A few years ago, when I was in film school, I was shown a fantastic film by Martin Scorsese about his friend Steven Prince. The film is a bastard to get hold of but recently I found a torrent for it and downloaded it. Having just watched it again, it's got me thinking.

How is this related to picking up girls?

The whole film is centered around a conversation between Scorsese and Prince. Scorsese interviews Prince in a really casual way and Prince basically just tells random anecdotes from his life. However, despite it just being stories, the whole film is gripping and holds your concentration for the full 55 minutes.

This is all down to Steven Prince's ability to tell a story. Watch and learn:













Watch it. Give it some thought. Let me know what you think.

ill give it a whirl later

I'll defo watch that! Been looking into story telling a lot over the past 3 months. It really has made me think about what to say... and probably more importantly, what not to say.

Thanks for sharing, I'll watch the movie no later than tonight!

As for Story-telling, I find that is is the most compelling way of expressing oneself.

Most guys will state facts to present themselves (actually what I did in my presentation here my bad ) and this gets dull real fast. It doesnt set you apart. Whereas a story conveys a lot more and triggers the imagination.

Three questions about story-telling:

- What is a story worth telling?
- How do I tell a good story?
- Why share stories?


1/ Which story to tell

Broadly speaking, our memory is made up of two parts: semantic and episodic

Semantic memory is concept-based and allow you to form your general knowledge of the world based on your experiences.

Episodic memory on the other hand allows a more vivid recollection of particular events.

These events pop up in your mind with accute details: places, sights, smells, sounds and emotions. These are the memories you want to share, they will illustrate striking moments of your existence.

Don't censor yourself. Sometimes seemingly mundane events are worth sharing. If you remember them, there's a reason for it. Of course, on a first date it is wise to avoid anecdotes that reveal weaknesses or promote a central character other than you. Dare to make it about yourself.

2/ How to tell a story

I can't go into a lot of details here and will most likely expand on it in an ad hoc thread. As a general rule, I apply something I got from an improv exercise: ACE

ACE stands for:
Action
Colour
Emotion

Action: The first one is self-explanatory. Your story needs a narrative line that goes somewhere and doesnt cheat the audience. So three acts: Premises, developement and a satisfying/surprising/funny conclusion. Remember, Action = everytime you use active verbs ("I enter the building, bring the keys out of my pocket. Suddenly, I hear someone shout my name. I turn around.")

Colour: If you only use action, it makes it hard to actually picture the scene. Give some elements to help your interlocutor form a mental image of the surroundings, of what you were wearing etc. It seems counter-intuitive but the more specific you make it, the more people can relate to it.

Emotion: A story is nothing more than a Trojan horse for emotions. The ability to emote is closely connected to the ability to charm (and get laid ) So underline the emotions of the characters as you tell the story

Also, a story is not just about the words you pronounce but how you say them. Tonality, body-language are crucial. But you know that already.

3/ Why tell stories?

It's been around for as long as mankind has used language. People pay good money all around the world to have stories told to them: movies, novels, operas etc. We crave for it from an early age. Remember when your parents told you bedtime stories before putting you into bed? Well, it work with girls too: tell them a story and put them into (your) bed.

that was interesting, last vid where he's shot a man is powerful imagery. I like that he moves around as he speaks, he'll sit back relaxed and then stand up to get nearer to the people he's talking to because he's so involved in sharing the story and wants to connect more fully. Helps to have such a back catalogue of extreme stuff to talk about. Emotional. Good viewing at 2 in the morning with a cold. cheers

Good from you Blusher. I like it.

Did anyone else get a chance to watch this? What are your opinions?

Its a great watch. He paints such a vivid picture and describes some parts of a story a few times which I think helps make that part clearer and more interesting. He comes across as a great showman and gets the various emotions he was feeling across to us.

Great film, thanks!