Reflection Shorts - "Win that Communication" - episode #3
Tell 'bounded and humorous' stories
You must have heard this before:
“A great way to explain or present something is telling an engaging story about it.”
This works because people listening can relate to stories, remember those for a long and can share them with their friends and feel smart about it :)
🏰 So, next time you write a document, newsletter, book, or even talk casually to someone, try portraying information in the form of a story. 🏰
But telling a story is an art, which only few cracks well. Here’s how to do it:
🍰 Tell short meaningful stories. Telling long stories just messes up the whole point of it. Think when your uncle Henry starts to say: “That reminds me of…” and everyone’s eyes would start to roll and you know it would take an hour for him to finish - that’s not worth it.
😄 The second point is about adding humor to your stories. Humor makes it easier to remember and multiplies laughter. But there as well, you need to be cautious:
Don’t make fun of other people.
Don’t make fun of yourself multiple times, otherwise you’d lose credibility
Don’t make it funny forcefully. It should come naturally.
A good story starts well, delivers the peak point, and ends with a smile on the listener’s face.
An example of a good story goes like this:
“There’s a pub just outside of Dublin….
….When I visited it last year….
The point is that it was making good profit in a way…
That’s why we must learn from it so that….
Key Takeaway
📜 Tell bounded stories that deliver the key message with humor sprinkled over it carefully. 📜
That’s the ‘Short’ for today. If you are wondering “What’s a Reflection Short?” Read here.
Shoutouts 🔊
How I Aced Machine Learning Interviews by
Data Modelling Using Complex Data Types by
How to fix slow loading apps by
How I plan my week as a Senior Engineer in Big Tech by
References
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👋 Hey there, I am Gourav. I write about Engineering, Productivity, Thought Leadership, and the Mysteries of the mind!
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Love the takeaway Gourav. "Tell short meaningful stories" => This is a crucial advice. Many successful engineers and speakers I have met are really good at providing detailed information concisely.
Thanks for mentioning my post !
Love this short snippet, Gourav. Agreed on short stories. They should border on "anecdote" length is how I think about it.
Thanks for mentioning my post from last week 🙏 I hope you like this weeks one as well