Hey Reader,

You know that thing that happens when you greet someone “Good morning”, and they reply with just… “Morning”?

Does it rub off on you the wrong way?

Because for me, it does.

I didn’t always have this opinion though. One sunny afternoon in 2018, I was walking to class with a friend who was livid that someone had responded to her greeting with “Morning”.

I didn’t see it as a big deal. “Some people just prefer to respond that way. It doesn’t mean they’re being rude.”

It’s funny though, because over the years, my opinion has changed and now? I agree with my friend.

Two days ago, I was heading out and met a neighbour on the street. I gave her an enthusiastic “Good evening!”

Her response?

“Evening.”

Evening? Evening??

😅

What happened to the “Good” I put in front of my own greeting?

Is it that hard to say? It’s literally just four letters.

To be clear, I wasn’t offended. I just think responding that way is the conversational equivalent of giving a nod to someone who’s waving cheerfully at you.

And the very least you can do is to respond to people as enthusiastically as they greet you, especially when all it takes is to add “good” in front of a greeting.

Anyways, when the whole “evening” incident happened two days ago, I laughed at myself… because that’s the thing about us humans.

Our opinions about things are always changing.

Something you think is cool today? You’ll look back five years from now and say, “I can’t believe I ever thought that way.”

And something you don’t agree with right now? You may find yourself championing it in a few years time.

I mean, Reader, you used to laugh at throwbacks of your parents wearing what you thought were ridiculously baggy pants, but here you are today with 3 pairs in your wardrobe.

So yeah, opinions can change.

But you know what will never change?

The ability of a good story to draw the attention of anyone (and I mean ANYONE).

Yup. Even the most distracted ears will perk up at the sound of “Let me tell you a story.”

As humans, we’re wired for stories. We always have been.

It’s why you can forget yourself in a book or movie for hours on end.

It’s why you can be half asleep in the world’s most boring lecture until the speaker deviates to tell a story about the time his toddler swallowed a pin. All of a sudden, you’re alert.

But here’s where most people get confused:

They think that using stories to grab people’s attention means you always have to craft an elaborate story with a three-act narrative.

Nope.

Sometimes, all you need is something called a “Micro story”.

A subscriber recently asked me, “What if I’m just making a video sharing my opinion and I don't have any big personal story to tell?”

Easy. You use a micro story: a quick one-liner or two that drives your point home with an illustration which can be real or imagined.

It works so well because whenever your audience is about to get distracted, you can use it to draw their attention back.

You may have noticed them in my emails.

Like in the "Reader's bag" email:

"So when editing, you have to be brutal. Ruthless. Like your JSS3 teacher picking the final dancers for the end of the year choreography. If a dancer (or sentence) isn't pulling their weight, they’re out."

And in the recent email I sent about AI, where I said:

"AI is like that small, awkward guy in class that everyone thought was weird, until results came out and he took first position in every subject. Suddenly, everyone wanted to be his best friend. But they didn’t really like him, they just needed help with their Maths homework."

And in another recent email:

"I've learned I prefer to film alone because I am absolutely insufferable to work with… and that’s putting it nicely. I can say "one last shot" twenty nine times until whoever's helping me wants to grab my camera and smash it on the floor (thankfully, that hasn’t happened… yet)."

I even used it in this very email you're reading.

So the next time you’re making a video and you can’t think of any story to tell, use a micro story.

A little goes a long way. A micro story or two in the right places will keep your audience hooked till the end.

And Reader, if you want to learn how you can use micro stories effectively in your creative work, I’ve got great news for you because it’s one of the areas I’ll be covering in my upcoming storytelling workshop.

Yup. the cat’s out of the bag.

I’ll be hosting a storytelling workshop where I’ll be covering the practical, specific ways to use storytelling that'll make your work infinitely better (yes, it’s paid. yes, it’s online).

And think about it… if the free stuff I’ve given you so far is this valuable, you can only imagine how the paid one is going to be.

I’ll keep releasing more details about the workshop as the days go by.

Just make sure to keep your eyes peeled for my emails so you don’t miss any important updates.

Meanwhile, what’s your opinion on the whole greeting thing? Do you also think people should always add the ‘Good” in front of a greeting? Or you couldn’t care less if they don’t?

Reply to this email and let me know!

Fayo

TL;DR: I’m hosting a paid storytelling workshop soon. It’s going to be goooood. Stay tuned to my emails so you don’t miss any important updates.

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