Telling vs Writing Stories: Why You Need to Practice Both

The short versionTelling stories out loud trains you to create in real time and read your audience. Writing them trains you to find the gaps and the one thing people should remember. To master storytelling, practice both.

Got a question for you:

Are you better at telling stories or writing them?

Most people just do one or the other.

But that's a huge mistake.

Oral and written storytelling are very different art forms.

And they train different parts of your brain.

When you TELL stories, you create in real time.

• You access your subconscious. You'll sometimes blurt out ideas you've never thought about before.
• You react to your audience. You notice what makes people laugh, lean in, or lose interest. You'll naturally adjust your story the next time.
• There's more pressure. A live audience puts you into fight-or-flight mode. Sometimes that pressure forces something brilliant out of you.

When you WRITE stories, you become more analytical.

• You expose the gaps. Rewriting helps you find where the lesson isn't clear or something doesn't fit.
• You get clarity. You're forced to figure out the ONE thing you want people to remember.
• You think like the reader. You start noticing where people might get confused or bored.

To truly master storytelling, you must practice both sides of the art.

That's why I designed Night Owl Nation to do both.

In our Small Groups, you TELL stories.

With our weekly assignments, you WRITE and publish stories.

S.

Read more of Sun's newsletters →Sun's answers on storytelling and personal branding →