Anyone can make up a story, but not everyone can tell the story. According to Hugues Joublin, storytelling is an art form, and it takes some skill to effectively tell a story that doesn’t just deliver a message, but also leaves an impression.
Hugues Joublin’s Tips to Tell Stories
Choose a Central Message
Any good story will usually have a central theme that it focuses on. A story that talks about everything under the sun will only get confusing and leave readers muddled. You should have a strong core message that your story revolves around, and build towards it by using other, related themes that will help strengthen this core.
Embrace Conflict
Conflict is necessary for any story. While it may be tempting to simply have a straight path ahead of you, life is not without its hurdles, and this is just as true for your protagonist as it is for you. Hugues Joublin explains that the audience is only likely to be satisfied with the ending if you build up towards it – if your character faces struggles and obstacles on their way towards success, that success will taste much sweeter.
Structure
According to Hugues Joublin, there are multiple ways to structure your story, but there are three things that all stories have in common: a beginning, a middle, and an end. Effective storytelling involves keeping the audience hooked at each of these steps. Regardless of the core message, the sort of conflict involved and the characters, if your audience loses interest at any of these stages, you’re not telling your story well enough.
Use Personal Experiences
Even if your story is a fictional one, you need to draw readers in through things they can relate to. Look into your own life for inspiration. Even the most fantastical of fantasies should have elements your audience can apply to themselves – from relationship turmoil to introspection and emotion, you should take inspiration from your experiences to add life to your story and your characters.
Hugues Joublin Explains Why Storytelling Skills Are Important
You may think that you don’t actually need good storytelling skills, because you’re not writing a book. But storytelling is a part of every aspect of our lives. From the funny anecdotes we share with our friends to businesses trying to promote themselves, storytelling is an important part of our daily life!
Hugues Joublin explains that telling a compelling and interesting story is how you inspire an audience, build credibility and relationships with those around you. Even if you’re not looking to become the next biggest corporation, being able to tell good stories to those around you is an excellent way to improve your relationships with them.
This is because stories are emotional. Stories are not about the facts involved, or how accurate the story is to real life – they are about heart-to-heart communication, and thus, an important aspect of keeping society functioning and connected. Having strong emotional bonds is necessary, and storytelling is just one way to do that!