Writing Opinion Pieces That Utilize Storytelling Techniques

A story structure you can use on LinkedIn: Going from writing 75,000-word books to 240-character tweets (pre-Elon) kicked my butt. It’s a different type of storytelling. Plus, I: • Had no network • Didn’t get psychology • Knew nada about copywriting And that meant my first few months writing on the internet were brutal. Recently, I changed my approach for one reason. Storytelling is rooted in transformation. No transformation, no story. But how the heck do you fit that in a tweet? A LinkedIn post? An email? So, I dedicated quite a bit of time to create what I call “Micro Storytelling.” It’s a combo of storytelling principles and two copywriting formulas: • Before - After - Bridge • Attention - Interest - Desire - Action Together, copywriting and storytelling help you get attention, keep attention, and turn that attention into something valuable. Here’s the 5 steps to create a Micro Story: 1. Before 2. After 3. Bridge 4. Lesson 5. Action BABLA. I tried so hard to make it a better acronym. But here we are… let’s agree to call it “Micro Storytelling.” 1. Tell people about the Before Introduce the Before state. Where you’ve been, how you thought, the argument you’re about to lay waste to. 2. Juxtapose the After (or the “Desired Future”) In short-form storytelling, juxtaposition becomes your best friend. Put unrelated or opposing ideas next to each other and you simultaneously: • Create tension • Form open loops • But keep the solution hidden At this point, the reader’s begging you to show them the bridge. 3. Bridge the gap (this is the “Transformation”) You’ve opened the loop. Now, it’s time to close it. Tell your reader how you went from Before to After. 4. Share the Lesson, the “So What” Bridges need foundations. What are your takeaways? Why did you care about the Before, After, and Bridge? What should your reader do about it? This is the step I used to skip. But without it, the story lacks its conclusion. Share your non-obvious takeaways. Share your perspective. Share your opinions. Share whatever you can share that nobody else can. 5. You’ve inspired desire, now ask for the Action People see themselves in stories. When you connect steps 1-4, you create desire in the right person. They want the transformation for themselves. Present a way for them to take that step. Tldr: I’m not a big template guy. Instead, focus on the psychology of short-form storytelling. • Juxtaposition to create conflict and interest • Transformation to illicit desire and intention • Lessons to show confidence and conviction Writing on the internet isn't about trends, algos or virality. It’s about resonating with people. And to do that, become a great writer and storyteller. The rest will come. --- If you want to become a better storyteller, try my free newsletter with 81,538 others. You’ll get 1 storytelling tip each Saturday morning. Tap the ‘visit my website’ button in my bio to join us.

The most powerful storytelling technique I use sounds like this: "That's the thing about..." There's a difference between a good storyteller and an effective storyteller. Good storytellers might grip us, but effective storytellers can move us. A good storyteller might be your friend, talking about their vacation. You're paying attention (which, if you look at marketers today, you'd think was the ENTIRE aim of our job... but it's not). You're paying attention, but you're not really moved to act. You aren't changing your perspective on anything, nor are you going to take concrete steps in your work or life. There's no before and after moment thanks to that story. It's good... but it's not effective. To be effective means you affect people. You move them. First, you move the story -- from the action to its meaning. Then, arriving at meaning, the audience connects emotionally to you. Your words resonate. Because you resonate, they might act. (Resonance: the urge to act we feel when a message or moment aligns so closely with our own beliefs and experiences, we feel amplified.) No resonance, no action. No action, no results. You're not effective. So, remember the phrase "that's the thing about..." It runs like this: 1. This happened... (a moment or memory) 2. Which made me realize... (an idea sparked by that moment or memory) 3. That's the thing about [the topic they want to know about + the lesson they need to hear from you] Ira Glass might tell a quick story about a man on a subway, nervously glancing at a stranger who keeps looking at him. After some intrigue of who the man is and what he's thinking, Glass would conclude, "That's the thing about strangers: we care about their opinion because they have some instantaneous insight into who we really are when we're not trying to impress our friends or the people we work with. Today on the show... strangers..." Or I might say (sticking to the formula above): "The other day, I was making espresso in my kitchen. I thought back to the literal years of my life when I refused to make it in my own home. I was so embarrassed -- I'm Italian! But I'd ask my wife (not Italian), or I'd do research on making good espresso, following coffee influencers and taking courses... but never actually doing it! What was WRONG with me?! But today I make it daily. And what changed? I made it. Once. "Which made me realize, Oh, wow, I was silly to agonize over this. I was silly to outsource it or research it or NOT do it. It's not so scary, not so hard, and even if I messed up, it was easy to fix OR I could research in a much more focused, productive way." "That's the thing about trying new things. We're not usually afraid of the task itself, but rather the unknown. Stop agonizing and try the thing. Once. If we're really afraid of the unknown, then we need to move more quickly to make the unknown KNOWN." That's the thing about stories: the action can make it good, but the insight makes it effective.

✨I can’t stress enough that you must inject storytelling into your content.✨ ☕Sitting down with a colleague and friend the other day… 🤖We chatted about the future of content with AI. 🤖He agreed that all writers who want to continue ‘writing’ 🤖Will need to become editors. He agreed that unremarkable content will be replaced by AI writing tools. And he agreed that the content that will be needed, over and again… ✨Will be personal stories.✨ You can’t replace: 🔵Experience 🔵Expertise 🔵Authority And, oh, what a coincidence! 🛑That’s largely how Google determines rankworthiness (making that a word). To that end, I’d like to help you out. ✨✨I’m breaking down how I use storytelling in my posts.✨✨ ⚔️Here’s how I write from a storytelling POV ⚔️ (And have garnered 350k impressions in five months) 1️⃣ Decide on a story. It can be the most obscure story in my life, like 🦋Having a conversation with a friend 🦋Learning about taxes with my mom 🦋Quitting my corporate job 🦋Blowing my first chance to mentor But it has to be something that ONLY I have experienced. 2️⃣ Put the story in the first to second line of your post. The hook has to be STRONG. ⭐Elements of a strong hook:⭐ ✅Tells what post is about IN THE FIRST LINE ✅Prompts the reader to keep reading ✅Concise and direct 🚧Every post will not hook every reader.🚧 Remember, you are writing for a specific audience. Today, my hook/post is geared toward people who want to learn about content AND people who are interested in learning about storytelling in content. ⭐Rules for a strong hook:⭐ ☑️Uses first or second person POV ☑️Introduces a common problem/insight ☑️Features strong, actionable verbs ☑️OR features a strong story element 3️⃣ Make the connection to your lesson in the first 3 lines. Research shows: you have very little time to grab your user’s attention span. Keep it by getting to the point right away, THEN explaining further. 🔽This is called the inverted pyramid format.🔽 🔷Make your point first.  🔷Discuss after. 🔷Summarize last. If your hook is a storytelling hook →Connect it to the overarching topic in the next line or two. If your hook connects your story and lesson right away, →You’re golden! 4️⃣ Infuse your story with your lesson. Get to the story to illustrate. BUT 👏🏽Keep making the connection throughout the post.👏🏽 ✨✨✨The reader should never lose sight of the lesson.✨✨✨ 5️⃣ Tie it all together in the end. Be sure that you circle back to your original point. This should be easy if you’ve done all of the above, 🕯️But so many posts just fizzle out. Finish strong with an actionable verb and an EMOTIVE message. That’s it! Happy Thursday, friends. #contentwritingtips #storytelling #contentslayer ______________________ I’m a content slayer ⚔️ I help founders/established companies Solve content production issues Streamline the content process Facelift old content And much more DM me to learn how I can help you slay your content goals. 🐉