Nine Principles of
Storytelling
Storytelling
paints a picture; takes the audience deeper than what they already know. What do you hear, smell, see?
Descriptive Language
current news that has happened in the last week or month.
what can you listen to?
radio, podcasts
something that doesn't happen every day.
Gives the audience feel something; using positive or negative emotions.
Weave in Emotion
location; the closer the story is to your audience, physically, the more likely your audience is to care about it.
proximity
what can you read?
article, newspaper, school calendars
A story that will cause an emotional reaction or response.
Human Interest
For your audience to feel a sense of community.
Foster Community
a well-known person, place, or thing is involved.
prominence
what can you watch?
news
People arguing or disagreeing about something.
Conflict
Know who your audience is; the way you tell your story is the way the story needs to be catered to your audience.
Define your Audience
how many people does this affect? How does this affect them?
Impact
what can you socially do?
talk to people, look on social media apps.
If your local Target got shut down because of a cockroach infestation, would that be newsworthy? Why?
Yes, because that situation is something that wouldn't happen every day (Oddity), and also it's your local target, so it would be a human interest because people like to go there in that area.
people connecting to others; personal narratives, stories, or examples make your story more relatable to your audience.
Find the Human Angle
If a president were to get into a plane crash last Wednesday, would that be newsworthy? Why?
yes (because the president is an important person, and last Wednesday is timeliness.)
Finding something at the top of an article, newspaper, etc.
If a Mc. Donalds was closed down due to not enough customers, would that be newsworthy? Why?
No, because it's not in your area, and those kind of things happen all the time.