The Moment of Reflection, Part 2

Continuing on in the interview with Ira Glass, he discusses the time it takes to develop a good story; however, it holds true for developing any skill. We attempt to develop a skill because we have good taste, a passion for the subject matter.

At first what you are creating isn't so good, its trying to be good, it has ambition to be good, but its not. The reason you know this is that your taste is good enough to tell you that it isn't that good. Causing what you are making to be a disappointment. At this point a lot of people decide to quit, since they are not great at the skill they are attempting to master, yet most people that do creative work go through a phase where what they are creating is not that good.



Like any artisan skill, they cannot be mastered overnight. Mastery of any skill requires dedication and effort. Consider Martial arts, when you begin, you have a vision of what it means to be good, a master; however while you have that taste of what good is, your current work does not product the same results. Through practice your skill is refined and becomes ever closer to resembling the vision of what it means to be good.

Through keeping your standards high and creating a large volume of work, you refine your skill to create something really good.


See the complete interview:

Ira Glass On Story Telling #1
Ira Glass On Story Telling #2
Ira Glass On Story Telling #3
Ira Glass On Story Telling #4

The Moment of Reflection

Ira Glass, has a very interesting video out on Youtube about what makes a story good, which I encourage anyone who is involved with telling stories, whether that be through presentation, to blogs to papers to take a few minutes and watch.


In storytelling there are two basic building blocks as Ira explains: the anecdote, and the moment of reflection.
The anecdote, being a sequence of actions, where as one thing follows from another, avoiding the use of disjointed facts.

"The Power of the anecdote is so great...No matter how boring the material is, if it is in story form...there is suspense in it, it feels like something's going to happen. The reason why is because literally it's a sequence of events...you can feel through its form [that it's] inherently like being on a train that has a destination...and that you're going to find something..."

— Ira Glass

The anecdote should also raise questions, providing the "bait" for the story. Raise questions right from the beginning to enticing the participant. Implied in any question that you raise, however, is that you are going to answer it. Constantly raise questions and answer them. Shape the story through throwing out questions and answering them along the way.

Secondly, the moment of reflection. What is the key point? What does this all mean? Why have I asked you to sit and listen for 30 min, etc. It is not just a series of facts/events. Many people get the first part, they tell an interesting sequence of events, but in the end it fails because it doesn't say anything new, it did not have meaning. Conversely sometimes people have the reflection part and the question is clear in their mind, but they fail to put it in a sequence that compels people to follow and engage.


In a good story you need both the Anecdote and the Moment of Reflection interwoven to make a valuable story for the participant.