[Reading Log -136] The Laws of 'People Who Tell Interesting Stories'

Who is a person who tells interesting stories?

What kind of person is someone who tells interesting stories?

When I saw this title, I thought it was a book about small talk or conversational techniques. However, as I read on, I started to feel a slight sense of discomfort. Yes, this book is The Laws of 'People Who Tell Interesting Stories' and definitely not 'The Laws of People Who Are Good at Talking'.

The theme of this book is not 'speaking technique' but the 'other person'.

Understanding the other person's position.
Considering the other person's benefits.
Distinguishing between facts, hearsay, and imagination.
Speaking to someone one-on-one.
And changing how you speak to match the other person's 'wavelength'.

In other words, what this book deals with is not just speaking technique, but the design of communication that reaches the other person.

Not a book on 'how to speak'

The author, Eishiro Noro, is a person who has worked on numerous television programs as a broadcast writer while also being involved in PR consulting for companies and local governments.

Neither television programs nor PR are jobs where you talk about what you want to talk about.
They are jobs where you design things so that the other person becomes interested, understands, and wants to take action.

Honestly, there wasn't much that was new to me. That makes sense. What is talked about repeatedly in this book is the perspective of the other person.

In my own mentoring, I always try to speak from the other person's perspective. However, reading this book, 'why I speak that way' is concisely put into words.

Finally, addressing the title

In the final chapter of this book, the author touches on how to write email subject lines.

If an email isn't read by the person it was sent to, it doesn't matter how good the content is. That's why the subject line that catches the eye first is what's important... That is the gist of it.

If this book had been titled 'The Laws of People Who Are Good at Talking', I probably wouldn't have picked it up. But I did pick up this book. That's because the title was 'The Laws of People Who Tell Interesting Stories'.

When I picked up this book, I thought, 'Isn't this book losing out a bit because of its title?' But after reading the final chapter, my thinking changed.

This title, 'The Laws of People Who Tell Interesting Stories', was perhaps not meant to explain the content of the book, but to pose the question 'Who is a person who tells interesting stories?' to the reader.

I see, it's a book worthy of a broadcast writer.
To think that the meaning of the title only connects after reading to the very end.

It's quite a tricky one.

Reference links

- Amazon "The Laws of 'People Who Tell Interesting Stories'" Book Introduction Page

- [Techniques for Setting Up Stories Used by TV Producers] Vol. 1 How to Speak to Capture Hearts: The Invincible Laws by Eishiro Noro