“NPR One data shows us that in the opening seconds, listeners make decisions about whether to skip or pay attention to a story. They need to understand why they should care before they know what happened.”
If you’re a podcaster or storyteller, you’re going to want to read this. It’s packed with useful tips about how to capture and keep the attention of an audience.
It’s an NPR training article which offers advice about how to make listeners care about your story based on data they’ve collected from listeners to NPR shows.
The data suggests there are five key elements to get people engaged with your stories including to explain why it matters to them, to uncover something surprising or unexpected, and to tell stories that surface a sense of pride in a particular community.