In December 2012 I attended the 28th International Papillomavirus Conference in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I was there as part of a panel presenting on the personal and public benefits of prioritising Indigenous Health – but more on that later. I attended the pre-conference public health workshop and the second day of the workshop was devoted to “The power of story: Learning storytelling techniques from Hollywood’s master storytellers.” The panel presenting this workshop was:
Christopher Keyser presented on the elements of effective storytelling, and I want to share these with you from my workshop notes. While he was talking about scripting TV drama shows I think the points he made are also useful guides for any writing endeavour where we’re trying to get across a particular story, or share about a particular kaupapa (agenda). Christopher talked about four key elements.
The pitfalls he’s identified in people’s storytelling is that they get bogged down in tiny details, or they go wandering off on a tangent so it’s not clear what the story is about. A question to ask yourself is “Does this advance the plot?” If you’re getting into minute detail or leading people away from your kaupapa (agenda) it’s unlikely they’ll be any better than you at focusing on what you’re really wanting to tell them. |
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