nabil laoudji

poetry, prose, design thinking & entrepreneurship

  • HOME
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Audio
    • Video
    • Poetry
    • Prose
  • CONTACT

10 Storytelling Lessons from a Journalist

May 23, 2010 by Nabil 5 Comments

Last week I had coffee with Cara Solomon, a former journalist for the Seattle Times and founder of thesmallstory.com. Cara’s site is based on a premise that I believe in deeply: that everyone has an interesting story to tell.

Through Cara I uncovered a treasure trove of tips and tricks for my storytelling project. Among them, these were my favorites:

On unraveling a new town:
– Visit community gathering spots: often the town diner, coffeeshop, or park, and sometimes (surprisingly) the town dump.
– Ask strangers: who should I hang out with if I want to get a sense of what this town is about?
– For ideas on what to cover in town, as well as who the players are, read the events and help wanted sections of the local newspaper.

On choosing a topic:
– Be flexible: if I try to fit everything into a mold, I will miss out on a lot of great content.
– Approach interviews with as few preconceived notions as possible. Listen hard. What I thought might be most interesting thing about a person at the start of the interview may not be what I find most interesting at the end. That said, if the story is not holding my interest, it will not hold someone else’s; cut my losses and move on.

On hero stories:
– People like hero stories however they’re not rooted in reality. Everyone has a weakness, and it’s that weakness that makes them even more interesting. Discover it.
– Ask: We already know what you’re good at, so what do you wish you were better at?

On dealing with an interviewee’s anxiety:
– Focus on the person, not my questions. Many reporters don’t take out notebooks until later in the interview.
– Explain to people why it is that I’m interested in speaking with them.
– Don’t introduce the video camera without permission, and don’t use the tape to simply recap the interview. Instead, after the interview I should ask myself: what are the five questions that I now want to answer? Use this as my starting point for the taped segment.

I know that Cara’s advice has saved me from making countless mistakes on my journey, and I feel fortunate to have been introduced to her. I also particularly love Cara’s reflection on her work. Writes Cara: “Through the lens of their lives, I can see more clearly my world.” Here’s to the small stories.

Filed Under: Stream Tagged With: interview, interviewing, journalism, learnings, lessons, story tips, storytelling

Welcome

Nabil Laoudji Twitter LinkedIn Instagram More Info

Recent Tweets

  • What’s cool about history is that it keeps repeating itself with better technology 🥲 about 6 months ago
  • .@LUMAInstitute Think-Aloud Testing hits TikTok #designthinking https://t.co/OI9PTlvwaY about 6 months ago
  • RT @usopen: That final feeling 🙌 Ons Jabeur and Iga Swiatek will battle for the women's singles title! @Cadillac Iconic Moments | #USOpen… about 6 months ago
  • RT @WTA: 😘 Two worthy #USOpen finalists 🙌 @iga_swiatek | @Ons_Jabeur https://t.co/WrO5W4now7 about 6 months ago
@laoudji

Recent Snaps

[instagram-feed]

Recent Comments

  • Don on How meditation helped me get a handle on compulsive thoughts
  • Shehab on Amazon & Wikileaks: Sorting Out the Controversy
  • Mike on On Purpose
  • Katherine Molina on On Purpose
  • Anne on On Purpose

Archives

Tags

AI arab spring boston buffalo business career comedy community democracy design thinking Entrepreneurship ethnography family film improv india interview landscape launch learnings lessons los angeles massmouth MBA meditation mental health MIT music NYC occupy oprah passion performance ethnography public speaking revolution risk rust belt sales standup storytelling story tips tunis tunisia ucb values

Thanks

Thanks for visiting!

Copyright © 2023 · Metro Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in