Storytelling Strategies to Grow Your Audience: Part 2, Structure

This transcript was auto-generated from an audio recording. Please excuse any typos or grammatical errors. 

Elaine Appleton Grant

Hi, storytellers. This is part two of our new Sound Judgment quick-hit series on six storytelling strategies for hooking your audience and keeping them with you. If you listened to part one, on Sound Vision, you know that we’re releasing a full episode covering all six strategies next week. But first, we’ve broken them down into bite-sized chunks. Today, a little bit of wisdom on structure—and how you can use it to be more creative AND more productive. As a reminder, all six strategies come from today’s best audio storytellers. But they are great for every kind of creator. So stick around, writers, public speakers, screenwriters and video producers—and of course, podcasters.

This is Sound Judgment, where we investigate just what it takes to become a beloved storyteller by pulling apart one episode, at a time, together. I'm Elaine Appleton Grant. 

There's nothing like having a structure for your content to help you create more easily while also instilling habits in your audience. Maybe your favorite host always asks the same lightning round questions—so you always stick around until the end because those answers are so much fun. That's structure. 

Structure also provides creative constraints. In other words, it gives us guardrails for what to include, when and how — and equally important, what to leave out. 

In their show about dead celebrities, Famous & Gravy co-hosts Amit Kapoor and Michael Osborne employ one of the most tightly built structures I’ve noticed in a podcast. The result is compelling blend of the profound — and hilarious. In each episode, Amit and Michael ask each other the same 12 questions about each dead celebrity. They've drawn a blueprint that makes it easy for them to wrestle raw content into meaning that sticks. This blueprint, this creative constraint, make producing easier. They don't need to script the show because they always know where they're headed. It's their answers that make it fun and illuminating—you never know what's coming. In fact, they barely talk to each other before they tape. They research the celebrity separately and draw their own conclusions. 

Their 11th question, out of a dozen, is always this: Would you want this dead celebrity's life? Regular listeners now are in the habit of listening to the end because they want to hear how Michael and Amit will answer that interesting question—and whether or not they'll agree. This question leads to some lively discussions.

Clips from Famous & Gravy

Michael Osborne: What do you got? I mean, what’s the case against?

Amit Kapoor: There’s such a thing as too much gratitude, and that’s where I question it. 

Michael Osborne: Based on everything we’ve talked about, the big question is do you want Oliver Sacks’ life?

Amit Kapoor: It’s tough, but I think I would take it. Because he had the influence he was always seeking. He got to do the thing that he was made for on this earth. The reason why it’s a qualified…

Michael Osborne: Based on everything we’ve talked about, do you want this life?

Amit Kapoor: I like Leonard Cohen.

Michael Osborne: The depths of pain he experienced are familiar to me. But man, that he found what looks like salvation—the hope that that represents not just to other people, but—that’s something that comes from the inside out. So I’m a yes, man. I’m a yes. I want this life.

Amit Kapoor: It’s so important to have that and to be vocal about that…

Elaine Appleton Grant

By the way, if you're wondering what the 12th and final question is, you'll just have to follow Famous & Gravy. 

It's one thing to hear new strategies and another to try them out in community. We're solving that problem, with a handful of new, affordable, interactive workshops. We just held one on mastering the art of the interview that went over like gangbusters—we're doing it again soon. We're also holding workshops on the six strategies for creating unforgettable work and on the thing that gives us all headaches—how to curate great guests and what it takes to be a phenomenal guest yourself. This one's gonna be really fun, because I'll share you with how NPR producers book guests. So check out our current and future workshops at podcast allies dot com slash workshops. That's podcast allies dot com slash workshops. You don't need to jot that down, though—the link is in the show notes. I can't wait to see you there. 

Thanks for joining me for the second in my six-part series on storytelling strategies for hooking new listeners and keeping them with you. Number three covers scenes – what I call the backbone of audience engagement. Scenes are obviously a staple of video, narrative podcasts, longform narrative articles, and, of course, books, but you should also be intentional about using them for interview shows and public speaking. Everybody loves a story.

For shows and resources mentioned in this series, see our show notes at sound judgment podcast dot com. And if you’re enjoying this series, please share it with a friend. Sound Judgment is produced by Podcast Allies. I’m Elaine Appleton Grant. See you in part three!