Matthew Dicks: Good Stories vs. Great Stories [The Knowledge Project Ep. #202]

Shane Parrish: I think we should just dive right in. The best opening for this is probably [to ask,] What’s the difference between a good story and a bad story?

Matthew Dicks: I think we can start by thinking about what a story is and isn’t because most people don’t tell stories. Most people think of a story as “Some stuff happened over the course of time, and now I’m going to tell you about that,” usually chronologically, and that will amount to a story. That really is just reporting on your life, and no one actually wants you to report on your life, other than maybe your mother and your spouse might be required to listen. It’s just a simple accounting of your day or your week or your month, and that’s not interesting, and it’s not a story.