Presentation Advice, a Short Storytelling Course and the Latest Trends in Podcasting

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10 stories we've enjoyed this week

Animation with the words 'Job Alert' alternating colours. The background is constantly changing colour including pink, yellow and blue

Hi All,
We're hiring! Come work with us!

We're looking for a Writer/Editorial Lead to work with us for 12 months on a digital publication we run for a major US foundation.

We're looking for someone with experience working with or writing for nonprofits, or at least a demonstrable understanding of how they work. You'll also have experience in writing and editing narrative and long-form editorial – particularly writing about people and ideas. If you fit that description we'd love to hear from you. Apply by Friday 10th June 2022. If this isn't for you, please share within your networks.

One more thing. We've just launched a new publication for the Rockefeller Foundation called Bellagio Bulletin. It features some of the people and the ideas that come out of the foundation's Bellagio Center in Italy. I intend to write about it in the coming weeks, but for now, you can meet some of those people.

OK. Here are this week's stories. Go get 'em.
Hugh

The Short Story

The Storythings Team Choose Their 5 Favourite Formats
(4 min read)

George Saunders: 10 Ways to Think About Endings
(9 min read)

A Short Course on Narrative Change and Strategic Storytelling
(20 min read)

Radical Posters for the 21st Century
(8 min read)

The Viral Online Challenge is Never Coming Back
(8 min read)

David Bowie's Moonage Daydream Trailer
(90 sec watch)

Podcast Trends Report
(6 min read)

Fine Art and Flatpacks: Artworks Superimposed onto Ikea Catalog
(online exhibition)

Exit Scam: New True Crime Podcast About a Very Important Password
(podcast series)

A Great Metaphor on Tailoring Your Presentations to the Audience
(1 min read)

The Protest Poster shows a collage of people protesting and holding banners. One banner says "NO EVICTIONS". Another says "BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY". The collage is black and white and the background is a dark green.

How can we help you?

Storythings is a strategy and content company based in Brighton and London. We'd love to help you with some creative and bold ideas.

Here's 3 reasons to get in touch.

1. You want to talk to us about content production: podcasts, videos, animations, illustrations, editorial.

2. You want to talk to us about content strategy or format development.

3. You want to create a brand or an identity that makes it easier to communicate your message.

We do other things too. We're very friendly and always enjoy meeting people, so get in touch.

The Full Story

The Storythings Team Choose Their 5 Favourite Formats
Formats Unpacked, a newsletter we produce about formats, is two years old. To celebrate this, team members at Storythings submitted their own personal Top 5 Formats. Feel free to share your favorite formats in the comments.
(4 min read)

George Saunders: 10 Ways of Thinking About Endings
We're big fans of George Saunders' writing, as well as his writing about writing. His Story Club newsletter is essential reading if you want to develop your craft. Some people find endings the hardest part of writing so George gives some really useful suggestions for improving them.
(9 min read)

A Short Course on Narrative Change snd Strategic Storytelling
If you're interested in strategic storytelling, but don't have the time to do this short course now, bookmark it for another day. It's really good. This course will help you understand how to use stories, narratives, and deep narratives to change behaviours. It uses examples from stories we know and love and contains lots of links to send you down further storytelling rabbit holes.
(20 min read)

Radical Posters for the 21st Century
There's an arts organisation called the Autonomous Design Group that uses art to enforce political change. They've partnered with the (unaffiliated) Labour Party Graphic Designers to create a series of quarterly 'artpack' poster drops. Though posters are based on current issues, they're designed to mirror political and protest posters from a previous era.
(8 min read)

The Viral Online Challenge is Never Coming Back
Whilst I wouldn't say that online challenges such as planking, the Ice Bucket Challenge and the Cinamon Challenge are gone forever, I do agree that current social media challenges don't feel the same: "Today, you can imagine how this would all play out. A right-wing pundit would spin the challenge in some awful way to “own the libs,” and then the libs would do the challenge, too, so as to make it both heavy-handed and smug. Then some dreadful bureaucrat would post a video, setting off a flame war, and someone else with a porch surveillance camera would harass their Amazon delivery person into joining in. If the viral challenge served to bring us all together—if it stood for online comity and fun—then we should acknowledge that it’s never, ever coming back. The past five years have dumped a bucket of ice-cold water on the premise."
(8 min read)

David Bowie's Moonage Daydream Trailer
This left me breathless. I can't wait to see it.
(90 sec watch)

Podcast Trends Report
If you're thinking about launching a podcast or already have one, this trend report from SMX Media is worth a glance. It breaks down into four areas: new in listening, new in creating, new in advertising and new in opportunity. I found the last part on missed opportunities most interesting. If you want to launch a podcast but don't know where to start we're always happy to chat.
(6 min read)

Fine Art and Flatpacks: Artworks Superimposed onto Ikea Catalog
Brussels-based gallery Office Baroque has created an online show Chambres d’Amis: Ikea. It features a series of works Photoshopped into the last print edition of the Ikea catalog dating from 2021.
(online exhibition)

Exit Scam: New True Crime Podcast About a Very Important Password
I've just started listening to the story of Gerald Cotten, the founder of Canada’s biggest Bitcoin exchange. Gerald died under mysterious circumstances during a honeymoon trip to India in December 2018. Customers of his exchange Quadriga were told that the $215 million they’d deposited was lost forever — because Gerry had forgotten to leave behind his passwords. But not everyone believes he’s dead.
(podcast series)

A Great Metaphor on Tailoring Your Presentations to the Audience
There are lots of reasons why someone might come to see you talk: to learn something, to make a business decision, to network, or to be entertained. It's important to know who your audience is and why they are there, as this quote demonstrates.
(1 min read)

We hope you've enjoyed this week's newsletter. I'm sure some of your friends would love to read it. Sharing it would be really appreciated. If you've received this from a friend you can subscribe here and get it direct to your inbox every Friday.

Thanks for reading and see you all next week,

Hugh, Matt, Anjali and the team at Storythings

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Presentation Advice, a Short Storytelling Course and the Latest Trends in Podcasting

10 stories we've enjoyed this week

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