25 million people, every single year, download Shaan Puri’s podcast. What has Shaan figured out about storytelling? He spilled the beans in our new chat. Here's how he does it: 1. A story is a five second moment of change. A story is not a sequence of events; it's about transformation. Weave in U-turns and unexpected flips. 2. Write like you talk. Natural, conversational, led by stories. 3. A formula for a great story: Intention + Obstacle. At all moments, the listener should know what the hero wants and what's stopping them from getting there. This one's from Aaron Sorkin, who wrote The Social Network. 4. Work backwards from the emotion you're trying to create in the reader. Then let the structure follow. 5. Aim for strong reactions. If you can get the reader to widen their eyes, raise their eyebrows, and/or burst out laughing, they will share your work. 6. Don't write to the faceless masses. Write to one specific person. BuzzFeed writers used to write to "Debbie at her Desk," the bored woman at her desk who wanted a 5-minute distraction. 7. “Likeability” is downstream of vulnerability. The more honestly you share your challenges, the more invested your reader gets. Write your heart out. 8. Don't be the 9,000 IQ guy. Stop competing in imaginary intelligence contests and start telling stories. Big words alienate but tight narratives pull people in. 9. Forget resumes and portfolios. Create a “binge bank” instead. A binge bank is a set of videos or essays that people can binge on. Stack up material so that when people do go down your rabbit hole, they come out the other side a fan. 10. Mere practice gets you nowhere. But intentional practice leads to exponential progress. Always learn from your attempts and make intelligent tweaks on the next try. 11. Comedy is great, but definitely don't make every sentence a joke. 12. Comedy is a pretty easy way to improve your writing. The essence of all comedy is surprise. Study your favorite comedians. Read books like How to Write Funny and The Hidden Tools of Comedy. 13. For better storytelling, Shaan recommends two books: Storyworthy and Building a Storybrand. 14. How to make headlines juicy: use specific and odd numbers, focus on the first three words and the last three words, use "you" whenever possible, and know that longer is typically better than shorter. 15. Your writing should only be as long as it is interesting. An uninteresting 20 second reel will fail; an interesting 30-minute essay will win. But you must be honest while gauging how objectively interesting your piece is…in a world with infinite content. 16. Most people think writing is about transferring information but writing is just as much about transferring emotion. Emotion gets people to take action (like, share, buy…).

what'sup yall - Shaan here. Lemme know what part resonated the most!

A Simple Formula for Storytelling Aaron Sorkin, the man behind The Social Network, has a tried-and-true method that you can try out next time you're trying to entertain your friends. Intention + Obstacle = Good Stories Whoever's listening to your story should always be able to answer two questions: What does the hero want? What's stopping them from getting it? The combination of intention and obstacle gives stories the tension and conflict that lead to suspense and keep people invested in your story. Your characters shouldn't passively react to the events around them. No, they should be in active pursuit of something. Sometimes, the obstacles are internal ones (like self-doubt or moral dilemmas). Sometimes, they're external ones (like villains or social pressure). Two examples from Sorkin's movies: 1) The Social Network: Zuck wants to create a big-time social network, but he's stuck in legal disputes. 2) Moneyball: Billy Beane wants to build a championship baseball team, but resistance comes in the form of a tight budget and skepticism from the people around him. These examples are why Sorkin says: "I worship at the altar of intention and obstacle."

When Shaan mentions only writing for his young grasshopper (01:07:00) it reminded me of two others who use a similar strategy. 1. Kurt Vonnegut - famously in his writing rules he instructs to only write for one person. If not, he warned, you could fall into the trap of “making love to the world and your story getting syphylus.” 2. Warren Buffet - when writing his annual shareholder letter he starts by writing “Dear Doris and Bertie” (his two sisters and holders of Berkshire stock). That way he knows he’s being direct and not over complicated.

The teaser alone: make them Lol, wtf, omg - that was gold!

Intention and obstacle. A great, succinct way to craft a story worth listening to.

The Binge Bank was gold. I also love that story is a change, not a chronology of something that happened.

David's joy is real. ❣

This is brilliant. My favorite episode yet. David, the way you distill ideas so quickly is great (have found the Shiny Dime challenge invaluable!). Looking forward to checking out Shaan's work.

Boron Letters are game changing

I hope people are paying attention to what Dave Perrow does in some of these interviews. In particular, this interview where he's kind of shadowing what Shan is saying. So you hear him, you know, after Shaan has talked about an idea, he would go over it again. More like he's mirroring what Shaan is saying so that he can grasp the idea even better. Because the more you say something, the more it sticks. And so Dave is trying to learn while interviewing. You can see him actively learning while interviewing his guest, Shaan. It's a very powerful technique for printing things into the memory so that you can always record them later in the future.

Shaan's approach to storytelling is genuinely captivating. Remember that the best stories often come from personal experience.

I cant believe this is free so many golden nuggets here - Shaan is amazing!!

Shaan Pure Gold Puri, as always! Perell is no slouch either, his Girard/Thiel essay was a pivot moment for me.

Shaan is looking great!! Well done on the discipline dude

Excited for this - watching now!

This man told us stories to build a story on how to create a great story. Master🙏🏾

Brilliant, so many simple takeaways here that I can action in something I'm writing today. Came here for Shaan but now a subscriber.

Just watched every second of this video. My biggest takeaway - I need to watch this 10 more times.

One of my favorites

The best podcast in the world 🌎 Thanks for another great one David

Thanks 🎉

58:37 I think part of the way they come together, is by putting the ideas on paper, then taking a break and later editing. By splitting that work up, I think it allows for both parts of the process to be maximized.

Really great! Huge fan of MFM pod and you got Shaan to pull back the curtain and explain why I think it's beyond "EPIC" :)

Writing with voice. I loved this hack. Never gave it a thought until I heard it today. Thanks. Was a good session.

Best episode by far! Shaan is a G

All i see are 2 GOATs

This was just insanely valuable. so much good stuff. pure gold.

Can´t wait to 1; Have Shaan on my podcast. 2: Take his writing course. Awesome podcast!

He couldn’t remember your compliment meaning he doesn’t LISTEN. 😂

Know Your Audience: Understand who you're speaking to and tailor your story accordingly. Consider their interests, knowledge level, and what resonates with them. Structure Matters: A compelling story typically has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Establish the setting and characters, build tension or conflict, and provide resolution. Emotion and Authenticity: Connect with your audience on an emotional level by sharing personal experiences or tapping into universal human emotions. Authenticity builds trust and engagement.

Note to self. Girls may like ambition but don't tell her you're working on your enthusiasm.

Great question 16:30 skilled host

What the heck kind of ending was that? It was so abrupt. That aside, great interview on a super interesting topic.

This was fantastic..

👍

🔥🔥🔥

How did you mic this and get such great audio?

🎉

I am a bit lost at 57 minutes.if this episode is in chapters I will take good notes

I would have paid for what is being shared here

yall need to like and sub so this man can buy some end tables

Binge bank.

The Big Brown Employee Handbook

7:04 the jist

xxx

Weird to see Shaan with pants. I don't mean it in a weird way, but if you are here from MFM, it's easy to forget that he has legs. Or maybe it's just me...

Not sure how long you have been podcasting for but you need to make it less about you and have more follow up questions for the guest.