Blog Post 3.1: Familiarity and Surprise
After listening to the NPR segment “20 Stories in 60 Minutes”, I found that I was most attracted to stories to which I was able to relate; they struck a chord with me, creating a pathway through which I could connect to the speaker and the material through a strong combination of humor and familiarity.
My favorite segment by far was the story of the Penguin from Batman. Early in the story, the reader begins talking about a cartoon character drinking Absinthe and reciting poetry from Blake. this idea both made me laugh out loud and become eager to find out where the rest of the story was going. The music in the background helps to tell the story and gives time for reflection, an important factor in any story. The connection to Mary Poppins is also unexpected and hilarious, and the mental image of the Penguin “challenging her to a duel” and “umbrella travel” again kept me on my toes.
The story of the boys naming their dog Pasta-Batman held many similar qualities to the first story despite touching on a completely different topic in a different way. What I liked about this story was the way the readers played off of each other, keeping the listener engaged much in the same way the first story did. I wanted to know more. The humor in this segment came across in both material and style, and I found myself laughing frequently throughout the course of the tale.
A final story that contained similar qualities despite being told in a different manner is the story of the woman babysitting for a family with her future husband. Her voice was immediately engaging, and she allowed time and space for the audience to process that story and imagine what was going to happen as the story went on. Despite the pauses, the story teller still managed to add shock value to the segment because of her content material. The lies that they blatantly told to the parents upon their return were hilarious and unexpected.
I enjoyed hearing these stories read out loud because they highlighted the content material and allowed me to reflect on how to get these important factors of making content familiar to your audience and incorporating some shock or surprise into a story to make it a quality read.
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