“How to Tell a Story” by The Moth 4/5
Moths were flying around the campfire while hunter-gatherers, through the ages, met to tell stories. The Moth has been picked as the name of the series of events where people gather together to share stories. The rules are simple: you can only use your voice as a tool. No slides, no visuals.
The book was written by the hosts of these events. It includes all of the knowledge they have on crafting the best stories, as they are responsible for rehearsals and improving each one. All of this is supported by transcripts from actual stories told during Moth events.
Coincidentally, while I was reading the book I was also listening to a few episodes of the Moth podcast and twice I encountered examples from stories I had heard the very same day.
I liked the approaches discussed in the book. However, I thought that the sheer quantity of examples was a bit redundant as they had already made their point after a few. The size of the book could be decreased significantly if some of the examples were put aside, but I do understand that these are an important aspect of the learning process.
We are prone to listen to stories told by others; we feel emotions and we mirror feelings. Great storytelling involves sharing parts of ourselves, taking listeners to places where we’ve been, and injecting our feelings into the stories that we tell. We live through our stories but they also bring people who are long gone back to life.