Guest Post by Paul Strickland — National Storytelling Festival Featured Teller, full-time storytelling artist & coach
“My belt loop got snagged on the office doorknob. And for six full seconds, I just hung there like a confused tetherball: phone in one hand, coffee in the other, held captive by my own khakis.”
That’s where the story should’ve started. Not with what I had for breakfast. Not with the meeting I was late for (a meeting about how we’d been missing deadlines).
The best way to start a story? Open with the Oh No.
You don’t need buildup. You don’t need backstory. You need a goat in a necktie.
Okay, not literally (unless your story has a goat and then, you know, dress’m up if you like!)
If you want to hook an audience fast… if you want them leaning in instead of checking out? You start with the part where things are already strange, charged, or slightly on fire.
Most people start too early. They begin with the weather. Then the date. Then the traffic being ‘medium.’ Then an unrelated anecdote about a lukewarm breakfast burrito. And that’s fine… if your goal is to be ignored.
But if you want people to ACTUALLY listen… Start Later.
One way: freeze it.
Start with an image. Not an explanation. Not an intro. One vivid, question-raising image.
He’s spinning on a doorknob? Why?
Grandma’s holding a flaming rake in the driveway? Go on.
There’s glitter in the mashed potatoes? How DARE THEY… also, who’s they?!
When you open with an image that creates a question, curiosity does the rest.
Let your story feel like someone just walked into the middle of something worth hearing.
Use the Opening Image as a Hook
Start with a Snapshot – NOT a Scrapbook.
Grab attention with a moment that makes people lean in.
The opening image PURCHASES the real estate to lay down the second sentence. It makes them stop scrolling, stop eating, stop multitasking… and just listen.
When you start with a clear, specific, slightly strange image, you don’t need to beg for attention. You’ve earned it.
It’s like opening a door and revealing a goat in a necktie. You just bought yourself some explanation time.
Sidestep the slow buildup and start where the story is already warm.
Examples:
- There was a high heel on top of my car. Under the high heel was a note.
- “‘DON’T MENTION THE INCIDENT’ was underlined twice on the whiteboard, and that was my first day of work.”
You practice.
Write three opening lines that start mid-chaos. If you need suggestions:
- One could involve an object.
- One could involve someone’s facial expression.
- One could involve something that absolutely shouldn’t be where it is.
START THERE. Don’t wade us in – toss us in.
We’re WAY more likely to stay awake that way!
Because if your first line involves a mannequin on fire, we know this ain’t a corporate training video. Or it’s the BEST corporate training video. Either way, big win.