Here is the presentation that accompanied the introductory lecture for COM 140.

1. COM 140 –
Storytelling
• Welcome to COM 140 –
Storytelling
• Let’s study this Bosch
painting The Conjurer
(1502) for a moment to
see a storyteller in action
– with an audience.

2. COM 140 - Storytelling
• Here’s what Allan Little,
formerly of the BBC, has to
say about writing:
• “Good writing is all about
choosing the right words to
say precisely what you
mean.”

3. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “The writer should start
with a clear
understanding of the
information he or she is
trying to communicate
and be clear about what it
is the writing is trying to
achieve.”

4. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “That might be telling a
story, evoking
atmosphere, explaining
something complex or
simply tempting the
audience to stay with
you.”

5. COM 140 - Storytelling
• Regardless of style,
clarity and simplicity are
at the heart of a
successful news story,
press release, podcast,
TV intro, online feature
or screenplay.

6. COM 140 - Storytelling
• John Allen: “It is our job
to communicate clearly
and effectively, to be
understood without
difficulty, and to offer
viewers and listeners an
intelligent use of
language which they can
enjoy.

7. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “Good writing is not a
luxury; it is an
obligation.”
• And that obligation is to
make the right choices at
the right time to use the
right word in the right
sentence.

8. COM 140 - Storytelling
• Let’s take one line from
Shakespeare’s Macbeth
as analyzed by Roy Peter
Clark of the Poynter
Institute.

9. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “The Queen, my lord, is
dead.”

10. COM 140 - Storytelling
• That could have been
written another way.
• “The Queen is dead, my
lord.”
• “My lord, the Queen is
dead.”
• Talent is in the decisions,
as Clark points out:

11. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “A momentous
announcement, the death
of a queen, is made
public in six quick
words.”
• “The sentence has a clear
beginning, middle, and
ending – praise be to
commas!”

12. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “The subject of the
sentence – The Queen –
appears immediately.”
• “Any sentence with such
a beginning carries
important news.”

13. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “The least significant
element in the sentence
“my lord” appears in the
middle, the position of
least emphasis.”
• “The slight delay
between subject and verb
holds a nanosecond of
suspense.”

14. COM 140 - Storytelling
• “The most important
phrase, “is dead,” appears
at the end, the point of
greatest emphasis.”

15. COM 140 - Storytelling
• When we write a news
story, a screenplay or a
press release, the point of
emphasis may be
presented in a different
order.
• The point, however, is the
same. Thoughtful
construction matters.