

Ira Glass on storytelling - araneae
http://catharsis.tumblr.com/post/302387021/ira-glass-on-storytelling

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caryme
Or more directly, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hidvElQ0xE>

From HN Guidelines (<http://ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html>):

"Please submit the original source. If a blog post reports on something they
found on another site, submit the latter."

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araneae
Yes, but Catharsis commented on the video in the post, so it's not equivalent.

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allenbrunson
not in any interesting way. it's just two or three sentences that don't add
much.

i agree with the original comment: this should have been submitted directly
from the source.

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hwijaya
I find the other video about finding 'great stories' from Ira is equally
interesting.

It resonates well with me after running my own startup for few months. Finding
'great startup ideas' seems require the same approach as finding great
stories.

Here's the video: <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qmtwa1yZRM>

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JshWright
I think it's interesting that someone I can listen to for hours in a scripted
(and edited) piece bugs the crap out of me after just a minute or two of
casual speaking... I haven't heard someone say "like" so many times in like...
years...

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zaidf
He made only a side comment about how bad he was with putting emphasis on too
many words during his speech. I feel I have this problem in my speech. Anyone
know a good place to read more about "smooth" talking(not the evil kind)?

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lhuang
I did hs and collegiate debate & speech to some success.

The keys to speaking "smoothly" outside of the technical aspects of cadence,
tone, etc, is more organization and thought-flow than anything else.

Treat your audience like their stupid and hand-hold them through the argument
you're trying to make. Organize your speech, even if informally, around some
natural structure.

i.e. intro --> relate intro to topic of speech --> argument --> summary of
points that defend your argument --> detailed breakdown of each point -->
conclusion where you resummarize your argument and the points that defend it

If you can't engage your speakers with some sort of natural charisma or
speaking ability at the very least make sure that your points are stated
clearly in a well organized easy to follow way.

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iamwil
The same thread from a long long time ago:

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=198935>

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kikibobo69
His advice could apply equally well to what it takes to become a good
programmer. Spend the time, don't be satisfied, never give up -- but, spend
the time.

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metra
Another work-more-and-you'll-be-successful suggestions. Along with Malcolm
Gladwell's Outliers and countless blog posts.

How thick are we here at Hacker News? This isn't news. We know the value of
hard work. It's what our parents have told us since we went to school. Why do
we have to repeatedly reinvent the wheel with this suggestion?

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wyday
_... reinvent the wheel with this suggestion_

It's just more anecdotal evidence of just how long it takes to be truly good
at what you do. It's not "reinventing the wheel" (you're not using the
expression correctly, by the way). Ira also presented it in an interesting
way. How often do you get a successful person willingly showing their
failures?

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metra
How much interesting anecdotal evidence will it take for you to get it? Hard
work brings success. As to how often I get a successful person to willingly
showing their failures? Do a search on Amazon for success and look at all the
books there. Not all successful people have made a video that's been uploaded
to Youtube. But many have written a book about it.

Maybe I used the expression incorrectly. To me, saying "work more and you'll
be successful" a hundred different ways seemed like reinventing the wheel. But
you're right, it's off. I should have just said how much time do we have to
waste with this suggestion. Go work instead of reading about how much working
will help you.

~~~
zaidf
See someone might say the same thing to your "go work instead" point. Haven't
we heard that before too?

Repetition works because we are not all on the same page. We all have our aha
moments at different times.

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catfish
Ira's work - This American Life <http://thislife.org>

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sabat
Ira Glass on storytelling: first thing, whine. Second, be pretentious.

