🤫 Storytelling Mastery: Chris Pratt cracked it in 72 seconds...

Chris Pratt delivered a 72-second storytelling masterclass on the Graham Norton show the other week. His secret?

Most storytelling experts will tell you to:

1. Find the hardship 💔

2. Make it emotional 😿

3. Share your big moments 🎉

4. Focus on the turning points 🌄

5. Take us through a transformation 🦋

It’s great advice… in theory.

But if Chris Pratt had followed it, the story wouldn’t have reached a fraction of it’s potential; it would have just sounded like everyone else’s. As a result, he made Claudia Winkleman’s jaw DROP! Have a watch of this… 🍿.

How to nail conversational storytelling in three steps:

1. Speak in the present tense 🗣️
   That’s how the best storytellers make you feel like you’re in the room with them.
   
   ‘So I’m in this audition room with Brad Pitt and Bennett Miller…

   and I’m as nervous as you can possibly imagine.”
   
   Shoutout to storytelling genius Mark Leruste for this one (well worth a follow).
   

2. Use signals to switch between characters 🪧
   Chris told the story exactly how you’d retell it to a friend. He didn’t put on an accent or imitate the characters, he simply told it how he heard it.
   
   “ He was like “…” | And I was like “okayyyy” | And I said ”…” | So he goes “…”
   
   Other things you can do to distinguish each character without acting include:
   
   1. Changing the pace/power/tone 💬
   2. Looking left when one speaks, right when the other replies 🎭
   

3. Add tiny details to make the scene vivid 🧠

   “I’m in the directors office… and he’s sitting back with his feet up on the desk.”
   
   You don’t need to describe everything. Choose one or two specific details to do the heavy lifting.

—

So here’s a question for you to reflect on…

What the most important conversation
you’ve had this year?

That conversation might be exactly what your next talk or podcast appearance needs.

Go get ‘em!

Alex