Name: The Secret to Telling a Great Story — in Less Than 60 Seconds | Jenny Hoyos | TED
Uploaded: 2025-02-03T08:24:14.000Z
Duration: 4 min
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Have you ever wondered how much ice cream you can get for a dollar, or what's the cheapest thing at an airport, or if it's faster to go inside or a drive-thru?

Gerund

But somehow answering these weird questions and sharing those experiences have become my life's work.

Now even though I only have five minutes to share my viral storytelling framework, great stories should be told in less than 60 seconds.

And it's not just about becoming a viral social media star.

It's about making your conversations better, whether you're with friends, family, or trying to convince your boss for a raise.

So here's how to make every second count.

Many great stories start with a question, because they'll make people stick until the end to find out the answer.

And remember, you want to get your audience's attention immediately, so you want to start by asking something shocking.

One of the things I've always wondered was if fast food was really as fast as they say.

So I answered just this in a video and got over 45 million views.

Yeah, can you put cheese, lettuce, and tomatoes?

But as you can see, I took this question very seriously.

And after you've hooked your audience, you want to take them on a journey building up to your answer, where you want there to feel constant progression.

So we're moving closer and closer to our answer, so we feel like we can't stop listening.

And in my case, I did just this by saying that I'll be adding tomatoes, lettuce, and cheese to the burger.

So now we know how close I am to finishing the competition, thus the video.

But if everything is smooth sailing, then nobody cares, which is why we need to add conflict before getting to our answer.

OK, I'm going to cut the tomatoes while this cooks.

You do all this for one subscriber, you're going to make a mess in the car.

As you saw, without conflict, the audience just isn't as invested, which is why I used my mom as the B plot.

So you're now not only invested in the competition, but also curious to see what's going to happen between my mom and I.

And after enough buildup, we finally need our answers.

Will I accidentally set my mom's car on fire?

The key here is to build tension by making the answer feel uncertain to make a satisfying ending.

We just need the burger to cook faster, faster.

Does it matter that my burger was basically raw?

Because the viewers wanted an answer, so I gave it to them quickly and concisely in an engaging way, which led our video to getting over 45 million views.

And you might be impressed to know that instead of telling this talk in five minutes, I actually did it in four.

So you now have an extra minute to practice your 60-second story.

Because if it takes longer to tell your story than it does to make a burger, then you're probably overcooking both.

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The Secret to Telling a Great Story — in Less Than 60 Seconds | Jenny Hoyos | TED

weird

stick

absolutely

engage