After watching this video, you will
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never look at storytelling the same
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again. It took me 30 years to learn
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this, but I'm going to teach it to you
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See, I've spoken in front of crowds of
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60,000 people, in front of the
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presidents of every nation in the world.
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[music] And the way I did it, the secret
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was focusing on the neuroscience
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of storytelling. Because storytelling is
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a dangerous skill, and if you practice
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what I'm going to show you in these 15
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minutes, I guarantee you will become
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magnetic. But not just magnetic, [music]
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you will win on every level of life.
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Business, speaking,
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content creation, relationships. Now,
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why is storytelling so powerful?
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Because if you understand it, you will
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be able to control the mind of your
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listeners. [music] Because the closest
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distance between a person and the truth
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is not a straight line, it's a story.
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Storytellers were admired highly in
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every civilization during every time
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period on Earth for one reason.
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connect us. And there's nothing [music]
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more satisfying for people
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than connection. Stories are are are
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needed to carry important information
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across generations. They literally play
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the most vital role to our existence
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[music] as a species. Stories can make
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someone feel heard, connected to you,
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and transform their entire life without
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ever even meeting you. Storytelling
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is a superpower. See, the human brain
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is literally wired for stories. Stories
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are older than written language, 200,000
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years older. Stories are in our DNA.
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Yes, I have a degree in anthropology, I
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know what I'm talking about. See, there
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is a reason why the Bible uses parables.
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>> parables are still told and repeated.
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Humankind used to gather around fire
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telling stories. [music]
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Now, we gather around
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our phones. Modern-day storytellers are
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content creators and speakers, but we're
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all storytellers in one form or fashion.
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But, if you want to be successful, if
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you want to make your stories
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and unforgettable, then you must follow
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of storytelling. Secret number one,
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stop calling it storytelling. Get that
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word out of your mind, out of your
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vocabulary. From now on, mentally call
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it not storytelling,
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>> You never want to tell a story. You want
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to show a story. You want to get your
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listener to visualize the scene in their
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mind as if [music] they are there with
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you. A good story is like a time
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It doesn't tell you about what happened.
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It takes you there. You want people to
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be in the scene. So, when you're telling
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a story, describe the five senses
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vividly. All right, what's the the
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sights, the smells, the taste, the
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touch, the sounds? Be as specific and
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colorful as [music] possible, because
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the more senses you integrate, the more
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of the listener's brain will start to
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light up. Because most speakers, they
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But, the best storytellers, [music]
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they take the audience by the hand
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and carry them through and into [music]
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an experience. Secret number two,
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never tell a story without a point and
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never make a point without a story.
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Please, please, please, I beg you, stop
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giving facts. Stop spewing boring
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numbers. Numbers numb people. Nobody
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remembers that and they won't remember
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you. Studies show it is 21 times more
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powerful to tell a story
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than give a fact. You can use facts. You
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can use numbers, but you always have to
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wrap them, right? Package them inside of
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a story. The facts, again, they only
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activate the left side of the brain, the
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logical [music] part. But, good
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storytelling lights up both at once.
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Secret number three,
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the secret is feeling. See, the key to
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is you want to light up two organs, the
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See, if you want to tell an
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unforgettable story,
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if you want to be unforgettable, it has
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to be emotional. See, when emotion is
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linked to information, it is retained
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and you are remembered. But, don't just
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tell an emotional story. No, no, no.
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You got to tell it in an emotional way.
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And this doesn't mean you have to act
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any any type of way. You simply have to
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embody and feel it if you want others to
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feel it. Because our brains are mirrors.
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Scientists call this phenomenon mirror
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neurons. When people see you
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experiencing an emotion, that emotion
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will light up in the exact part of their
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brain. So, the more [music] you feel it
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when you're telling a story, the more
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that feeling will will transpose
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into the mind of your listener.
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Remember, it's not about the words that
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you say because words are just noises.
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It is the texture, the energy around the
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words that connects with people. Every
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great story has vulnerability. When you
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take off your armor
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>> and share your own pains and feel the
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pain as you're experiencing it, you
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and memorable. And this is what we teach
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in Creator University. This is my
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private community where I teach speakers
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and creators how to tell their story,
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how to how to speak with influence and
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go from invisible to impactful to
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profitable [music] in 90 days. But,
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secret number four, this is very
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you need a structure. You need a story
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structure. See, the normal storytelling
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structure is beginning, middle, end.
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That's trash. You need to think about it
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body, payoff, right? Hook, body, payoff.
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Hook, body, payoff. The hook, or the
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intro, is the most important part of
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your story, and you want to start as
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dramatic as possible, [music]
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maybe even negative. I know what you're
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thinking. Prince, Prince, you're so
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positive. What do you mean negative?
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You're right. I am the most positive
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person you will ever meet. I don't even
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have weekends. I have strong ends.
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I don't catch colds, I catch warm. But I
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know that the human brain seeks out
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negative more than positive
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because it's a survival instinct. As
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someone who has studied
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>> evolutionary psychology, I'm always
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trying to understand how to put the
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brain's natural tendencies
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on my side. [music]
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See, every great story, think about
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every great movie you've seen, they've
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You have to start with tension,
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or you won't capture attention. And if
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you can't hook them,
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nobody's going to remember you. There
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was a Microsoft study
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done in 2015. It studied how digital
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lifestyles affect [music] human
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attention spans, and the key finding was
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that the average attention span had
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dropped from 12 seconds in in 2000,
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it dropped from 12 seconds in the year
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2000 to just 8 seconds in 2013, which
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is, as they said in the article,
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lower than the attention span of a
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goldfish. And this is 2013. I can't
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imagine what it is today. So, you have
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to knock people's socks off with the
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beginning of your talk to stand out.
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See, three hooks, three types of hooks
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that will always work.
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A shocking question, a shocking
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statement, or shocking story. If you're
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on stage, you may want to start off with
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something like, "Thank you for having
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me, but this is the worst city I've ever
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been to." That is how you grab
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attention. After you have the hook,
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right? After you've really dramatized
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the intro of your story, you need to
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work on the body. The body is where you
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take people through a journey.
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Some people call this the hero's
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journey. Now, as you're writing
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the journey, how do you segue?
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How do you make connections [music]
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throughout this journey? You've got to
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use a method called the South Park
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writers strategy. South Park has been a
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successful show for over 30 years, and
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one of the reasons is the writing. They
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use what is called the butt, therefore
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transition. You see, most movies are
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terrible. I'm sure you've seen this. You
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haven't seen a good movie in a while
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because they follow a transition like
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this happened and then this happened and
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then this happened and this that
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>> No, no, no. Throw that away. The South
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Park writing method is so successful
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because they use the butt,
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>> therefore method. This happens,
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therefore this happened. [music]
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See, this adds continued [clears throat]
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conflict to your [music] script and
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keeps the audience on their toes. And if
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it's good enough for South Park,
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>> it should be good enough for you. But
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you also need multiple hooks throughout
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your story. All right? I call this
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dopamine spikes. It's kind of like
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giving them sugar for the brain. All
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right? It keeps them wanting more. In
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other words, you want to have multiple
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places where the audience is given an
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insight and teased to continue watching.
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Or as I sometimes like to call it, an oh
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my god, I had no idea moment. Points
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where people go, oh my god, I had no
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idea. The more of those you have, the
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better engagement and retention you will
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have in your story. See, if you have
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enough of those, people will continue to
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listen to your talk or watch your video
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because they are constantly getting a
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Now, warning. I want to talk about the
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payoff. Do not give people the big
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>> until the final moments of your story.
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Because, you know, when we watch movies,
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we all ask the same question
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subconsciously. And that question is
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this, how will this end? You got to keep
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that in mind. This is the feeling you
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want to give people. You're essentially
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you've got to give them breadcrumbs
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and lead to the big gourmet meal. This
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is called the payoff or [music] the
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resolution. It's everything
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that they've been waiting for. Now,
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secret number five.
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how do I find my story?
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How do I find my story? How do I find
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this may be surprising and shocking to
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you, but you want to start with one
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question. What do you hate?
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What are you against? Because what you
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is what you were born to fix.
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Let me say that again. What you hate,
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you are here, you were born to fix that.
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Look at some of my most popular videos.
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I'm speaking about the injustice of
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things that I hate. The audience, they
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could feel my energy, my passion,
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whether it was about climate change,
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education. See, when you do that, when
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you choose something you hate, you
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express vulnerability. Don't be afraid
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to share your anger with strangers. The
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secret is to turn your mess into your
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message. You want to turn your pain
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into gain. And if you want to learn
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storytelling from me, come join my
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school community where I will teach
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[music] you how to craft your signature
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story. We do workshops on how to speak
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on and off camera, [music] and you can
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come in and ask me questions along the
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way. It will be an honor to be your
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