The Secret to Telling a Great Story — in Less Than 60 Seconds | Jenny Hoyos | TED

The Secret to Telling a Great Story — in Less Than 60 Seconds | Jenny Hoyos | TED

How to Tell a Great Story in Under 60 Seconds

The Importance of Engaging Storytelling

  • Engaging storytelling can transform mundane conversations into memorable experiences, whether with friends, family, or in professional settings.
  • Starting with a question captures the audience's attention and encourages them to stay engaged until the answer is revealed.

Crafting the Hook

  • A shocking question can serve as an effective hook; for example, questioning the speed of fast food led to a viral video with over 45 million views.
  • Building tension through conflict is essential; without it, audiences may lose interest. The speaker illustrates this by introducing challenges during their burger cooking competition.

Developing Conflict and Tension

  • Utilizing relatable characters (like a parent) adds depth to the story and keeps viewers invested in both the main plot and subplots. This dual engagement enhances viewer curiosity about outcomes.
  • Creating uncertainty around the outcome increases suspense, making for a more satisfying conclusion when answers are finally provided.

Delivering Concise Answers

  • Quick and engaging delivery of answers is crucial; even if details (like food quality) are less than ideal, what matters is that viewers receive clear resolutions promptly. This approach contributed to high viewership numbers for the video discussed.
Channel: TED
Video description

For social media creator and viral video hitmaker @JennyHoyos, the key to telling a great story is to keep it brief. She breaks down her framework for telling stories in 60 seconds or less that can gain millions of views online — or simply elevate your everyday conversations. (Created in collaboration with @ignite; recorded at TEDNext 2024 on October 22, 2024) If you love watching TED Talks like this one, become a TED Member to support our mission of spreading ideas: https://ted.com/membership Follow TED! X: https://twitter.com/TEDTalks Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ted Facebook: https://facebook.com/TED LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ted-conferences TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tedtoks The TED Talks channel features talks, performances and original series from the world's leading thinkers and doers. Subscribe to our channel for videos on Technology, Entertainment and Design — plus science, business, global issues, the arts and more. Visit https://TED.com to get our entire library of TED Talks, transcripts, translations, personalized talk recommendations and more. Watch more: https://go.ted.com/jennyhoyos https://youtu.be/ZmNpeXTj2c4 TED's videos may be used for non-commercial purposes under a Creative Commons License, Attribution–Non Commercial–No Derivatives (or the CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International) and in accordance with our TED Talks Usage Policy: https://www.ted.com/about/our-organization/our-policies-terms/ted-talks-usage-policy. For more information on using TED for commercial purposes (e.g. employee learning, in a film or online course), please submit a Media Request at https://media-requests.ted.com #TED #TEDTalks #storytelling