Every year, 25 million people download Shaan’s podcast. Sure, he’s a brilliant entrepreneur, investor, and writer, but there’s one skill in particular that keeps Shaan’s audience coming back for more: storytelling.

And not the kind of storytelling that feels like an IQ contest. (I know you know what I mean.) Shaan tells stories that burst with aliveness, that make readers laugh out loud with joy or fall silent with understanding. And as a result, he’s built more than just a following; he’s built a fandom.

In this episode, Shaan reveals every framework he knows for telling stories so well they make your reader go, “Wait, how did they do that?”. And I mean, every framework. You won’t find this in the ole’ selfhelp aisle. Plus, he shows you exactly how to do it. We deconstruct everything from popular movies to business origin stories to viral Twitter threads.

Stories are the #1 way to grab readers’ attention, get them to like you, and ultimately, turn them into fans. And this episode is a masterclass on how to do it.

SPEAKER LINKS:
Website & Newsletter: https://www.shaanpuri.com/
Twitter:   / shaanvp  
Linkedin:   / shaanpuri  

WRITE OF PASSAGE:
Enroll in the Write of Passage Bootcamp:
https://writeofpassage.com/enroll

PODCAST LINKS:
Website: https://writeofpassage.com/howiwrite
Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2DjMSbo...

TIMESTAMPS:
00:00:00 Introduction
00:01:45 Binge bank
00:04:30 Storytelling
00:06:30 Best storytellers
00:06:40 Aaron Sorkin
00:07:00 Intention & Obstacle
00:12:30 Hasan Minhaj
00:13:00 Writing vs Speaking
00:16:30 Pacing
00:18:30 Hooks vs Frames
00:20:40 Viral tweets
00:24:30 Mr Beast
00:25:35 Storyworthy
00:27:20 5second moment of change
00:27:45 RomCom
00:29:00 Batman
00:29:45 AirBnb
00:32:30 Origin Stories
00:40:10 Tony Robbins
00:41:45 Transformations
00:43:00 Steven Bartlett
00:44:20 Viral videos
00:47:15 Miss Excel
00:51:20 Change your state & focus
00:56:40 Paul Graham
00:59:00 Advice to writers
01:05:00 Writer's voice
01:09:40 Dave Chappelle vs Netflix
01:17:00 Distribution
01:20:00 Twitter / X
01:33:00 Theo Von
01:35:00 Writing with humor
01:43:10 Newsletters

ABOUT THE HOST:
I’m David Perell and I’m a writer, teacher, and podcaster. I believe writing online is one of the biggest opportunities in the world today. For the first time in human history, everybody can freely share their ideas with a global audience. I seek to help as many people publish their writing online as possible.