Story Theory

Telling stories to a group of people is one of the best ways to generate attraction in pick-up when done correctly.

What follows are several things to consider when choosing and crafting stories for use in the field during attraction phases. They’re more guidelines than hard and fast rules, as you can break most of them when you know what you’re doing.

1. Story material This is close to a no-brainer. Choose stories that are interesting, fun and GIRL RELEVANT! Avoid stories about distasteful subjects, i.e. death, car accidents, bad breakups, etc. Usually these stories are funny. Use stories you tell often to friends and new people that get big laughs.
2. Be succinct Write your story out word for word and then gut it. Get rid of everything the listener doesn’t need to know and doesn’t care about. It’s essential that you’re ruthless here. Better to cut too much than too little. State the boring but necessary details as succinctly as possible.
3. Lead in This is how you start the story. The lead in should be congruent with the story to follow. Communicate using words, tonality and energy the type of story to follow. Some examples are, “Oh my God, the funniest/craziest/weirdest thing happened to me the other day!” or “Did you guys ever notice XXX?” or “You’ll never believe this, check it out.”
4. Initial hook An initial hook is something that makes peoples’ ears perk up. It should be as close to the beginning of the story as possible and should be specifically chosen to make people lean in and pay attention. If your story is about something that happened to you at an S & M party, put that part up front! Bad: My friend called me the other day and left me a message to call him back. So I called him and he went on and on about his Mother’s operation before finally telling me about this party he wanted to go to. Turns out, it’s an S & M party! Good: So the other day I went to this S & M party!
5. Unanswered questions Craft your story so that there will be unanswered questions in the listener’s mind. You want them to ask you questions that give you the opportunity to further increase your value. Example: So I was picking up my new car the other day and the salesman wouldn’t stop asking me about my watch. The girl I was with finally told him we had to go so she could pick up her instrument for a concert she was doing that night. Unanswered questions:- What kind of car did you just buy?- What kind of watch were you wearing?- Are you rich?- Who was the girl you were with?- What kind of performance did she have to get to?
6. Allude, don’t state directly In the examples above you’re alluding. You’re alluding to the fact that you have money, as you just bought a new car and have a cool watch. You’re alluding to the fact that you hang out with cool girls. Stated directly, any of this information would sound like bragging, so you allude to it. Make them ask you about it; don’t volunteer it.
7. Subcommunication This has to do mostly with tonality. The same story can be told playfully, seductively or in a way that generates intrigue. Calibrate to your audience and know what you want to subcommunicate.
8. Convey personality traits In telling a story, you’re telling someone a great deal about yourself. Know what personality traits want to convey. Craft your stories to subtly tell someone you’re adventurous, rich, famous, creative, courageous, etc.
9. Tonality This is hard to put in print, but vary your tonality as widely as possible. Talk slow, then fast, then low, then high and then higher! Make transitions smoothly and tell the story in a way that sucks your listener right in. Along with this, act out parts of the story with your hands or your whole body.
10. Have a punch line A punch line is a line that sums up your story in a powerful way. It’s a way of letting the listener know that the story is over. It doesn’t have to be funny, though in many stories used in the field it will be. Examples:- “That’s the last time I take THAT dog to the beach!”- “From now on I’m asking to see girls’ ID’s!”- “That was the day I learned the true meaning of courage.”

Short Example Story:

The Girls at Burning Man are fucking CRAZY! So I met this girl at dinner and we really hit it off. We spent the whole evening together and she was great, but something seemed a little off. Anyway, she finally takes me back to her tent and it’s really romantic and everything, then afterwards we fall asleep in each others’ arms. In the morning I kissed her on her forehead, but she didn’t wake up. So I left and went to my own tent, which was like 20 yards away, figuring I’d see her at breakfast. But she’s not at breakfast. And she’s not at lunch. And she’s not at dinner. Finally after dinner, I see her across the space and she comes right over to me with this weird look on her face. She puts her hand on my chest, looks deep into my eyes and says, “Oh my God, you’re so hot, I HAVE to meet you.” I looked at her and said, “Sarah, it’s ME.”Then she gets this really weird look on her face and says, “How did you know my NAME?!”

1. Story material- Burning Man, Romance, Sex.
2. Be succinct.
3. Lead in- “The Girls at Burning Man are fucking CRAZY!.” I’d say this animated and playfully, like there’s a story coming.
4. Initial hook- Crazy girls at Burning Man.
5. Unanswered questions: – What is Burning Man?- What’s Burning Man like?- Are chicks always so attracted to you?- What’s wrong with this girl?- What happened next with this girl?
6. Allude, don’t state directly. Much more effective than saying “Hey, chicks dig me.”
7. Subcommunication- Audience dependant.
8. Convey personality traits: – I’m sexually open- I’m adventurous- I take things in stride- I’m cool with weird and unusual people and situations
9. Have a punch line: “How did you know my NAME?!”
10. Tonality: I use a wide range on tonality telling this story.