The Psychology of Storytelling That Will Change Your Life

This is the psychology of storytelling and the eight principles that'll change your life through stories. First, we're starting with a concept I call predictive processing. [music] Our brains are wired to find patterns and predict what is coming next. [music] And if what you're saying or the story you're telling is too easy to predict,

boredom sets in. Dan Pink has one of the most watched TED talks with 12 million views on YouTube and 32 million in the app. And that's because he opens his talk with this line. I need to make a confession at the outset here. A little over 20 years ago, I did something that

I regret. Something I'm not particularly proud of. [music] Something that in many ways I wish no one would ever know. That line works because as a listener, you're locked in. The tension [music] is unbearable because you're dying to know what decision this guy regrets. And here's what he says next. In the late

1980s, in a moment of youthful indiscretion, I went to law school. So, why does that work so well? That's what we call a hook. And it works because [music] it creates uncertainty that you cannot predict. Your brain is asking like, "What's the confession? How bad is [music] this?" And then it satisfies it

with an unexpected twist. He reduced uncertainty instantly while also establishing [music] tone, credibility, and even humor when he delivered on the hook. What most people get wrong when using hooks [music] in storytelling is that the hook isn't actually about being sensational. It's about teasing the brain with a pattern to latch on to.

[music] One of my favorite hook structures is called a sensory anchor. This is something like starting your story with, "It all started with the smell of gasoline." Now, this is immediately intriguing because you can't predict what's [music] next. So, the test is simple. Read someone your first line. Then ask these two questions. Do