A note about my most recent blog for the Experience Institute: Check Your Story’s Focus or Lose Your Audience

There are three types of writers: writers who write for themselves, writers who write for their peers and writers who write for their audiences. While I think the first two have their merits, I am most interested in telling stories that reflect back something on the current culture. In writing this blog post as a student of Experience Institute, I really wanted to explain to a community of dreamers, innovators and learners the importance of framing a story.

When reading this piece now, several weeks after I submitted it, I notice moments where I am sure the audience can’t hear my voice, but I hope that they can see a fire juggler.

If you’ve never seen a fire juggler, I suggest heading to the Pearl Street Mall in Boulder on a summer’s day. Fire jugglers work among the many street performers that entertain the crowds. If you have the time, stop for a while and study the way a street performer interacts with an audience. They don’t have the luxury of performing for themselves or for their peers. When your livelihood depends on donations, you quickly learn how to perform for the crowds of today.

CHECK YOUR STORY’S FOCUS OR LOSE YOUR AUDIENCE

Written for Experience Institute 

An author’s greatest asset is the ability to shape what details the audience can see. This insight came to me during a talk by Experience Institute all-star photographer Kevin Von Qualen. Kevin showed my class how a great photo really comes down to choosing your focus. A creator, in any art form, must decide what stays in the frame and what is cropped out.

A skilled storyteller narrows the frame of view to just the important details. Imagine taking a picture on your phone of a fire juggler from 100 feet away at a crowded outdoor mall. In your mind, you’re about to take a great picture, but the result is a haphazard mess of people and stores. The blurry orange of fire in the distance holds none of the brilliance of the performer. For the best picture, you need to move closer to the subject or find better equipment.

Now imagine you’re up close to that fire juggler…

Read the rest at expinstitute.com/2016/02/check-your-storys-focus-or-lose-your-audience/