How to Craft a Story You Can't Wait to Tell & They Can't Wait to Hear

Seeking impartial news? Meet 1440.

Every day, 3.5 million readers turn to 1440 for their factual news. We sift through 100+ sources to bring you a complete summary of politics, global events, business, and culture, all in a brief 5-minute email. Enjoy an impartial news experience.

Join for free today!

Dear Legend,

A couple of weeks ago I was at a networking event. I used to think I was good at networking, but the truth is I dread the small talk. I would rather jump into the juicy bits about behavioral science, branding philosophies, even road cycling, than to do the “Hi, I’m Howie and I am a… what do you do?” (shoot me)

There was this one encounter I cringe at till this day. Three older dudes were talking and I push myself to budge into their conversation

“Hey guys, mind if I join in?”

“Sure”

“So… I help companies and individuals build brand. I’ve been out on my own for three years…” (I probably went on for two minutes)

“Good for you” (and this one guy promptly went back to his conversation, asking the other person about some technical question regarding pumps or something like that)

I was left hanging and I thought to myself “boy do I hate networking events.”

Have you ever felt like this?

I’m probably not going to another event again… but then I chatted with Sam Horn.

Sam is a world-renowned storytelling and communication expert who’s coached TEDx speakers, NASA leaders, and billion-dollar CEOs. As the founder of The Intrigue Agency and author of bestselling books like POP! and Tongue-Fu, she’s spent her career helping people craft messages that are impossible to ignore! (I was so excited to learn from Sam.)

And boy did she teach. She practically delivered a masterclass. In our session, she made me take out a piece of paper and she helped me craft an unforgettable story that I can’t wait to use in the next networking event. I went from “blah” to “buzzed!”

Something Sam said that gripped me:

❤️ “If you don’t put yourself in your own story… how will people ever find you?”

Those dudes didn’t care that I did this and I did that. That’s just boring resume bullet points that any person at the networking event have probably heard a thousand times.

If I wanted to influence a different reaction and behavior (i.e. not brushing me off), I needed to give them a personal and emotional story. And the best way to do that? Tell them something from my life that is anchored in something real, visceral, and unpolished. 

That’s how people remember you. That’s how they trust you. That’s how they are moved by you.

For this, you need to shift your mindset:

🧠 Stop trying to sound professional. Start trying to sound human.

Think about this: if ChatGPT could write your introduction, it’s too boring. I get it, corporate networking events can feel like a battleground for who is the most professional where spouting corporate jargon is just what people do.

But the truth is that’s actually what most people hate. And if you can stop explaining what you do, and instead show why what you do matters, everything changes.

🧰 The Hook and Hinge Method:

This is what Sam Horn calls the most powerful way to turn your life into your leverage.
Here’s how it works and why it’s the storytelling super move you need to slay every networking event (or social gathering.)

✅ Step 1: The Hook Put us in the moment.

Be visceral. Specific. Cinematic.

• “It was 4:30am. Cold. Raining. I stared at my shoes.”

• “My kid had just woken up screaming from a nightmare.”

• “I was 5 days from rent with $18 in my bank account.”

Don't generalize. Don’t say, “I used to struggle.” Tell us the exact moment. The setting. The emotion. And open a mental loop they want to close (I talk about the Zeigarnick Effect later.)

Why? Because of something called the Narrative Transportation Effect, a proven psychological bias that shows people remember information better when it’s wrapped in a story. Their brain transports itself into the scene.

Then you share the full personal story that you audience can relate to.

✅ Step 2: The Hinge. This is the bridge.

It’s where you connect the story to the audience’s transformation. Transition smoothly into your main message and insight. By gripping the audience and then relating it to why what you do matters, it presents a complete unforgettable package that sparks deeper conversations (fuses into their memory banks.)

This is what Sam calls “hook and hinge”: the hook is your story, the hinge is how you turn it into meaning for them.

Why this changes everything: Most people try to connect through information. But people don’t remember information. They remember stories.

“People may forget what you said, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel.” ~ Maya Angelou

✅ Example: “Put on your shoes”

HOOK:

It was 4:30am. Cold. Raining. I stared at my shoes in the mud room, dreading the thought of going out for a run.

You see, just a week ago before that, I was in the ER. I had a huge medical scare, I was passing blood for 24 hours, thought I was going to die.

I signed up for a half-marathon before thinking I had 12 weeks to train… but after the ER, I had 8. I wanted to quit really badly, but instead I said “What if?”

So everyday, including that rainy day, I committed to putting on my running shoes. Not matter what.

Whether it was raining, or if I felt sick, I put them on. If I still wanted to stay in bed after that, fine. But the shoes go on first.

And you know what happened?

I put on the shoes. I got out for a minute. A minute turned to 10, 10 turned 10 30 and that led me to complete my training and to the finish line 8 weeks later, breaking my personal record.

HINGE:

You see, most people don’t find success not because they aren’t good at what they do, it’s because they quit too soon. Or they don’t even begin.

You see, most companies, leaders, they know what they should do, the decisions they need to make to move forward. But they just don’t do it. That’s where I come in, I help them put on their shoes to build the brand that they dream of. That’s what I do.

💡 Let’s make this real: Want to craft your one unforgettable story?

1. Write down a personal experience outside of work where you overcame something

2. Highlight the transformational act or thought that was the tipping point

3. Make it a short and pithy line (e.g. “Put on your shoes”)

4. Weave it into your profession and how that impacts the people you serve

5. Package it up into a 60 second story for your next event!

The next time someone asks, “What do you do?”, don’t say your title. Spill your story 🤘🏽

Sam shares a few other gems including The Juxtaposition Framework where you can spot the big contrasts and transformations in your stories. Listen on: Apple, Spotify, or on the web (Sam walks me through her entire methodology live!) Last week, I shared her 10 most impactful quotes on LinkedIn that was viewed by 5,006 people. I also posted a 51 second Instagram clip talking about Hook and Hinge.

This week, for our influence psychology lesson:

The Zeigarnik Effect
Why unfinished things hijack your brain.

Ever had a task haunt you until it was done? That’s not just procrastination guilt, it’s psychology.

It’s called the Zeigarnik Effect, and it explains why incomplete tasks stick in your memory more than finished ones.

It was discovered by psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik in the 1920s, after she noticed waiters could remember unpaid orders but forgot them once the bill was settled.

Her lab research backed it up:
People remembered interrupted tasks nearly twice as well as completed ones.

Why?
Because the brain hates open loops. It keeps circling back, wanting closure.

📖 Why Storytelling Hooks Work

This is also why great stories and viral hooks leave things unresolved at first: “He opened the email and immediately knew he was fired.”

You have to know what happened next.
That’s a Zeigarnik loop pulling your brain forward.

The best creators, marketers, and storytellers?
They don’t just tell you everything.
They open a loop right at the beginning... and make you lean in.

How to use the Zeigarnik Effect:

✅ Marketers → Tease part of a solution, then deliver the rest post-click. “You’re halfway to mastering X, unlock the rest inside.”
✅ Leaders → Start meetings with a provocative question, then answer it at the end. It keeps attention locked.
✅ Business Owners → Use open loops in emails: “Most people overlook this… are you?”
✅ Educators & Coaches → Share frameworks but leave step 3 blank. Make them want to return.
✅ Content Creators → End videos or posts with a cliffhanger: “Next week, I’ll show you the part that changes everything…”

Takeaway?
If you want to stay in someone’s head, open a loop and don’t close it too fast.

Unfinished = unforgettable.
That’s the Zeigarnik Effect.

Make your mark, live your legend 🤘🏽

I’ll see you next Sunday (where I’ll the secret to why we buy 😉)

Howie Chan

Creator of Legend Letters

​Read my story​

​Follow me on LinkedIn

P.S. If you or someone you know is a marketer or strategist working in the Medtech or Healthtech industry, check out Medtech Brand Academy!

WHENEVER YOU ARE READY

Make your mark with a powerful brand 👇🏽

1/ Positioning Power Hour

1:1 60 min workshop to position your brand.

Learn more

2/ Personal Brand Strategy Program

Get clarity on your story and your brand so you can attract what and whom you want into your life. I work with you directly and craft your one page personal brand strategy.

​Learn more