The Art of Storytelling and View Retention

Colin & Samir join Marques and Andrew to discuss storytelling in YouTube and how telling stories can help keep people interested in tech videos.

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Waveform is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

[-gg]

marques has become a really good interviewer. i remember when he was a nervous kid interviewing kobe.

[Editx-bo]

00:02 Advice from YouTube creators may not always apply to all genres
02:07 Good storytelling requires causation between beats
04:19 Good storytelling builds tension and releases it.
06:24 Creating niche content for a specific audience
08:29 Creators' biggest complaint is inability to A/B test thumbnails
10:25 A/B testing thumbnails would be useful
12:18 Packaging video for reviews is a challenge
14:20 YouTube creators should not rely solely on AdSense for revenue.

[thalesspinolafernandes]

Matt d'avella, director of The minimalists, would be a great guest: his insights on minimalism and storytelling, and cameras as well (connecting these subjects with tech or not) would make the show very interesting. I think Johnny Harris would be awesome as well. Both of you talking about cameras and maybe something related to big tech politics or privacy in the digital age wold be fantastic.
Great video as always!

[Jesse-P]

Creators I’d love to see interviewed:
1. Grace Randolph - Beyond The Trailer
2. Kara and Nate - Travel Vlog
3. Trixie Mattel - Trixie Cosmetics

[hazem_khalil]

I agree with Marques on this one. His honesty is what has kept me, and I'm sure many others, loyal to his channel. When there's a boring product, he doesn't sensationalize it to something it's not. 4:14 this explanation is what also makes a great salesman. Though he's not selling us this stuff, you feel he's genuinely just here to give you information about the new tech as opposed to just making it dramatic for views. And it's that realness that keeps me engaged. I know I won't be wasting my next 3-10min on nonsense opinions. Most people watching his videos are here for information and logical thinkers, even those of us who love a good story. I love storytelling and cinematography but when I want to learn about a piece of equipment, that part of my brain switches off.

[HisuiCotton]

Hearing you guys mention the thumbnail and title changes that people frequently make is great because as a viewer I know that if I watch a video and it's thumbnail and title change to where I click it again later, I immediately click off when I realize it's the same video, so it's nice to hear that there are people trying to avoid doing that too often.

[bulelanibotman]

man, colin and samir are one of the best in explaining and giving reasons to questions, very in-depth!

[GeneralEverywhen]

It's funny to hear Marques talk about struggling to instill narrative into his videos given that, in my opinion, he's kind of already hit it out of the park. Every time he does one of those "talking to himself" intros, I am almost *instantly* drawn in. As it is in and of itself an awesome sort of "brand" in terms of video style. And is always a fun intro into the premise of the video, without ever overstaying its welcome. And even when he does something other than that, like just staring at the Sisyphus Table as the intro to the Dope Tech video on it. It's just enough to attract someone with "storytelling" without having to weave a proper narrative throughout the video, beyond simply making good on whatever the premise of the video is (e.g. Is the product good? Is X worth it?)

All that to say, you're doing a great job Marques. And I think you may well already be on your way to making good on narrative in your videos.

[teatree]

Marques has been doing storytelling on his videos for a long time without realizing it. That’s why his videos are great.

[ChadSchrandt]

Gerald from Gerald Undone would be great since he's so tech oriented and can talk about the the studio with an level of expertise that I feel like many creators could only dream of matching.

[JonDaiello]

This is super helpful! I've been realllly bad about crafting a good storyline to my content. I get lots of positive comments saying it's helpful, but I think I need to get better about making it have a compelling story arc so people will feel more engaged.

[UGPVlogsLA]

The picture and sound quality on this video is just perfect…

[TheThinkersBible]

It’s great to see Marques branching out like this. He’s as excellent as an interviewer as he is a tech reviewer.

[nikyabodigital]

MrWhoseTheBoss does it very well. The story telling part.

[itsdavidmora]

Marques: "I'm pretty decently mobile & althetic"
Also Marques: is recognized as one of the best defensive Ultimate Frisbee players on the planet

[Jokesta]

Wow storytelling is pretty intresting. Im going to try to apply it to gaming

[gizConAsh]

Love for you guys to talk to Ali Abdaal. Especialy with him just announcing his book.

[jazzyjaz]

THIS VIDEO WAS SO VALUABLE TO SOMEONE LIKE ME!!! A total novice, but this video has me looking at YouTube in a totally different way. Nothing but respect! 🙌🏾🔥🙌🏾 Grateful

[alexisaguirrevideos]

Anyone else got good video recommendations for how to tell and craft a story? Kinda how these guys broke it down in the beginning? They made it make a lot of sense.

[pawelkapica]

I am with Marquez on this one. If I am looking at a review I want to get the important info right away and not have to listen to fluff.