Make Your Talks Memorable, Type Trends and How To Communicate Complex Research

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10 stories we've enjoyed this week

"Be foolish" is written in white using plasticine. The backdrop to the words is a collage of plasticine swirls in all colours. At the bottom there is a plasticine sash with the words "life is yours" written on it.

Illustration by Kiev-based illustrator and graphic designer Olga Protasova - Hire her

Hi All,
As mentioned last week, we're just about to kick off a big piece of audience research looking at how we find, use and share stories, now. We want to find out how these behaviours have changed since the pandemic and what this means for an organisation's content strategies. It's something we've been looking at closely for some time. Now we're going to dig a lot deeper. We're looking for commercial and non-profit partners. Find out more about the project and how you can get involved.

We're hiring a new audience researcher to help with this and other research projects. This post is closing soon so apply now or share with anyone you think fits the post.

Thanks for reading and have a wonderful weekend.
Hugh

The Short Story

Formats Unpacked: Football Cliches
(6 min read)

How to Communicate Complex Research
(deck)

Don't Ask Forgiveness, Radiate Intent
(3 min read)

How TikTok is Changing the Publishing Industry
(3 min read)

If Your Perception Differs From Reality You'll Make Bad Decisions
(5 min read)

Did This Dua Lipa Hit Really Rip Off Someone Else's Work?
(8 min watch)

Vox: The Video Essay Boom
(8 min read)

Type Trends 2022
(Free report)

A Simple Tip For Making Speeches and Presentations Memorable
(5 min read)

Winners of the 2022 World Photography Awards
(Photo gallery)

A man or woman riding a bicycle with a huge bunch of flowers on the the back. The wall behind has flowers rising up. It looks like the flowers are coming out of an imaginary exhaust pipe on the bike. The wall is multicoloured, almost matching the colour of the flowers on the bike.

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

Formats Unpacked: Football Cliches
This week I take a look at how a new podcast made a big impact in a very crowded market. There's a great lesson in here for anyone thinking about how you capture attention by finding its niche.
(6 min read)

How to Communicate Complex Research
There is a lot to love in this short deck from Rachel Coldicutt. It's a must-read for anyone whose role involves communicating complex issues. It's got a bunch of great links for further reading too.
(Deck)

Don't Ask Forgiveness, Radiate Intent
If you didn't check out Rachel's deck in the link above you will have missed this great bit of advice: "For me, the idea came from L. David Marquet who suggests using 'I intend to…' to your superiors. The idea is that if the subordinate reliably signals intent, it removes the supervisor’s inclination to micromanage, while still allowing them to intervene if really necessary."
(3 min read)

How TikTok is Changing the Publishing Industry
The book industry had a big year in 2021 thanks, in large part, to TikTok. In a niche corner of the app, #BookTok—a community of TikTokers who review books and give recommendations—has blown up since the start of the pandemic. TikTok is the perfect platform for community members who make video replies to comments, stitch or duet content—all of which lends itself to what feels like book club 2.0: “On Instagram, you have to bring the ring light out, and look prepared and polished...Everything on Instagram is filtered and staged. While I try to have authentic engagement with my audience, you don’t get that through my photos.”
(3 min read)

If Your Perception Differs From Reality You'll Make Bad Decisions
Richard Shotton, the author of The Choice Factory, uses a Hans Rosling test to demonstrate a negativity bias many of us have. Richard points out that when our perceptions of the world differ from reality it will result in us making poor decisions.
(5 min read)

Did This Dua Lipa Hit Really Rip Off Someone Else's Work?
I really can't get enough of videos like this. It's a fascinating watch. A band called Artikal Sound System is alleging that Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' ripped off their song, 'Live Your Life'. Now they do sound very similar. In fact, at close examination, they are pretty much identical. But this video brilliantly breaks down why Artikal Sound System are going to struggle with their case and what the implications are for them if they do.
(8 min watch)

Vox: The Video Essay Boom
Regular readers of this newsletter will know we're big fans of video essays. Another thing you'll know is that, when it comes to video, we don't adhere to the 'shorter is better' way of thinking. Long-form video essays are thriving in the TikTok era. The internet might’ve changed what we pay attention to, but it hasn’t entirely shortened our attention spans. It's just made us more selective about the things we want to devote our attention to. People are willing to devote time to the content they find interesting.
(8 min read)

Type Trends 2022
If you need inspiration or you just love looking at creative uses of fonts then download this trends report.
(Free report)

A Simple Tip For Making Speeches and Presentations Memorable
Short but very good! If you want to make something memorable "get to the chorus." I've just ordered Derek Thompson's book. It looks fantastic.
(1 min read)

Winners of the 2022 World Photography Awards
If you need something to wash through your brain at the end of a very hard week click through to the awards site and immerse yourself in the collections. Stunning!
(Photo gallery)

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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