7 Storytelling Techniques for YouTube — Step-by-Step Guide & Transcript

[00:02] easy to watch. You play the video thinking that I will watch it for just 1 minute. But before you realize, half the video ends. But then there are videos where no matter how good the information is, you

[00:14] cannot watch it for more than a minute. Ever wondered why this happens? Well, this difference is mostly in storytelling. But what exactly is storytelling. Well think about what happens in a story? Like a normal character [sangeet] who faces a problem in his life

[00:26] our character goes on a journey and because of that journey he gets completely transformed. Notice how a story is nothing more than pieces of information presented in an engaging way.

[00:40] A story has progression, tension , conflict, emotions , and mistakes. And this is the reason why it is fun to read a story book but not a text book. Now imagine if you are able to

[00:52] then watching your video will become an experience for the viewers rather than an effort. Viewers will not only watch your video but will also feel it. Will remember him. They won't even realize when the video is over and your

[01:06] audience retention will literally sky rocket. So now that you know question will be how to use it in your videos. So now I am going to tell you seven easy techniques with the help of which you will be able to easily do storytelling in your videos.

[01:19] Starting with number one, the domino effect. A domino chain consists of a number of blocks. But all it takes to drop them is to drop a block. Because of that one block, another block falls. The second block causes the third block to fall and

[01:31] eventually a chain reaction begins. Well, this same effect should happen in your script as well. And if you did n't notice, I already used the domino effect in this video. I told you the storytelling concept in the first 1 minute of the script and then I said so now that

[01:45] important? Now your question would be how to use it in your videos? So if I wanted, I could explain the domino effect directly. But what I did was, as soon as a point ended, I raised a question related to it, the answer to

[01:59] which the viewers got through the next point. This if the viewer is hooked in point one then he will automatically be hooked in point two also. And you don't always have to erase a question. You

[02:13] can point out any limitations of your current point or introduce a problem related to it, the solution of which will be provided by your next point. For example, these are two points from one of my videos. SEO & Thumbnails. So I can

[02:25] speak after explaining the SEO point. Now you can get your video ranked at number one by doing SEO. If its thumbnail is bad then no one will click on the video. So let's talk about thumbnails. Notice how the thumbnail point does

[02:37] n't seem random at all, but rather a natural extension of the SEO point. But here is the not just about connecting disparate points. There are so many different things you can do like being relatable. Now what is this? We know that every story has a character with whom everything is happening.

[02:52] Now imagine if that character is none other than our viewer, then the viewers will not only watch the video but will one of the simplest ways to do this is to include relatable things in your script. For example, let's say

[03:06] voice recording. And I want to talk about the noise issue in the video. Something that many people face. So that's one way to say it. Background noise is a common problem when recording voice. Therefore you should use proper environment and

[03:19] microphone. This inference is also correct. Is it clear? But there is no emotion in it. Now let's say the same thing in a relatable way. Has it ever happened that you recorded a perfect voice over for 30 minutes and when you listened to it with headphones, the sound of the fan in the background

[03:32] , the sound of the graphics, the sound of utensils, the conversations of the family members, everything was recorded. Are you seeing the difference? Now the viewers are not just consuming information but are also remembering their experiences. Similarly, if you are sharing a workout routine late in the video.

[03:45] And there's a part of the workout that almost everyone , make it a part of the script if you're making a gaming video. And there is a experiences. So acknowledge that moment. You can talk about how

[03:59] players feel in that situation – excited, scared, overconfident, whatever it is. me too. So the viewer will instantly be able to connect himself emotionally with the video. Now after listening to the first two points,

[04:12] only your script is responsible for storytelling. But it is not like that. What viewers see and hear in your video also affects your storytelling. Which brings me to point number three Sight and Sound. When we are reading a book,

[04:25] we use our imagination to create visuals. But when we are watching a YouTube video, those visuals are not in our imagination but in front of our eyes. This is why what you show on screen during editing

[04:37] controls your story. Let's play a video of Mr. Beast to demonstrate this point. of Mr. Beast to demonstrate this point.

[04:54] Now Mr. Beast Is An Expert When It Comes To Visual Storytelling. First, Mr. Beast says, "I just drop these two strangers in the middle of the wilderness," and to visualize this point, a literally zoomed-out shot of the entire

[05:06] wilderness in which they are standing is shown. After this, Jamie said that these two guys have never met each other and to visualize this, a scene was shown in which both the contestants are revealing their faces. Finally, Jami has said that for the number of days

[05:18] they survive here, I will give them $10,000. To show which there is a shot of Mr. Beast opening a brief case full of money. The best possible visuals have been used to match every line of these short scripts. case full of money. The best possible visuals have been used to match every line of these short scripts.

[05:30] this might have matched by coincidence. But Mr. Beast's editors literally spend hours creating perfect visuals to match the script. This storytelling advice may sound basic. But new creators always

[05:42] ignore this. Mostly they are using such roles or motion graphics which do not match their script or they lose interest. Apart from this, there is also an invisible layer which always controls your storytelling

[05:56] but is never visible. sound design. You might say that brother, I don't even do any special sound design in my videos. But even a simple background music and a few sound effects can elevate the story that you are trying to tell. Like that Mr. Beast

[06:08] clip we saw a while back. Rewind it once and imagine Rewind it once and imagine creators don't use background music. The

[06:20] not able to find background music that matches the mood of their story. And this is where Epidemic Sound comes in handy, which is the best sound tracking platform for every creator. Their catalogue has over 500 music tracks and over 2 lakh

[06:33] restriction free. Which means you do get the feature of safe listing. Where you can link all your social media handles. After which you can use any asset from this site. There will be no problem.

[06:48] The best part is that here we finding music for any video seems very easy. They also have an AI powered assistant that will act as your personal music supervisor. Here you can

[07:03] describe your video in simple words and this assistant will suggest you the effects accordingly. If you go to Epidemic's labs, you will find their studio feature. Where you can directly upload the draft of your video and their AI will

[07:16] analyze the base and mood of the video and automatically can also edit the latter as per your requirement. All your favorite YouTubers use Epidemic for their channels and I also get my sound effects and background music from

[07:31] ask what music I used in my videos. So I've also created a playlist for you guys on Epidemic which has all the music cracks and use in my videos. You can access Epidemic Sound for just ₹199 per month.

[07:46] and use my code decoding at checkout, you will get a 50% off discount for 2 months. Point number four is what I like to call labeling. This is something you'll

[07:59] But no one is going to tell you this secret. Labeling is a storytelling technique in which you give a concept a special name or label. Let's take an example. If you remember the first point of this video was The Domino Effect. Now if

[08:13] I wanted, I could also call it directly connecting points. Right? Its meaning is also the same. But the problem is that as soon as you hear this name you know what I am going to tell you. Where as when I put a label on this concept like

[08:25] the domino effect. So this does two things. Firstly, it creates curiosity in the mind of the viewer as to what is domino effect? And secondly, this instantly makes our points appear more premium than before. One of the world's

[08:37] biggest tech companies, Apple, does this all the time. If Apple wanted, it could have called AirDrop wireless file transfer. Dynamic Island could have been called Aptive Nacht. Face Time could have been called a video call. But notice how a simple label makes these features

[08:51] feel premium and exclusive. But be careful. This doesn't mean you should But be careful. This doesn't mean you should special, nothing will feel special. And people will understand that you are intentionally

[09:03] complicating things. Remember that if a concept is already clear then there is no need to rename it. Also, if you use labels for very basic concepts, that too will seem forced. Use these short labelings for emphasis, not decoration.

[09:15] Now the fifth storytelling technique is called analogies. And with its help you can explain any complex concept or idea to your viewers in a very beautiful way. Analogy means a comparison between two

[09:28] similar. For example, suppose I have to explain the concept of impressions and click-through rate to new users, then I can compare it with the concept of a shop. Suppose you open a shop on the road.

[09:40] While passing through that road, 1000 people noticed your shop but only 100 of them came to your shop. So the shop here is kind of your video. Those 1000 people who saw the title and thumbnail of your video are impressions. And those 100 people are viewers

[09:53] who clicked on your video. This was an example of an analogy where I viewers were not aware of and compared it to something that was very common and everyone knew about it. In short explain something they don't know

[10:07] using something they know. Of course, this makes the concept easy to understand. It becomes interesting. Plus it is also easy to remember. Since it's connected creating good analogies is also an art. For this, I would

[10:20] look at things in your daily life and try to relate them to each other. Also remember that analogy also controls perspective. For example, if I call YouTube growth a lottery, what image will come to your mind ? Luck and Randomness. But if I

[10:34] call YouTube growth compound interest, that image changes instantly. Patience, time, gradual growth. The topic is the same but as soon as the analogy was changed, the mindset also changed. Storytelling technique number six is ​​to introduce stakes into your video.

[10:48] Right now I have two different hooks for the video. Tell me the truth, which one of these will grab your attention quickly. If You Want One's subscribers, you need to do this. Or subscribers to If You Don't Do This You Will Never Reach One. Now

[11:01] even these two hooks are kind of conveying the same thing. The second hook will always garner more attention. Because our brain is wired for survival. Therefore, it prioritizes threads over opportunities.

[11:16] risk, there is a stake involved and you get hooked. And if you think about it, a story becomes engaging only when stakes are involved in it. Yes, our protagonist has to achieve something. But why do it at all? Because if he doesn't do it the

[11:29] world will end. Ya He Will Not Get the Love of His Life. Or he will lose something important. All of these are examples of stakes. Stakes Give You a Reason to Care About the Story. Stakes Tell You That There Is Something To Lose. A

[11:42] great example of this is Mr. Beast. If you get out of the circle, you'll dig up $5,000. If you remove your hand, you will dig a private jet. You will get $1 lakh but you will have to leave your job. You will get $8 lakh but you will have to face your biggest fear.

[11:57] involve such extreme stakes. And this is a big reason why these videos are so viral. When I have to introduce stakes in my videos, I ask myself what will happen if viewers ignore my advice.

[12:10] Thumbnail is important but if you ignore it then CTR will fall. Editing is important but if you ignore it, watch time will drop. And thinking like this allows you to understand what is at stake. And remember, stakes are

[12:22] not meant to create unnecessary fear. If you start warning the audience in every line, then the and long term trust will be destroyed. So use this technique carefully. Finally the last technique

[12:34] is called compression and this is not a storytelling technique but it will heard many writers doing this. So basically, when your script is ready, you have to create it one last time from start to end. And when you

[12:47] do this then you will notice that there are many lines in your script which are not actually needed. Or there are lines which, if not there, could have made the flow of your story smooth. So at that time you can compress your script by editing or removing those lines.

[12:59] Finally I want to say that storytelling is something that exists on a very real level in our videos. And also, there And also, there

[13:11] Because every video is different. But still I have tried to tell you such techniques which maximum people will be able to apply. And what I want is that you guys approach these points from a broader perspective. Only then will you understand

[13:24] how this can apply to your niche. You may have to do something different from the examples I have given. So for this it is very important to think with an open mind. Now if you have come this far then comment. Surya telling is fun and like the video.

[13:37] Also, if you want to learn how to design a killer intro hook, click on this video. End or I'll meet you there. Maid.