asking if she likes you or if you're her "type"... and any other WUSS-BAG topic that makes you look insecure and needy.
  
  Remember, the key to success with women is creating a powerful emotional ATTRACTION between you and her.
  If you don't know how to do this, then NOTHING you do is going to help you very much.

Insightful topics aren't they?