Matthew Dicks: The Storytelling Expert
Master storyteller Matthew Dicks shares his blueprint for crafting compelling narratives that resonate deeply. He reveals how to find, structure, and deliver stories by focusing on audience engagement, vulnerability, and the strategic use of stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor, transforming everyday moments into unforgettable experiences.
Deep Dive Analysis
19 Topic Outline
Defining Good Stories vs. Mere Reporting
Distinguishing Stories from Anecdotes
The Spoon of Power: A Story Example
Story Architecture: Avoiding Over-Description and Leveraging Imagination
Maintaining Audience Interest: Stakes, Suspense, Surprise, Humor
Common Storytelling Mistakes and Their Fixes
Crafting Effective Story Beginnings and Endings
How Movie Openings Predict Their Endings
Strategic Listening for Storytellers
Critique of Storytelling in Popular Films
The Ethics of Truth in Storytelling
'And' Stories vs. 'But/Therefore' Stories
Finding Engaging Stories in Everyday Life
Using Metaphors for Business Storytelling
Own Stories vs. Other People's Stories
Cultivating Confidence and Vulnerability in Storytelling
Differences Between Writing and Telling a Story
Strategies for Teaching Kids to Love Writing
Matthew Dicks' Definition of Success
10 Key Concepts
Story
A narrative about change over time, typically involving a realization ('I used to think one thing, now I think another') or a transformation ('I once was one kind of person, now I'm authentically different'). It goes beyond mere chronological reporting of events.
Anecdote
A brief, often humorous or interesting incident that doesn't necessarily involve change over time. It's enjoyable in the moment but tends not to linger in memory or connect deeply with life experiences, unlike a true story.
Strategic Listening
An active approach to consuming content (like movies, books, or other stories) where you analyze not just what is being said, but *how* it is being said to achieve a specific effect. It involves pulling apart the threads to understand the underlying techniques.
Stakes
The element in a story that makes the audience care, wonder, or root for a character or outcome. It's the reason listeners want to hear the next sentence, providing an initial hook and evolving throughout the narrative.
Backpacks
A storytelling technique where the speaker explicitly states their plan, hopes, or goals to the audience. This builds anticipation, especially when the plan is set to fail, creating surprise and tension when expectations are subverted.
Breadcrumbs
Clues or hints strategically dropped throughout a story that make the audience wonder about something later. These act as subtle foreshadowing, leading listeners to anticipate connections or future developments without revealing the full picture.
Hourglasses
A technique used to slow down the pace of storytelling when the audience's attention is at its peak. By making listeners wait longer for crucial information, anticipation increases, leading to a more impactful emotional reaction when the moment finally arrives.
Crystal Balls
Explicit predictions made within a story about what will happen. This leverages the human tendency to be 'prediction machines,' making the audience eager to continue listening to see if the prediction comes true, thereby maintaining engagement.
Humor in Storytelling
A powerful tool that changes brain chemistry, making audiences feel closer to the speaker, perceiving them as intelligent, and improving cognition. It can be used to relax an audience, make boring parts engaging, manipulate emotions, or provide a necessary breath after difficult content.
'But/Therefore' Stories
A narrative structure where scenes are connected by cause and effect, meaning 'this happened, but then that happened, therefore this resulted.' This creates motion and ensures every scene is essential, unlike 'and' stories which are just a series of unconnected events.
14 Questions Answered
A good story is about change over time, often a realization or transformation, whereas a bad story is merely a chronological report of events without meaningful change or a reason for the audience to listen.
An anecdote is a brief, often funny incident that doesn't require change over time and isn't deeply remembered, while a story aims to linger in the audience's mind, connecting to their emotions and life experiences through a meaningful change.
Over-describing steals audience bandwidth and prevents them from leveraging their own imagination, which is more powerful than any collection of words. Audiences primarily want to know what was felt, said, and done.
People often describe too much, waste the beginning by explaining rather than engaging, and fail to deliver a clear 'five-second moment' of change or meaning at the end.
The 'five-second moment' is the genuine change, transformation, or realization that occurs, representing how the storyteller's perception of the world, self, or a concept has evolved.
The beginning of a story should almost always be in perfect contrast to its end, showing the state before the change or realization occurred, thereby creating a clear arc of transformation.
Memorable stories have an ending moment that is deeply relatable and resonant throughout the narrative, making the audience feel they've watched characters achieve something they hope to do someday. Forgettable ones often introduce ideas at the beginning but don't carry them through consistently.
No, lying in stories erodes trust. While it's acceptable to remove inconvenient details (not for personal benefit, but for story flow), condense time, or shorten locations, the core truth and vulnerability must remain.
Instead of telling 'and' stories (this happened and then this), storytellers should use 'but/therefore' connections, where each scene logically leads to the next, creating motion and ensuring every element is essential.
By recognizing that life is filled with small, seemingly insignificant moments that can be imbued with meaning, and by constantly asking what can be said next to keep the listener engaged through stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor.
By finding personal metaphors that illustrate business concepts (e.g., a simple solution to a marriage problem illustrating a business bottleneck), making the message relatable, human, and unforgettable, rather than just presenting data.
Confidence often comes from experiencing that sharing vulnerable stories leads to extraordinary positive responses, not judgment. It's like jumping off a high dive: terrifying the first few times, but repeated exposure shows it's okay, making it easier over time.
A written story can use more adjectives and relies on paragraph/sentence structure to replace intonation and pacing, often sounding more grammatically correct. A told story relies on voice, improvisation, and imperfection to create authenticity and connect directly with the audience.
Prioritize making writing fun over correcting spelling, grammar, or handwriting. Encourage reading aloud, offer six positive comments for every one corrective comment, and allow kids to write on multiple topics and abandon projects if they're not working.
73 Actionable Insights
1. Prioritize Audience Needs
Successful storytellers prioritize what the audience actually wants to hear and experience, rather than what the storyteller personally wants to describe or convey.
2. Define Single End Message
Begin by determining the single, clear message or point you want to convey at the end, as trying to say too many things results in saying nothing impactful.
3. Create Story Arc with Contrast
Ensure the beginning of your story is in direct contrast to its end, creating a clear arc of change over time.
4. Structure Stories Around Change
Ensure your story is about change over time, typically a realization, making it more interesting than just reporting events.
5. Compel Audience to Listen
Acknowledge that audiences need a compelling reason to listen; relentlessly entertain and provide value to be appreciated and impactful.
6. Optimize Story Beginnings
Launch stories at the most engaging point, avoiding wasting the beginning with explanations or background information.
7. Practice Vulnerability
Embrace vulnerability in storytelling; initial fear gives way to extraordinary audience connection with practice.
8. Share Vulnerabilities
Share your “stupidities, shames, and foolishnesses” to foster deep connection, as audiences value authenticity.
9. Tell Your Own Stories
Prioritize telling your own stories over others’ to convey vulnerability and connect more deeply with the audience.
10. Connect Emotionally, Not Literally
Aim for the audience to connect with feelings or thoughts, not exact events, for deeper story impact.
11. Engage with 4 Story Elements
Incorporate stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor to keep the audience engaged and entertained.
12. Remember Story Beats
Instead of memorizing stories or speeches, remember the key beats and events for natural, adaptable delivery.
13. Adapt Story Delivery
Know your content but not exact wording, allowing you to read the audience and pivot for a personal talk.
14. Embrace Imperfection for Connection
Allow for imperfections in storytelling; they signal authenticity and make the audience feel spoken to.
15. Tailor Talks to Audiences
Adapt content and delivery based on the specific audience, rather than delivering a generic, memorized speech.
16. Connect Scenes with “But/Therefore”
Transform disconnected “and” stories into “but” and “therefore” narratives to create meaningful connections and motion.
17. Use “But” for Anticipation
Leverage the word “but” to signal a deviation from expectation, immediately creating anticipation for the next part.
18. Leverage Audience Imagination
Use general terms to activate audience imagination, allowing them to fill in details with their own powerful mental images.
19. Minimize Adjectives
Reduce adjectives, as audiences primarily want to know what you felt, said, and did, not extensive descriptions.
20. Make Details Relevant
Ensure any descriptive detail introduced early in a story is relevant later, to avoid consuming audience bandwidth unnecessarily.
21. Start with “Elephant” Stake
Begin your story with a clear, interesting “elephant” to immediately grab attention, even if it’s not the ultimate point.
22. Open with Humor
Make the audience laugh within the first 30-60 seconds of a story or talk to alleviate anxiety and signal competence.
23. Use Humor for Connection
Incorporate humor to change brain chemistry, making the audience feel closer, perceive intelligence, and listen better.
24. Use Personal Metaphors
Find personal life examples that serve as metaphors for business lessons to make them unforgettable and resonate.
25. Humanize Business Content
Translate business content into human, personal stories to make it resonate emotionally and become unforgettable.
26. Practice Strategic Listening
Actively analyze why content evokes specific reactions to understand and reproduce those elements in your storytelling.
27. Recognize Small Moments for Stories
Cultivate a mindset that recognizes everyday life is filled with potential stories, even tiny, seemingly insignificant moments.
28. Create Suspense Selectively
Generate suspense by strategically excluding some information while including just enough to make the audience wonder.
29. Employ “Hourglasses” for Anticipation
When the audience is eager, slow down the pace and make them wait to heighten anticipation.
30. Make Predictions (“Crystal Balls”)
Make explicit predictions about what might happen to engage the audience’s desire to see if they come true.
31. Deliver Speeches from Memory
Remember key points for speeches rather than memorizing or reading a script to sound authentic and live.
32. Structure Writing for Impact
Craft sentence and paragraph structure (e.g., punchlines as separate paragraphs) to mimic spoken pacing and impact.
33. Lead with Evidence, Not Topic
In engaging writing, lead with supporting details, allowing the audience to infer the main point, rather than starting with a topic sentence.
34. Allow Audience to Infer
Leave conclusions unsaid, trusting the audience to put pieces together, as people enjoy figuring things out on their own.
35. Drop Subjects for Punchy Writing
Experiment with dropping subjects in sentences (e.g., “Went to the store”) to make writing punchier and more action-oriented.
36. Foster Love of Writing
For children, prioritize fostering a love for writing over correcting mechanics, as enjoyment leads to practice and improvement.
37. Have Children Read Writing Aloud
Instead of correcting a child’s writing visually, have them read it aloud, as spoken words often convey more beauty.
38. Allow Multiple Writing Projects
Let children pursue multiple writing projects and abandon work if not good, mirroring professional writers.
39. Use a 6:1 Positive Feedback Ratio
When giving feedback, aim for six positive comments for every corrective one, delivering criticism gently and last.
40. Embrace Continuous Evolution
Define success as constantly evolving, being presented with new challenges and opportunities, rather than maintaining stasis.
41. Avoid Rigid Planning
Resist overly rigid long-term planning to preserve the opportunity to stumble upon new ideas and challenges.
42. Develop Strategic Storytelling Skills
Become more strategic in your storytelling to connect with people emotionally and identify their needs.
43. Prepare Re-engagement Anecdotes
Carry a few short, engaging anecdotes to use if the audience’s attention wanes, to re-capture their interest.
44. Avoid Over-Preparation
Do not be overly prepared or memorize content, as this traps you in delivery and prevents adaptation.
45. Generally Keep Stories in Moment
Most of the time, maintain stories within the immediate moment, unless there’s an extraordinary reason to jump ahead.
46. Open Stories with Action, Wonder
Start your story with an engaging mix of location, action, and wonder to immediately hook the audience.
47. Deliver Meaningful Story Point
Have a clear point or message that leaves the audience feeling their time was well spent, offering new perspective.
48. Present Relatable Problems
In trailers or hooks, clearly present a relatable problem without revealing the solution, to build curiosity.
49. Open Podcasts with Questions
For podcasts, start by presenting a question or identifying an audience need to immediately grab attention.
50. Analyze Content Mechanics
Develop the habit of pulling apart content to understand its mechanics, recognizing what works for effective storytelling.
51. Describe by “Is Not”
Describe things by what they “are not” rather than what they “are” to create dynamic, energized sentences.
52. Create Lasting Impact with Vulnerability
Be courageous enough to share vulnerable, personal stories, as they create lasting “markers” in people’s lives.
53. Don’t Fear Vulnerability Judgment
Do not fear judgment when sharing vulnerable stories, as audiences typically respond with kindness and appreciation.
54. Remember, Don’t Memorize
Remember the flow and key elements of your story rather than memorizing exact words, for authentic delivery.
55. Adapt Story Elements to Audience
Adjust story elements (humor, emotion) based on audience and context for maximum impact and connection.
56. Tell Process Stories
Share compelling stories about the process of your work (e.g., how a book was written) to engage audiences interested in the “how.”
57. Build Investment with Journey Stories
When promoting, tell stories about the creation journey rather than just content, to build audience investment.
58. Recognize Emotionally Impactful Moments
Pay attention to moments that evoke strong emotions or “sear in your brain,” as these often contain powerful stories.
59. Relate to Universal Behaviors
Incorporate universally relatable human behaviors (e.g., playing it cool) to connect with the audience through shared experience.
60. Employ Non-Chronological Structures
Consider starting a story in the middle and flashing back to avoid boring chronological narratives and maintain engagement.
61. Temper Hero Stories with Vulnerability
If appearing as a hero, temper the story with vulnerability and mistakes to be more relatable and avoid self-aggrandizement.
62. Use Humor for Boring Content
Employ humor to make boring parts of stories or data presentations more engaging and palatable.
63. Heighten Contrast with Humor
Make the audience laugh just before delivering a terrible part of a story to increase emotional contrast.
64. Humor for Post-Difficulty Relief
After sharing a difficult part, use humor to provide the audience with a moment of relief and processing.
65. Use Locations to Activate Imagination
Start scenes with clear locations to activate the audience’s imagination, allowing them to visualize the setting.
66. Maintain Audience Engagement
Constantly ask if the audience would care if the story stopped, striving for engagement even through interruptions.
67. Use Humor/Suspense for Boring Parts
When facing unavoidable boring parts, proactively make them suspenseful or funny to maintain audience engagement.
68. Prioritize Strong Structure
Focus on proper story structure—starting right, landing on meaning, avoiding nonsense—as more critical than perfect sentences.
69. Three Quick Storytelling Improvements
To quickly improve, ensure good structure, adequate performance, and concise content.
70. Increase Suspense with Information
Providing more information (without revealing the full answer) can paradoxically increase suspense and curiosity.
71. Cultivate Audience Eagerness
Strive to make your audience happy you’re still talking, eager for the next thing, by consistently providing reasons to listen.
72. Support Podcasts by Following
If you enjoy a podcast, hit the follow button to help the show attract better guests.
73. Use Overlap for Podcast Curation
Try the Overlap app to use AI-driven curation to discover and learn from the best podcast moments.
10 Key Quotes
No one wants to hear anything you ever have to say unless you give them a reason to listen.
Matthew Dicks
We play a game with our audience. They pretend that we're making it up and we pretend that we're making it up.
Matthew Dicks
I often think of anecdotes as cotton candy. It's like delicious in the moment and lovely but you don't really remember your cotton candies but you remember the best meals of your life. Stories are the best meals of your life.
Matthew Dicks
Nobody ever wants to know what anything looked like unless it's relevant to a story. What people really want is to know what you felt, what you said, and what you did.
Matthew Dicks
The power of your imagination is always more powerful than any collection of words that I can assemble.
Matthew Dicks
If you say a bunch of things, you're not saying anything.
Matthew Dicks
The more information you provide, the greater the suspense increases.
Matthew Dicks
The but is the most powerful word in all of storytelling.
Matthew Dicks
It's in the imperfection that the beauty lies.
Catherine Burns (quoted by Matthew Dicks)
Stasis is death.
Matthew Dicks
4 Protocols
Story Architecture for Compelling Narratives
Matthew Dicks- Identify the core scenes, predicated on changes in location.
- Focus on conveying what was felt, said, and done, rather than over-describing visual details.
- Leverage the audience's imagination by using words that activate existing mental images, rather than dictating them.
- Continuously maintain audience interest by incorporating stakes, suspense, surprise, and humor.
- Connect every scene using 'but' and 'therefore' to ensure logical progression and eliminate unnecessary content.
Learning to Tell Better Stories
Matthew Dicks- Become a 'strategic listener' by analyzing *how* great stories, movies, or content achieve their impact, rather than just consuming them.
- Recognize that your life is filled with potential stories, even small, seemingly insignificant moments, as they can be imbued with great meaning.
- Cultivate a mindset of constantly asking yourself what you can say next to keep the audience listening and engaged.
- Utilize suspense by strategically excluding some information while including just enough to make the audience wonder.
- Practice with the goal that if the 'power goes out' during your story, the audience would desperately want you to continue.
Crafting a Story's Beginning and End
Matthew Dicks- Start at the end: Determine the single 'five-second moment' of change, transformation, or realization you want to convey.
- Define the beginning: Ensure the story's start is in perfect contrast to its end, showing the initial state before the change occurred.
- Launch the story in an engaging way: Begin with location, action, or a bit of wonder, avoiding lengthy explanations or teaching upfront.
- Incorporate an immediate hook (humor, suspense, or a crystal ball prediction) within the first few sentences to grab the audience's attention.
Teaching Kids to Love Writing
Matthew Dicks- Prioritize making writing fun and enjoyable over correcting mechanics like spelling, grammar, or handwriting.
- Always have children read their writing aloud, as their spoken words often convey more beauty and meaning than what's on the page.
- Allow kids to work on multiple writing projects simultaneously and give them permission to abandon work they no longer find compelling.
- When offering feedback, aim for a 'six to one' ratio: provide six positive comments for every one corrective suggestion, focusing on kindness and encouragement.