The Most Important Skill in 2024

As a creator and entrepreneur, I think storytelling is the most important skill you can learn in 2024 and beyond.

The best creators are great storytellers.

You need to be able to evoke emotion to build a personal connection.

The most revered entrepreneurs are masterful storytellers.

For the same reason.

A significant portion of people's purchasing decisions is driven by emotions.

But it goes deeper than that.

Being a good storyteller helps to inspire and motivate teams, attract investment capital, simplify complex ideas, and shape a brand’s identity and values.

Here are four concepts that improved my storytelling this year.

Make Your Audience the Hero

“What’s in it for them?”

That is something I always ask myself before putting out a piece of content.

The same thing applies in storytelling.

No one actually cares about your story. People only care about their own story.

But, if they can see themselves in your story. Then they care about your story.

If you can generate enough emotion, the audience begins to see themselves as the main character.

Nike, Apple, Coca-Cola, LVMH. Some of the world’s biggest and most influential brands.

They all have something in common. They’ve all made you the hero.

Nike isn’t selling you shoes. They’re selling you transformation.

Louis Vuitton isn’t selling a handbag, they’re selling you status.

You have to make the audience the hero.

In a video I just made entitled “The Message,” – I put this into practice. The reason I think the video performed so well, is because the audience saw themselves in me.

I just uploaded a ‘making of’ video to show you a glimpse behind the process on YouTube.

“But” and “Therefore”

This is one of the simplest ways to instantly improve your storytelling.

A good story needs conflict, and a great way to introduce conflict is to use the word “but” instead of “and.”

Once I started putting this into practice, my AVD (average view duration) noticeably improved.

It’s as simple as using the word “but” after your short setup sentence. Which one of these provokes more curiosity?

❌ “OpenAI just fired Sam Altman, and they also fired Greg Brockman, and it was unexpected. And a dramatic saga ensued.”

✅ “OpenAI just fired Sam Altman, BUT the way the board reacted infuriated some very powerful people. THEREFORE, a dramatic saga ensued.”

You need causation between each story beat to make it more interesting.

South Park writers Matt Stone and Trey Parker explain this idea brilliantly in this 2 minute clip.

Live a Great Story

May sound obvious, but it isn’t.

The greatest storytellers can tell a lot of stories, because they’ve lived a lot of life.

The experiences you live through, the relationships you have with people, the emotions you feel through life’s challenges – all help you connect on a more intimate level with the audience.

The elation of the highs, the sadness and frustration of the lows… heartbreak, grief, surprise, awe, joy, anger… all of this life you live, inherently and subconsciously make you a better storyteller.

And I’ve realized in my work this year, I’m constantly pulling from past experiences that enable me to be more authentic in my stories. That give me a better understanding on how to more intimately connect with people’s psyches.

So if you feel as if you don’t have stories to tell, my recommendation would be to first get out there and live more life.

The Storytelling Framework

Stories have 6 primary arcs, as explained by Debarghya Das in this Tweet below.

But let’s take it a step further. How does this apply to your content? What story framework can you implement in your videos to connect with a greater audience?

Kallaway has cemented himself as one of the best storytelling creators in 2023, and in our podcast, WKNDS – he explains his brilliant framework in 5 minutes.

The following link is timestamped, the framework begins at 1:04:03:

Steve Jobs said that the most powerful person in the world, is the storyteller. And he mastered it, which was integral in him building one of the most important and and valuable companies in the world.

Studies have shown that the same parts of the brain light up in both the speaker and the listener of a story.

Jobs used this to transfer his energy and his excitement to his audience.

Here’s the general framework he would use to mesmerize an audience.

Thanks for reading. I am wishing you all an extraordinary 2024. May your year be filled with good health, joy and success.

If you love the newsletter, please consider sharing with a friend. It would mean a lot.

Roberto