Some common ways to properly tell and structure a story include starting out by asking a question. You want to be able to get the listener hooked so they are more compelled to keep listening. You can dive right into the problem or event of a story and explain how that problem came to be or got resolved. You can also introduce a mystery by providing a bit of background and informing listeners by letting them know you are trying to solve this problem or issue. This approach seems to engage the audience by keeping them involved and trying to figure out the mystery themselves and how they would go about solving the problem.
Once you have the base of your story established, you need to get into providing the details. You need to explain who is involved, what you are doing, and why you are doing things. You should provide enough detail to paint the picture to the listener of what is happening. Typically, in the middle you will reach the main event or issue and is the big focus of what the story is mainly about.
Once you have your story laid out, you need closing statements. This includes what lessons were learned from the problem or issue or what the outcome entailed. It should also be able to answer the question you provided to get the listeners interest or be able to answer the listeners questions. Sometimes a story does not have an end, so you have to explain how the issue is going forward in the future or what is next for that story.
The approach I plan to take for my story is diving into the narrative of my story. I plan to use this approach because the topic I want to go over was spontaneous and in the moment. In this story we hit a roadblock right away, but we didn’t let a little set back get in the way of having a good time and made the most out of it. The narrative approach will help reflect on that story and help set a tone and keeps the listeners attention.
In the NPR clip that I will also link below, the story jumps straight into explaining a shocking situation. It starts off by explaining how this gentleman was paying one thousand dollars per pill that he takes twice a day. It then goes into talking about his condition and how certain drug prices are sky high that are used for treating these illnesses. He struggled to pay for these drugs and found out later he was a part of a very small percentage of people that the drug didn’t cure that illness. He spent all that money on pills that was supposed to cure it but had nothing to show for it in the end.
Calif. Health Officials Aid People Facing Astronomic Drug Bills
In the story I appreciated how the reporter was able to capture my attention so quickly because most of us can’t imagine paying that much money for one pill. It got me thinking instantly about what I would do if I was in the man’s situation. I also liked that the structure of the story kept me focused the entire time and how personal the story felt because you got to actually listen to his story firsthand. The reporter seemed to be merely a guide for the story and let the gentleman do most of the talking.
The Married Life 