Every time I see a story online I ask myself the same question: Why should I care?
The way to connect people to your story, to make them care, is to think about how it might illuminate something that is true for everyone, that is, a universal idea or universal truth that helps us better understand ourselves and each other.
For me it’s the difference between a story about a starving child in Africa -- a child I don’t know in a condition I’ve never felt in a place I’ve never been-- and a story about a hungry boy trying to decide if he should use the last coins to feed his starving mother. That universal connection (we all have a mother) allows me to feel something personal. It's a challenge in every story, to have it pull back to the big idea.
What are some universal issues? Heart, health and wealth are the big three that cover so many others. Great stories connect the specific to the universal, connecting all of us to the story. And hopefully to each other.
Learn about universal truths, stories, and more from Bob:
Advanced Multimedia Storytelling
with Bob Sacha
July 1 - July 6, 2012
View Bob's story about a mother in Namibia, or his story from the Ukraine.