About Course

Narrative Craft: Mastering the Art of Storytelling for Journalists, is an immersive course designed for journalists and media professionals who wish to enhance their storytelling skills. This course bridges the gap between traditional journalism and creative narrative techniques, enabling journalists to craft compelling stories that resonate with their audience while upholding journalistic integrity.

Course Objectives:

To explore the fundamentals of narrative storytelling in journalism.
To enhance skills in creating engaging, informative, and impactful stories.
To understand how to weave narrative elements effectively within the journalistic framework.
To learn the ethical considerations of storytelling in journalism.
To develop a unique journalistic voice and style.

Module Breakdown:

Fundamentals of Storytelling:
- Understanding the elements of storytelling: character, plot, setting, conflict, and resolution.
- The importance of narrative arc in journalism.
Storytelling Techniques for Journalists:
- Techniques to craft compelling leads, develop characters, and create vivid scenes.
- Using descriptive language and imagery to enhance storytelling.
Integrating Research and Facts:
- Balancing narrative elements with factual accuracy and thorough research.
- Techniques for seamless integration of quotes, statistics, and data into stories.
Ethics of Storytelling in Journalism:
- Maintaining objectivity and fairness while telling a compelling story.
Digital Storytelling and Multimedia:
- Utilizing digital platforms and multimedia elements (audio, video, and graphics) in storytelling.
Developing Your Journalistic Voice:
- Finding and refining your unique voice as a journalist.
- The role of personal perspective and experience in storytelling.

Course Content

Introduction to the course
Designed specifically for journalists and media professionals, this course is your gateway to mastering the intricate art of weaving compelling narratives within the journalistic framework. Whether you're looking to captivate your audience with vivid storytelling, integrate complex data into engaging narratives, or navigate the ethical landscape of modern journalism, this course offers the tools and insights you need. Join us to transform your journalistic approach, enhance your storytelling skills, and make your reports not just informative, but truly unforgettable.

Introduction

00:00

The Art of Storytelling
The Central Role of Storytelling: Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey emphasizes the pervasiveness of storytelling in our lives, illustrating that stories are not just for entertainment but are integral to our everyday experiences, whether we're listening, creating, or dreaming them. The Power of Narrative over Mere Facts: The talk highlights the importance of transforming mere information into compelling stories. It suggests that simple factual narration often fails to resonate as strongly as well-crafted stories, which are more effective in conveying messages and engaging audiences. Various Story Structures and Elements: Dr. Pandey discusses different plot structures like the 'challenge plot,' 'connectivity plot,' and others, which underpin most stories. He emphasizes the need for stories to be simple, unexpected, concrete, credible, and emotional to leave a lasting impact. These elements are crucial for stories to be memorable and relatable. Examples and Analogies in Storytelling: The session uses various examples, including the journey of cricketer Muhammad Siraj and Hollywood plot structures, to demonstrate how stories unfold in different contexts. These examples serve as practical illustrations of storytelling techniques and their emotional impact. The Psychological and Ethical Dimensions of Storytelling: Dr. Pandey delves into the psychological aspects, like the role of mirror neurons in empathy, and the ethical implications of storytelling. He suggests stories encourage ethical behavior and help in understanding and navigating complex human experiences. The discussion also touches upon how our brains seek patterns and meaning in stories, influencing our perceptions and beliefs.

Narrative Engagement Theory
Narrative Engagement Theory: How Storytelling Works discusses how storytelling is so effective for behavioural change. Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey discusses the three main elements of Narrative Engagement Theory — Knowledge, Modeling and Engagement. The video discusses how the narrative form is more effective than the didactic form.

Storytelling for Journalists: Writing Techniques
Storytelling for Journalists: Writing Techniques discusses how narrative storytelling structures can be used to efficiently write journalistic stories including feature stories and those in the inverted pyramid style. The sense of a story is to provide causal links instead of merely relating events in chronology. Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey discusses how the narrative structure can be used as a template to write news and feature stories

Using Narrative Structure for Storytelling
Using Narrative Structure for Storytelling demonstrates the well known narrative structure the Freytag's pyramid through The Shawshank Redemption plot structure. Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey also discusses the elements of the Narrative theory, the use of events, characters, location and time to create different story forms.

The Use of Nut Grafs in Storytelling
The Use of Nut Grafs in Storytelling demonstrates the use of nut grafs in feature stories especially those using the WSJ Feature Formula. The nut graph prepares the reader for the rest of the story. It is also described as a 'So What" graph. Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey demonstrates the Kabob Format to show the use of nut grafs.

Rhetoric Made Easy: The Art of Persuasion
Rhetoric Made Easy: The Art of Persuasion discuss various styles of Persuasive communication beginning from the Greco-Roman traditions Dr. Uma Shankar Pandey also demonstrates different styles and devices of Rhetoric along with a discussion of the different Figures of Speech

Student Ratings & Reviews

5.0

Total 1 Rating

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Uma Shankar Pandey

11 months ago

Very good

Narrative Craft: Mastering the Art of Storytelling for Journalists

About Course

What Will You Learn?

Course Content

Introduction

The Art of Storytelling

The Art of Storytelling

Narrative Engagement Theory

Narrative Engagement Theory?

Storytelling for Journalists: Writing Techniques

Storytelling for Journalists

Using Narrative Structure for Storytelling

The Use of Nut Grafs in Storytelling

Rhetoric Made Easy: The Art of Persuasion

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Resources