#9 10-second stories

Good Day Brewers - Pang here! ☕

We’re just one issue away from sweet #10.

— A special edition that you brewers would not want to miss!

But for today, I’ll be sharing an actionable way to compress your stories.

In fact, you could apply this quick method to give your story an overview before crafting the full story.

It ensures that you meet the criteria for a decent story worth sharing!

Estimated reading time: 951 words - 4 mins

Before we dive into how to tell 10-second stories, let’s understand the PURPOSE of short stories.

Even though I’m not a fan of telling short and highly compressed stories, they do come in handy at the correct time and place.

I got my friend ChatGPT to generate a list of ways you can utilize 10-second stories.

1. Elevator Pitch: When you have only a few seconds to grab someone's attention, a ten-second story can help you quickly communicate your message and create a memorable impression.

2. Social Media: With the prevalence of social media, micro-stories can help you grab people's attention and stand out in a sea of content. You can use them to share snippets of your life, promote your business or brand, or communicate a message in a concise and memorable way. Referring to Twitter.

3. Presentations: Whether you're presenting at a conference or pitching an idea to investors, micro-stories can help you illustrate a point and make a connection with your audience. They can also help you break up longer presentations and keep your audience engaged.

4. Interviews: When you're interviewing for a job, a ten-second story can help you showcase your skills and experience in a concise and compelling way. You can use them to highlight your accomplishments, share your passion for your work, or illustrate your problem-solving skills.

5. Networking: When you're meeting new people, a ten-second story can help you make a memorable first impression and establish a connection. You can use them to share your interests, talk about your background, or ask for advice or feedback.

6. Writing: In creative writing, micro-stories can be used to tell a complete story in a few lines. They can also be used to set the tone or mood of a piece or to create a sense of tension or conflict.

Stories that Stick

In Kindra’s book, she shared a way to tell 10-second stories.

It uses a simple framework, called the Normal-Explosion-New Normal (NEN)!

And it incorporates the four important elements that we have covered in previous issues.

Let’s put that into practice, shall we?

How my journey on Twitter started..

You would have heard of my story on how I came across storytelling in my welcome email.

— If you haven’t, please go back to your inbox and search for the email titled “☕ Welcome to the StoryBrew Club! Grab your FREE Coffee!”

Now whenever someone drops me a DM wanting to find out how I came on Twitter and found my niche in storytelling, I have a compressed 10-seconds story to share.

Here’s how I compress that story into 10 seconds.

NEN Framework

• Normal: Communication broke down in my previous job and I got fired

• Explosion: Read a book on “Stories that Stick”

• New Normal: Building my storytelling business

4 Elements of Great Stories

• Identifiable Character: Me

• Emotions: Frustration. Confusion.

• Moment: Reading that book.

• Specific Details: Quote on “Stories have the power to move people in ways that facts and figures can’t.”

10-Second Story:

Communication broke down and I was fired from my previous job . This left me feeling lost, frustrated and confused . Then I came across a book called "Stories that Stick" . "Stories have the power to move people in ways that facts and figures can't.” This was how I found my calling in solopreneur storytelling .

In a 10-second story, you would want to keep the details as short and concise as possible.

Following this structure will ensure that your stories meet the minimum requirements for them to be told.

Though I’ll admit that it’s difficult to craft one that brings across a POWERFUL message.

With few words, it’s hard to tap into the visual imagination of your readers.

Sticking to this structure would ensure that you maximize your word count and time to share a 10-seconds story.

RULES

Another thing to note is that there are NO HARD AND FAST RULES on how you should craft a story.

Here are two examples of short 10-second stories used in tweets:

Noticed how I start by mentioning what happened in the past - “I used to..”

I shared the emotions I felt next - “It was tiring.”

What were the consequences? - “I nearly broke up with my gf.”

Reason - “I wouldn’t spend..”

Specific details and moment - “You’re too LOGICAL!”

Lesson - “Life is more than just..”

Here's another one:

Hook - “Till today..”

What happened in the past - “Getting FIRED on..”

The impact and emotions I go through - “Her words still ringing..”

Specific details and moment - “Am I the boss..”

Call-to-action - “How do you manage..”

I’ll be sharing more examples of how to craft stories in SINGLE tweets.

If you’re interested in this, be sure to stay tuned to my Twitter as I’ll be doing a GIVEAWAY very soon!

The next issue is gonna be BIG!

Meanwhile, keep brewing those stories!

I’ll see you in the next one!

Your Barista,Pang

Enjoying the warm stories so far? Share this link with friends.

Struggling with telling stories? Reach out to me here.