Matthew Dicks, a five-time Moth GrandSlam winner and author of 'Storyworthy', shares his storytelling expertise. He emphasizes that anyone can learn to tell compelling stories, using everyday moments for rich narratives. Dicks introduces 'Homework for Life,' a technique to discover hidden stories in daily experiences. He discusses the importance of engaging beginnings and endings, as well as the pitfalls to avoid in storytelling. Plenty of practical advice awaits, including how great stories don't need grand events to capture attention.
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Homework for Life
Use "Homework for Life" to generate story ideas.
At the end of each day, write down the most story-worthy moment, even if small.
insights INSIGHT
Life's Meaning
"Homework for Life" slows down time and makes life more meaningful.
Capturing daily moments creates a sense of significance.
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First, Last, Best, Worst
Play "first, last, best, worst" to generate story ideas.
Apply this to any topic (e.g., first kiss, last vacation) to uncover potential stories.
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Engage, Teach, Persuade, and Change Your Life through the Power of Storytelling
Matthew Dicks
In 'Storyworthy,' Matthew Dicks provides a comprehensive guide on the art of storytelling. The book is divided into three parts: Finding your story, Crafting your story, and Telling your story. Dicks shares his own stories to illustrate key points and offers tips and exercises to help readers improve their storytelling skills. He emphasizes the importance of identifying a 'five-second moment' of transformation or realization in every story and provides techniques for making stories engaging and memorable. The book is designed to help anyone become a better storyteller, whether for personal or professional purposes, and highlights how storytelling can deepen connections with others and enhance one's own life[1][3][5].
This is a re-broadcast. The episode originally ran in November 2018.
Humans are storytelling and story-listening creatures. We use stories to teach, persuade, and to make sense of the complexities of existence. Being able to craft and deliver a good story is thus a real advantage in all areas of life, giving you a foot up when doing job interviews, going on dates, interacting with friends, or making a sales pitch.
Today on the show, Matthew walks us through the nuts and bolts of how to craft a compelling story. We begin our conversation discussing ways to generate story ideas, why good stories don’t have to be about big moments, and why he recommends a practice called "Homework for Life." Matthew then tells us what we can learn from movies about making a story so engaging that people are waiting to hear what you say next. We also discuss the don'ts of storytelling, including how to never begin a story. And we end our conversation with a five-minute story from Matthew that showcases all the principles we discussed during the show.
The Art of Manliness 
